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Public lectures and demonstrations of science and "mechanics" (engineering in today’s parlance) were all the rage in rapidly industrializing Britain. Here is the library of the Royal Institution, set up in 1799 for the purpose of "diffusing the knowledge, and facilitating the general introduction, of useful mechanical inventions and improvements; and for teaching, by courses of philosophical lectures and experiments, the application of science to the common purposes of life."
Requires Photography
Royal Institution
Thomas Rowlandson (English, 1756–1827)
Augustus Charles Pugin (English, 1769–1832)
Engraved by: John Bluck (English, 1791–1819)
Augustus Charles Pugin (English, 1769–1832)
Engraved by: John Bluck (English, 1791–1819)
Medium/Technique
Etching and aquatint with hand-applied watercolor
Credit Line
Gift of Mrs. Susan D. McKelvey
Accession Number39.316
NOT ON VIEW
CollectionsEurope, Prints and Drawings
ClassificationsPrints
Public lectures and demonstrations of science and "mechanics" (engineering in today’s parlance) were all the rage in rapidly industrializing Britain. Here is the library of the Royal Institution, set up in 1799 for the purpose of "diffusing the knowledge, and facilitating the general introduction, of useful mechanical inventions and improvements; and for teaching, by courses of philosophical lectures and experiments, the application of science to the common purposes of life."
Descriptionfrom "The Microcosm of London"
R. Ackermann's Repository of Arts, London, 1808-1810
R. Ackermann's Repository of Arts, London, 1808-1810
ProvenanceMrs. Susan D. McKelvey, Boston, MA by whom given to MFA 2/9/1939