Mechanisation Collection

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

Lancashire Weaver / 1890S
A weaver in a Lancashire cotton mill

Himmel The All-Highest has the truth spoken - the worst is behind us. German infantry retreating in panic before Allied infantry supported by tanks

George Cleaver who is trying to develop 177 acres of raw land, Malheur County, Oregon, 1939. Creator: Dorothea Lange
George Cleaver who is trying to develop 177 acres of raw land. He has five sons. Malheur County, Oregon

Colliery (engraving)
2808341 Colliery (engraving) by English School, (19th century); Private Collection; (add.info.: Colliery. Illustration for The Book of Trades or Circle of the Useful Arts (12th edn, Richard Griffin)

Power looms driven by belt-and-shafting weaving surgical lint, Liverpooll Patent Lint Company. Engraving, London, 1887
2603067 Power looms driven by belt-and-shafting weaving surgical lint, Liverpooll Patent Lint Company. Engraving, London, 1887; (add.info)

Advertisement for Grover & Baker's sewing machine. Engraving, Birmingham, 1870
2602840 Advertisement for Grover & Baker's sewing machine. Engraving, Birmingham, 1870.; (add.info.: Advertisement for Grover & Baker's sewing machine)

Small girl minding the spools to see that all runs smoothly on machine winding cotton thread on bobbins for use in
531852 Small girl minding the spools to see that all runs smoothly on machine winding cotton thread on bobbins for use in making Nottingham machine lace

Cross-section of Elihu Whitney's (1765-1825) saw-gin for cleaning cotton, 1865 (engraving)
531565 Cross-section of Elihu Whitney's (1765-1825) saw-gin for cleaning cotton, 1865 (engraving); (add.info.: Cross-section of Elihu Whitney's (1765-1825) saw-gin for cleaning cotton

Schematic view of Newcomen steam engine, invented by Thomas Newcomen (1663-1729), English inventor and engineer
538533 Schematic view of Newcomen steam engine, invented by Thomas Newcomen (1663-1729), English inventor and engineer. Early 19th century (engraving); Universal History Archive/UIG.

Isaac Merritt Singer (1811-1875) American inventor and manufacturer. Cover of booklet on the Singer sewing machine
530595 Isaac Merritt Singer (1811-1875) American inventor and manufacturer. Cover of booklet on the Singer sewing machine published New York c.1880

Woman using an electric sewing machine. Engraving, New York, 1890
2602855 Woman using an electric sewing machine. Engraving, New York, 1890.; (add.info.: Woman using an electric sewing machine. Engraving, New York, 1890.); Universal History Archive/UIG.

Cotton Picking Machine, 1885 (engraving)
1574564 Cotton Picking Machine, 1885 (engraving); (add.info.: Cotton picking machine for use in the American cotton fields. Engraving, London, 1885.); Universal History Archive/UIG.

Home and family transformed into models of comfort and smartness by the housewife's industry with the help of
530590 Home and family transformed into models of comfort and smartness by the housewife's industry with the help of the Singer sewing machine (engraving); (add.info)

Glass cutters at their wheels. Vessel to be cut held against rotating wheel powered by steam through belt and shafting
538650 Glass cutters at their wheels. Vessel to be cut held against rotating wheel powered by steam through belt and shafting. Wood engraving c1870; (add.info.: Glass cutters at their wheels)

Man, woman & small boy working wheel for combing long staple wool into slivers for worsted manufacture
538585 Man, woman & small boy working wheel for combing long staple wool into slivers for worsted manufacture, c.1845 (engraving); (add.info.: Man)

Willcox & Gibbs' 'Letter G' sewing machine, sewing machine by Wheeler & Wilson
2602856 Willcox & Gibbs' 'Letter G' sewing machine, sewing machine by Wheeler & Wilson, and various stitches available on machines

Russo-Japanese War 1904-1905: Workroom in the Winter Palace, St Petersburg, supervised by the Tsarina, 1904 (print)
538068 Russo-Japanese War 1904-1905: Workroom in the Winter Palace, St Petersburg, supervised by the Tsarina, 1904 (print); (add.info.: Russo-Japanese War 1904-1905: Workroom in the Winter Palace)

Elihu Whitney's (1765-1825) saw-gin for cleaning cotton. Wood engraving 1865
531567 Elihu Whitney's (1765-1825) saw-gin for cleaning cotton. Wood engraving 1865; (add.info.: Elihu Whitney's (1765-1825) saw-gin for cleaning cotton

Sewing machine by Isaac Merritt Singer, 1880 (engraving)
530589 Sewing machine by Isaac Merritt Singer, 1880 (engraving); (add.info.: Sewing machine by Isaac Merritt Singer (1811-1875): Treadle version

Jacquard loom, with swags of punched cards from which pattern was woven. Engraving published Paris, 1876
530842 Jacquard loom, with swags of punched cards from which pattern was woven. Engraving published Paris, 1876; Universal History Archive/UIG.

