Making the Modern World

Pewter sauce boat, unknown touchmark, English, 18th century. Pewter is an alloy of tin which can contain small amounts of lead, copper, antimony and bismuth. Athough known to the Egyptians, pewter was not widely used until Roman times, when it was us

• Pewter sauce boat, unknown touchmark, English, 18th century

Sample of Bessemer steel, one slice cut from the muzzle of a gun section, bent cold under the steam hammer. Sir Henry Bessemer (1813-1898) was an English inventor and engineer who invented a cheap process for manufacturing steel. He patented a proces

• A sample of Bessemer steel, 1860

Model (scale 1:4). This model represents a double-blast threshing machine made in 1860 by Wallis, Haslam and Steevens. The machine was designed to be powered by a portable steam engine or, as the 19th century progressed, more often by an agricultur

• Threshing machine, 1860

Model (scale 1:6) of the original reaping machine built and demonstrated in 1831 by Cyrus H. McCormick. The model is one of a number displayed at the Paris Exposition Universelle in 1900 by the McCormick Harvesting Machine Co . It represents Cyrus Mc

• McCormick's reaper, 1831, USA, model (scale 1:6).

Lawn mower, built by J. R. and A. Ransomes of Ipswich to Edwin Budding's patent No. 3157 of 1830

• Budding's patent lawn mower No 3157, 1832.

Sir Henry Bessemer (1813-1898) was an English inventor and engineer who invented a cheap process for maufacturing steel. He patented a process by which molten pig iron was converted to steel by blowing air through it in a Bessemer converter.This remo

• Original pilot Bessemer converter, 1865.

This mower is an example of the now famous Hover mower made by Flymo Ltd, of Darlington, Co Durham. It was Flymo who made the air-cushion mower into a practical proposition, and into an everyday sight on the lawns of Great Britain.

• Flymo Super Professional 47 rotary air cushion mower

This is the back bar for a Boyle's type anaesthetic machine with vaporisers for ether and trilene, flowmeters for oxygen, cyclopropane and nitrous oxide, and a rebreathing bag. The apparatus was made by the British Oxygen Company Ltd, London, England

• Back bar for Boyle's type anaesthetic machine, 1941-1963.

Trial portion of the Difference Engine, the first known automatic calculator.

• Babbage's Difference Engine No. 1, 1832

A peepshow, entitled, "The Thames Tunnel", in 5 lithographed sections and front, hand coloured, with 2 peepholes in cover, the cover scene of Tunnel staircase with vignettes including Crystal Palace and Parliament buildings; in original box. Publishe

• 'The Thames Tunnel' peepshow, c 1851.