Mechanics

Description:

This image appeared as the frontispiece of vol. 14 of the Encyclopaedia Londinensis (1816). The “Chapman sculp.” signature in the lower left may refer to John Chapman (fl. 1787-1811), a London engraver. The text at bottom (cropped from our copy) read “London Published April 13, 1816, by G. Jones.”

A “Description of the Frontispiece Illustrating Mechanics” appears on p. [1] of the book. It reads: “Archimedes, the founder of theoretical mechanics, is represented in a contemplative attitude, in the midst of his pupils and of the instruments of the mechanical powers. In the foreground a youth is tracing on the sand a diagram expressing the famous discovery of Archimedes, the proportion of the sphere to the cylinder; to which another, leaning on a book, is attentive. On the right hand are shown the action of the screw and the wedge, and higher up, of the balance. From the ceiling is suspended a system of pulleys. On the left is a globe, the hydrostatical bellows, and the pump which bears the name of Archimedes’s screw; the action of the inclined plane is also shown in the left corner; and in the back ground, on the same side, is a youth working a crane.”

Ref: Richard Yeo, Encyclopaedic Visions: Scientific Dictionaries and Enlightenment Culture (Cambridge and New York, 20010

Date Made: 1816

Maker: London

Location: Currently not on view

Place Made: United Kingdom: England, London

See more items in: Medicine and Science: Physical Sciences, Science & Mathematics, Prints from the Physical Sciences Collection

Exhibition:

Exhibition Location:

Data Source: National Museum of American History

Id Number: PH.329190Accession Number: 280072Catalog Number: 329190

Object Name: print

Physical Description: paper (overall material)Measurements: overall: 10 1/4 in x 7 1/4 in; 26.035 cm x 18.415 cmoverall in mat: 14 in x 11 in x 1/16 in; 35.56 cm x 27.94 cm x .15875 cm

Guid: http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ng49ca746ad-edce-704b-e053-15f76fa0b4fa

Record Id: nmah_1451869

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