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The Gentle Art of Excavating - Removing top soil
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The Gentle Art of Excavating - Removing top soil
A new type of shovel removing the top soil from a bluff in the Cotswold Hills. A typically elaborate contraption by the gadget king, William Heath Robinson showing an excavation machine made from a variety of domestic bits and pieces. Date: c.1938
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Media ID 14121062
© Courtesy of the estate of Mrs J.C.Robinson/Pollinger Ltd/Mary Evans Picture Library
1938 Amusing Bluff Contraption Convoluted Cotswold Digger Digging Elaborate Excavating Excavation Gadget Gentle Hills Machinery Machines Removing Robinson Shovel Soil
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1. Title: The Gentle Art of Excavating: A Humorous Take on Top Soil Removal by William Heath Robinson, c.11938 2.. In the quirky and imaginative world of British illustrator William Heath Robinson, even the most mundane tasks took on a whimsical and elaborate twist. This charming print, titled "The Gentle Art of Excavating," showcases Robinson's signature convoluted contraption designed for removing top soil from a bluff in the picturesque Cotswold Hills. Dating back to approximately 1938, this humorous illustration depicts an excavation machine that defies conventional wisdom. Instead of the heavy-duty diggers and machinery we're accustomed to seeing in modern industries, Robinson's creation is a delightful assemblage of domestic bits and pieces. The machine's shovel, for instance, is fashioned from an upturned washing tub, while the digging mechanism is a complex arrangement of pulleys, ropes, and gears reminiscent of a Victorian-era amusement park ride. The operator, dressed in a bowler hat and waistcoat, appears to be meticulously guiding the shovel with a long handle, as if he were conducting a delicate ballet rather than a laborious dig. The bluff in the background, adorned with lush greenery and quaint cottages, adds to the idyllic scene. The Cotswold Hills, known for their rolling hills and charming villages, serve as the perfect backdrop for this humorous take on excavating. Robinson's "The Gentle Art of Excavating" is a testament to his ingenious ability to transform the ordinary into the extraordinary, and it continues to amuse and delight viewers to this day.
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