Lifting Collection

Seance, Leipzig
Spiritualism comes to Germany - a table-lifting seance at Leipzig in the early days

Illustration, Railway Ribaldry by W Heath Robinson -- The building of Saltash Bridge. Date: 1935

Holding up the R101
A member of the WaC - the Womens Army Auxiliary Corp - holds up the R101 Airship, riding at her home mast at Cardington, Bedford

LFCDA-LFB Fire Rescue tenders
The 1990s saw a new breed of fire rescue tenders, large and small, introduced into the London Fire Brigade. The heavy rescue unit carried a comprehensive range of cutting and spreading equipment

The Forth Bridge: Queensferry Pier, looking south, Lifting platforms about 190 feet above high-water level

Winching men up from the coalface - Wales. Note the Davy lamp hanging off the belt of the man in the centre. Date: circa 1910s

Waterskiing fun in Lake Geneva at Evian-les-Bains
Waterskiing fun in Lake Geneva (Lac Leman) at Evian-les-Bains, France Date: circa 1950s

Little boy lifts his jumper, Balham, SW London
A little boy lifting his jumper on a street in Balham, SW London. Date: circa 1961

London Life - The Busy Docks of the Port of London Date: circa 1940

The Pain-Proof Man & Captain Ringman Jack - Ripley s
Arthur Plumhoff The Human Pincushion - The Pain-Proof Man (left) and Captain Ringman Jack, who lifted weights through holes through his breasts

LFCDA-LFB Heavy fire Rescue tenders
The 1990s saw a new breed of fire rescue tenders, large and small, introduced into the London Fire Brigade. The heavy rescue unit carried a comprehensive range of cutting and spreading equipment

LFCDA-LFB Fire Rescue tenders
The 1990s saw a new breed of fire rescue tenders, large and small, introduced into the London Fire Brigade. The heavy rescue unit carried a comprehensive range of cutting and spreading equipment

Tsar Nicholas II holding his son, the Tsarevich Alexei
Tsar Nicholas II (1868-1918) in military attire pictured with his only son, Alexei Nikolaevich, Tsarevich of Russia (1904-1918). Date: circa 1912

Great Crane at Woolwich Arsenal, south east London
The Great Crane at the Arsenal, Woolwich, south east London, used to lift sections of large guns

Thomas Topham, Strongman
Thomas Topham, the strong man, performing one of his astonishing feats of strength in Spitalfields on 28 May 1741, by lifting barrels weighing 1386 lbs (!)

YMCA Poster, Lend Your Strength, WW1
YMCA Poster, design by Adrian Gil-Spear, Lend Your Strength to the Red Triangle, Help the Y Help the Fighters Fight, United War Work Campaign, 11 to 18 November, First World War. circa 1918

Carrie Moore, The Sandow Girl on stage
Carrie Moore (1883 - 1956), Australian singer and actress, as Peggy in The Dairymaids, at the Apollo. Date: 1906

Portage des Chats
Tinted steel engraving by British artist W. H. Bartlett of portage or carrying of canoes and equipment where waterfalls occur, 1840 Date: 1840

Satirical ballooning image
A rude satirical image of large and small balloons tied together, lifting a cannon, entitled The Montgolsier. A first rate of the French Aerial Navy. A Fart, an Ass, a Fool, A Monkey, a Nothing. 1783

MAXWELL 1911
A lady rebukes her dog for even thinking of lifting its leg against the wheel of her Maxwell... Date: 1911

Tunnel construction, Great Western Railway, South Wales
Tunnel construction taking place on the Great Western Railway, somewhere in South Wales

Alleged Abnormal levitation of a table
Undated photograph of the alleged abnormal levitation of a table (inverted), photographed at a sance with Mrs Poole of Winnipeg. HPG/1/7/25

Mediumship / Carancini
Italian physical medium Francesco Carancini demonstrates table-lifting, though bound and seemingly in full light; he was however widely accused of trickery

