Machine Collection

Pea Apparatus by William Heath Robinson
An interesting and elegant apparatus designed to overcome once for all the difficulties of conveying green peas to the mouth

Polish cavalry at the start of World War Two
Poland as a military power: cavalry, tanks and infantry (part of a spread in the Illustrated London News). Polands impressive horse cavalry are seen here, probably the best in Europe (the ILN says)

Winston Churchill Holding a Sub-Machine Gun
Winston Churchill (1874-1965) - pictured holding a Sub-Machine Gun. Date: circa 1940

Advert, Four Famous Singers
Advertisement for the Singer Sewing Machine - Four Famous Singers - Adelina Patti, Christina Nilsson, Emma Albani and the sewing machine! circa 1895

Horn & Hardart Automat, New York City, USA
Horn & Hardart Automat, 57th Street and 6th Avenue, New York City, USA, one of a large chain of cafes and restaurants serving over half a million people per day. Date: circa 1930

New British Sten gun by G. H. Davis
The Sten gun: the new British machine gun, introduced during the Second World War, explained in detail. It is a simplified Tommy-gun that fires almost any type of 9mm ammunition at 550 rounds per

Winston Churchill (1874-1965) holding tommy gun while visiting America

Singer Sewing Machines - factory in Clydebank, Scotland. 1932

A Decided Catch by William Heath Robinson
The Whitebait cycle, an ingenious contraption necessitated by the exorbitant charges for hire of boats at the seaside this season

Bound to Draw by William Heath Robinson
Another well-thought-out experiment in dentistry from Heath Robinson, the Gadget King and mastermind behind endless convoluted contraptions and silly ideas. Date: 1927

At the Start of the Cresta Run, St. Moritz, 1912
Photograph showing a member of the St. Moritz Tobogganing Club leaping onto his machine at the top of the Cresta Run, 1912. This famous course was first laid out in 1884

Transportable Ciderpress
A transportable cider press in use at Pensford, Somerset South-west England) : the fruit is first ground in a mill, then crushed in a press to extract the cider

John Moses Browning
JOHN MOSES BROWNING American inventor of automatic pistols, rifles etc : shown with one of his machine guns

The War of the Worlds
THE WAR OF THE WORLDS A Martian fighting-machine is destroyed by a hit from a shell

Sixth Column Strategy
Stout patriots dislodge an enemy machine gun post from the dome of St. Pauls using the usual Heath Robinson cunning! Please note

Horse-drawn harvester
Two shire horses pull a farmer sitting asride an basic harvesting machine. Painting by Malcolm Greensmith

VESPA SCOOTER 1960S
Couple on a VESPA - the machine whose glamorous image is one of the popular icons of the decade, a symbol of freedom and youth

The Kino Cinema, Walton-on-the-Naze, Essex
The Kino Cinema in Walton-on-the-Naze, Essex. This was the towns first cinema. Cycle racks for the use of patrons were a feature. circa 1935

DOLLY TUB
A laundry worker using a dolly stock and tub to clean clothes, prior to the invention of the washing machine

Daily Telegraph - printing room 1900
Daily Telegraph, printing room in Fleet Street, London. Date: 1900

Bathing machine owner and swimming master, Essex
Pictured in front of his bathing machines on the beach at Walton-on-the-Naze, Essex, is Charlie Bates with some of his family and the horse which hauled the machines down to the waters edge and back

Machine gun diagrams
Full page diagrams and illustration showing the workings of the Hotchkiss and Lewis machine-guns, used widely by the British army during World War I

Mixing treated asbestos fibre, Heath Robinson machine
Efficient plant for the successful mixing of treated asbestos fibre with cement. A drawing done by William Heath Robinson for Turners Asbestos Cement Co

Patent double action grinder for asbestos by Heath Robinson
A patent double-action grinder for mashing asbestos fibre - a drawing done for Turners Asbestos Cement Co by William Heath Robinson, renowned for his machines and convoluted contraptions. Date: c.1925

Bryant and May Match Factory
Girls feeding a machine at the Bryant & May match factory, in Bow, East London, at the time a tax on matches was being discussed in the budget. Date: 1916

