Workbench Collection (page 4)

Industrial laboratory at Thomas Firth & Sons Norfolk Works, Sheffield, c1900. Thomas Firth & Sons Ltd was founded c1840 by Mark Firth

Needle making workshop, 1751-1780. Cutting needle lengths from steel wire (1), flattening the end (4), stamping the eye (2), punching the eye (3), filing the eye and pointing the end (7)

L Ecole Centrale des Arts et Manufactures, Paris, 1887. First year students doing practical work in the laboratory

Soap manufacturing, c1905. The Vinolia Soap Companys London laboratory where raw materials and essential oils were tested

Brush Maker, 1823. A craftsman at a bench prepares brushes to receive backing. Around the workshop are brooms, brushes and mops of various sizes. From The Book of English Trades. (London, 1823)

Carpenters, Japanese, c1860. Ivory carving of three carpenters and their tools

Scene from Adam Bede by George Eliot, c1885. Artist: William Small
Scene from Adam Bede by George Eliot, c1885. In his tall stalwartness Adam Bede was a Saxon and justified his name. Adam, the village carpenter, in the workshop

Pin and needle maker, c1559-1591. Artist: Jost Amman
Pin and needle maker, c1559-1591. A craftsman and two assistants busy in a workshop

The spur maker, c1559-1591. Artist: Jost Amman
The spur maker, c1559-1591. A craftsman talks to a customer while continuing to file a spur which is held in a vice. Behind him in his workshop a fire is burning in the furnace where he heats metal

Shoemaker, c1559-1591. Artist: Jost Amman
Shoemaker, c1559-1591. A master craftsman serves a female customer at his shop window, while his two assistants sew shoes from pieces of leather their master has cut out on his workbench

Sword maker, c1559-1591. Artist: Jost Amman
Sword maker, c1559-1591. A craftsman at his workbench holds an item in a vice while he works on it with a file. Around him are daggers and swords he has made

Part of Pierre and Marie Curies laboratory, Paris, 1904. It was here that they did much of their work on magnetism and radioacticity which led to the 1903 Nobel prize for physics which they shared

A corner of Pierre and Marie Curies laboratory, Paris, 1904. It was here that they did much of their work on magnetism and radioacticity which led to the 1903 Nobel prize for physics which they

Tinman, 1751-1777. A print from the Encyclopedie, ou Dictionnaire Raisonne des Sciences, des Arts et des Metiers by Diderot & d Alembert, 1751-1777. Private Collection

Men playing billiards, 1751-1777. A print from the Encyclopedie, ou Dictionnaire Raisonne des Sciences, des Arts et des Metiers by Diderot & d Alembert, 1751-1777. Private Collection

Interior of a Printing Works, 1751-1777. A print from the Encyclopedie, ou Dictionnaire Raisonne des Sciences, des Arts et des Metiers by Diderot & d Alembert, 1751-1777. Private Collection

Leather tanning, 1751-1777. A print from a supplement of the Encyclopedie, ou Dictionnaire Raisonne des Sciences, des Arts et des Metiers by Diderot & d Alembert, 1751-1777. Private Collection

Mosaic makers, 1751-1777. A print from the Encyclopedie, ou Dictionnaire Raisonne des Sciences, des Arts et des Metiers by Diderot & d Alembert, 1751-1777. Private Collection

Swan incandescent lamps, University College, Dundee, Scotland, 1884
Swan incandescent lamps fitted in the engineering classrooms at University College, Dundee, Scotland, 1884

Women packing dynamite cartridges, 1888. Explosives factory at Val Bormida, near Cengio, north-west Italy. Nitroglycerin was mixed with Kieselghur (a diatomaceous earth) to produce Dynamite

Both Sides of the Question, 1871. The tradesman has his pint pot of beer to hand. Beer was the staple tipple of manual labourers

Flying boat construction, Virginia, USA, April 24, 1946. Creator: Unknown
Flying boat construction, Virginia, USA, April 24, 1946. Male and female technicians at the Langley Memorial Aeronautical Laboratory (now NASAs Langley Research Center)

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