Sewing machines: The Wanzer, Wright & Mann's, Grover & Baker's knotted stitch machine
2602857 Sewing machines: The Wanzer, Wright & Mann's, Grover & Baker's knotted stitch machine, and the'Florence' machine

Woman using a treadle-powered sewing machine, watched by her small son. Engraving, London, 1890
2602839 Woman using a treadle-powered sewing machine, watched by her small son. Engraving, London, 1890.; (add.info.: Woman using a treadle-powered sewing machine, watched by her small son)

Workman seated at a stocking frame, 1764 (engraving)
2602628 Workman seated at a stocking frame, 1764 (engraving); (add.info.: Workman seated at a stocking frame. Copperplate engraving London, 1764.); Universal History Archive/UIG.

Threshing machine by Andrew Meikle, 1811 (engraving)
538521 Threshing machine by Andrew Meikle, 1811 (engraving); (add.info.: Threshing machine by Andrew Meikle (1719-1811) Scottish inventor and millwright. Top: Original form powered by horses

Potter's workshop with woman turning the wheel and girl baller supplying the potter with lumps of clay of
531829 Potter's workshop with woman turning the wheel and girl baller supplying the potter with lumps of clay of the correct weight for the next vessel to be thrown

Throwing an earthenware vessel. Belt-driven wheel of type used at Wedgwood & Copeland factories
531827 Throwing an earthenware vessel. Belt-driven wheel of type used at Wedgwood & Copeland factories . Speed of wheel regulated by boy by raising or lowering belt on conical drums

Germain Sommeiller's (1815-1871) compressed air rock drill used in the Mont Cenis and St Gothard railway tunnels
530610 Germain Sommeiller's (1815-1871) compressed air rock drill used in the Mont Cenis and St Gothard railway tunnels. Sommeiller engineer of Mont Cenis tunnel

Wilson sewing machine, showing belt drive (left) from treadle, oil can (centre foreground)
538086 Wilson sewing machine, showing belt drive (left) from treadle, oil can (centre foreground), and spools for thread (right)

Lockstitch sewing machine, eight inches long x 2 inches wide, weighing only 8 oz, patented Berlin 1881. Engraving
538080 Lockstitch sewing machine, eight inches long x 2 inches wide, weighing only 8 oz, patented Berlin 1881. Engraving; (add.info.: Lockstitch sewing machine, eight inches long x 2 inches wide)

Women operatives tending power looms in a Yorkshire woollen mill. Wood engraving, 1883
531840 Women operatives tending power looms in a Yorkshire woollen mill. Wood engraving, 1883.; Universal History Archive/UIG.

Cyrus McCormick's reaper and binder, an improvement on the model patented in 1831 which was a reaper only
530769 Cyrus McCormick's reaper and binder, an improvement on the model patented in 1831 which was a reaper only. Wood engraving 1877.; Universal History Archive/UIG.

Engraving of Samuel Crompton, c. 1860 (engraving)
1574508 Engraving of Samuel Crompton, c. 1860 (engraving); (add.info.: Samuel Crompton (1753-1827) English inventor. His spinning mule of 1779

Daussin's steam motor, heated on the kitchen stove, being used to power a sewing machine
538083 Daussin's steam motor, heated on the kitchen stove, being used to power a sewing machine. Engraving published Paris, 1883; (add.info.: Daussin's steam motor)

Hand-powered threshing machine by Barrett, Exall & Andrews. These machines were more efficient than the traditional
527927 Hand-powered threshing machine by Barrett, Exall & Andrews. These machines were more efficient than the traditional threshing with flails

Horse-drawn mechanical harvesters in use near Adelaide, Australia. In right background the threshed grain from a full
527910 Horse-drawn mechanical harvesters in use near Adelaide, Australia. In right background the threshed grain from a full machine is being put into sacks

Patrick Bell (1799-1869) Scottish clergyman and inventor, 1851 (engraving)
538530 Patrick Bell (1799-1869) Scottish clergyman and inventor, 1851 (engraving); (add.info.: Patrick Bell (1799-1869) Scottish clergyman and inventor. His horse-powered machine reaping of 1826