Permanent Hair-Waving machine, 1928
Curls are attached by the flex to the chandelier-like electrical machine. This device was exhibited at the Hairdressers Annual Exhibion at the White City, 1928

Leonardo Helicopter
LEONARDO DA VINCI Sketch of a flying machine which seems in some respects to anticipate the helicopter, though the technology is not clear

Poster, Ransomes Lawnmowers, sold by Broughton & Wilks, Banbury. circa 1900s

Free French - Honour the Maquis. The Maquis were rural guerrilla bands of French Resistance fighters, called maquisards, during the Occupation of France in World War II Date: circa 1941

The Subzeppmarinellin by Heath Robinson, WW1 cartoon
The subzeppmarinellin for making sure of your enemy. All bases covered with this combined submarine and zeppelin from the imagination of William Heath Robinson during the First World War. Date: c.1916

British RAF aeroplanes in 1939 by G. H. Davis
The huge array of aircraft in the RAF in 1939, imposing for its size and variety. 37 types of machine, ranging from the Sunderland flying boat to light trainers

Pifco electric vibratory massager
Beauty that is yours sincerely: 1950s electric vibratory massager, claiming to help you keep slim and trim, promotes a healthy scalp, affords relief for tired feet and many muscular aches and pains

Royal Wedding 1923 - Heath Robinson humour
A Great Grand Stand. A comfortable suggestion for viewing future Royal Weddings by William Heath Robinson. An onlooker manages to balance a cosy armchair on top of a lamp post complete with rice

German machine gun in street, Grandpre, France, WW1
German machine gun in a street in Grandpre, north eastern France, during the First World War. American troops of the 312nd Machine Gun Company, 78th Division, eventually entered the town

Welsh Lady using a Singer Sewing Machine
Seated Welsh Lady using a Singer Sewing machine in traditional costume, with a similarly-dressed lady alongside as well as a smart Welshman

Harvesting barley with a combine harvester, Suffolk
Harvesting barley with a combine harvester on a farm in Suffolk, England

Machine Gun Corps Poster
Travel all over the world with the Machine Gun Corps. A persuasive military recruitment poster, promising the potential for travel to far corners of the globe

A glamorous female model with her trusty Goblin Teasmade
A stylish female model wakes up fresh-faced and ready now to face the day thanks to a few sips from a hearty brew prepared by her faithful bedside Goblin Teasmade. How Delicious! Date: 1960s

Another Maxim Maxim by Bairnsfather
Another Maxim Maxim " Machine guns form a valuable support for infantry" A cartoon by Captain Bruce Bairnsfather Date: 1915

Poster, See Phillips First -- a wonderful range of sports machines, ask here for free illustrated catalogue. Date: circa 1939

H H Sheikh of Kuwait Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah
The 10th Monarch of Kuwait (between 1921-1950), H H Sheikh Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah (1885-1950) - pictured in October 1933 firing the anti-airplane machine guns - mounted on the rail for demonstration

Jersey Airways Poster
Poster, I d prefer Jersey Airways. A cartoon of animals powering and piloting a flying machine above a rough sea, with a Jersey Airways biplane high above them

New York, New York. Italian-American cafe espresso shop on MacDougal Street where coffee and soft drinks are sold. The coffee machine cost one thousand dollars. Date 1942 Aug.?

Victorian inventions in The Engineer
A page of patented engineering and industrial inventions from The Engineer magazine, 1856. Date: 1856

Police Public Call Box, London
A police officer using a Police Public Call Box on a London street. The Metropolitan Police introduced police boxes throughout the London area between 1928 and 1937

A simple device for removing a wart
Contrary to the title of this picture, a complicated and convoluted machine to help a sufferer remove a wart from his head

To the Public Danger
Humorous scene by Lawson Wood (1878-1957) showing policemen chasing a gentleman in a futuristic flying machine along a main road. Satire on flying which was in infancy

Testing a Cows Udders
Testing the udders of dairy cows before they are attached to a mechanical milking machine

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