Joseph Bramah (1749-1814). Bramah invented an early water closet. Watt dismissively referred to Bramah as 'the eminent Water Closet Maker' who 'called himself an engineer'.
Image: Science Museum/SSPL
An inventive stranglehold?
Opposition to Boulton and Watt went beyond simple financial objections. The partners fought bitter legal battles against people who ignored the patent rules.
These pirates sought to build novel steam-engine designs using Watt's separate condenser. Financial considerations aside, Joseph Bramah sums up the mood of these frustrated engineers, who believed Watt was attempting to
'lock up the brains and hands of every other inventive genius'.
Were Boulton and Watt's opponents making a fair case?