Horse-drawn self-binding reaping machine by Walter A Woods, 1877 (engraving)
527909 Horse-drawn self-binding reaping machine by Walter A Woods, 1877 (engraving); (add.info.: An advance on McCormick's reaper of the 1830s which left the cut corn lying in swathes for)

Isaac Merrit Singer (1811-1875), American inventor, while his friend George Zieber holds the candle
530592 Isaac Merrit Singer (1811-1875), American inventor, while his friend George Zieber holds the candle, adjusting tension on his sewing machine in a last desperate attempt to make it work

Power loom for weaving cotton, c.1840 (engraving)
538588 Power loom for weaving cotton, c.1840 (engraving); (add.info.: Power loom for weaving cotton. Model illustrated is that invented by Roberts (c1815-20)

Cyrus McCormick's reaping machine (America, 1831), the first mechanical reaper to be generally adopted
538092 Cyrus McCormick's reaping machine (America, 1831), the first mechanical reaper to be generally adopted. Engraving 1862; (add.info.: Cyrus McCormick's reaping machine (America, 1831)

Weaving shed fitted rows with power looms driven by belt and shafting. Wood engraving c1840
538576 Weaving shed fitted rows with power looms driven by belt and shafting. Wood engraving c1840; (add.info.: Weaving shed fitted rows with power looms driven by belt and shafting)

The International Exhibition: Smith's power-loom for weaving tufted pile carpets, 1862. Creator: Unknown
The International Exhibition: Smith's power-loom for weaving tufted pile carpets, 1862. Loom for Axminster carpet, '...invented by Mr

The International Exhibition: Crosskill's Bell's reaping-machine, 1862. Creator: Unknown
The International Exhibition: Crosskill's Bell's reaping-machine, 1862. '...Prize Corn-mowing Machine of the trustees of W

The International Exhibition: Swiss jacquard-loom for weaving ribbons..., 1862. Creator: Unknown
The International Exhibition: Swiss jacquard-loom for weaving ribbons - from a photograph by the London Stereoscopic Company, 1862

The International Exhibition: Messrs. Maudslay's engines of 800-horse power for the Valiant, 1862. Creator: Mallett
The International Exhibition: Messrs. Maudslay's engines of 800-horse power for the Valiant, 1862. Motive power for steamships. 'The largest marine engines exhibited were those by Messrs

The International Exhibition: group of objects in steel exhibited by Mr. Krupp, of Essen..., 1862. Creator: Unknown
The International Exhibition: group of objects in steel exhibited by Mr. Krupp, of Essen, Prussia, 1862. '...it is only recently that the great stride has been made which causes [Krupp's] to

The International Exhibition: marine engine by Messrs. Escher, Wyss, and Co. of Zurich..., 1862. Creator: Unknown
The International Exhibition: marine engine by Messrs. Escher, Wyss, and Co. of Zurich - from a photograph by the London Stereoscopic Company, 1862. Motive power for steamships

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Mechanisation: Revolutionizing Industries and Transforming Lives From the Lancashire weaver in the 1890s to George Cleaver's ambitious land development in Oregon, it has played a pivotal role in shaping our world. It represents progress, innovation, and the relentless pursuit of efficiency. In Suffolk, as barley fields stretched endlessly under the summer sun, the advent of combine harvesters revolutionized agriculture. No longer did farmers rely solely on manual labor; instead, these powerful machines brought speed and precision to their work. The sight of golden grains being effortlessly gathered was a testament to human ingenuity. Meanwhile, across continents in Malheur County, Oregon, Dorothea Lange captured George Cleaver's determination as he sought to tame 177 acres of raw land. With mechanised tools at his disposal, Cleaver embodied the spirit of progress that defined an era marked by industrialization. In collieries deep beneath the earth's surface or within power-loom factories humming with activity – like that depicted in an anonymous 1844 photograph – mechanisation transformed industries forever. Workers adapted to new technologies that increased productivity but also raised concerns about job security and working conditions. Even amidst political turmoil and propaganda such as Himmel The All-Highest proclaiming "the worst is behind us" during Germany's history-altering moments - mechanisation continued its march forward. It became a symbol of hope for a brighter future despite uncertain times. The Winter Palace workroom in St Petersburg showcased how even royal establishments embraced mechanisation by incorporating machinery into their daily operations. This fusion between tradition and modernity exemplified society's growing reliance on technology for progress. Not limited to industry alone, agricultural practices were also impacted by this unstoppable force. An advertisement from 1897 highlighted how farming magazines promoted modern techniques through articles like "Agriculture Moderne. " Farmers eagerly adopted new methods with hopes of higher yields and improved livelihoods. Mechanisation even found its way into the realm of art and literature.