Lifting Potatoes
Potato lifting using horses and plough, near Rickmansworth, Hertfordshire

Great Crane at Woolwich Arsenal, in south east London, London, laying in marsh land between Greenwich and Gravesend. The majority of heavy guns for the Navy

Happy Families Playing Cards - Mr Strong the Weight Lifter. circa 1930s

Damiatenbrug, Dordrecht, South Holland, Netherlands
Damiatenbrug (Damiate Bridge), Dordrecht, South Holland, Netherlands. Date: circa 1910s

Two bearers and patient (2 of 2)
Method of lifting a patient onto a stretcher, with two bearers. (2 of 2)

Comic postcard, Pretty young woman, someone coming Date: 20th century

Mail arriving by boat in Calshot Harbour, Tristan de Cunha
Tristan de Cunha - Mail arriving by boat in Calshot Harbour. Tristan da Cunha, colloquially Tristan, is a remote group of volcanic islands in the south Atlantic Ocean which includes Gough Island

Charlie Chaplin in London - Arrival at Victoria Station
Charlie Chaplin (1889-1977) English comic actor, filmmaker, and composer - arriving in London - A wild arrival at Victoria Station with the star resorting to sitting on the roof of his cab as

Karl Wilhelm Diefenbach silhouette from Divine Youth series
Karl Wilhelm Diefenbach silhouette from the Divine Youth series - a weightlifter. Date: 1911

German Men at an open air spa, taking exercise, playing cards and lifting weights. Date: circa 1905

The Nurse of the Negus Menelik of Abyssinia (Ethiopia). She certainly appears to have nursed a few in her time... Date: circa 1910s

Balloon test flight by Vicente Lunardi (1754-1806)
History of Air Transport. 18th century. Balloon test flight by Vicente Lunardi (1754-1806) before King Charles IV and the entire royal family, on January 8, 1793. Etching on paper by Jose Rodriguez

Balloon ascent of Vicente Lunardi (1754-1806) on the Buen Retiro, August 12, 1792. Etching on paper, circa 1793. History Museum. Madrid. Spain

White Star Line, RMS Olympic, with crane, on postcard (back)
White Star Line, RMS Olympic, rare original postcard by Walton of Belfast, either 1910 or 1911 - as seen here, it was posted from Northern Ireland much later, in 1939

White Star Line, RMS Olympic, with crane, on a postcard
White Star Line, RMS Olympic, rare original postcard by Walton of Belfast, either 1910 or 1911 (posted from Northern Ireland much later)

Vietnamese Patriotic Poster - Advance to Victory! Date: circa mid-1970s

The Torn Gown
A portrait painting of a young woman lifting the hem of her white, decorative dress, which, unfortunately, has been torn. Date: circa 1918

Lifting Clouds
A landscape oil painting of an old shepherdess with her flock of sheep, gathered by a pond on some broad grasslands. Date: circa 1917

The Clown - Dancer of the Moulin Rouge, Paris Date: circa 1910s

Bristol Bloodhound surface to air missile test round carried by a side lifting crane for removing / placing missiles from / on launchers and servicing stands. Date: circa 1962

London Fire Brigade - Southwark Headquarters 1896
Rescue drill at Southwark headquarters. Date: 1896

The Sheep-Eater of Hindustan, No. 1, Lifting the sheep from the ground with his teeth only. 1832

The Roof Raising Defence to Defeat Dive-Bombers
Latest device drawn by William Heath Robinson to defeat the dive bombers is a roof-raising by system of cogs, balloons and other lifting machinery. Date: 1941

Tower Bridge opening its bascules to let tall ships go past. Date: 1900

Margot Fonteyn dancing with Michael Somes
Prima ballerina Dame Margot Fonteyn (1919-1991) dancing a pas de deux with Michael Somes (1917-1994). They were frequent dancing partners in the Royal Ballet company. Date: circa 1950s

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