"This book should help advance the use of patent literature for historical research."
--"Choice"

"This publication is an interesting work that could be useful for reference purposes as well as pleasant for browsing."
--"ARBA online"

Dishwashers, electric light bulbs, gramophones, motion picture cameras, radios, roller skates, typewriters. While these inventions seem to speak of the 20th century, they all in fact date from the 19th century.

The Victorian age (1837-1901) was a period of enormous technological progress in communications, transport, and many other areas of life. Illustrated by the original patent drawings from The British Library's extensive collection, this attractive book chronicles the history of the one hundred most important, innovative, and memorable inventions of the 19th century. The vivid picture of the Victorian age unfolds as inventions from the ground-breaking--such as aspirin, dynamite, and the telephone--to the everyday--like blue jeans and tiddlywinks--are revealed decade by decade. Together they provide a vivid picture of Victorian life.

This follow-up volume to Stephen van Dulken's acclaimed "Inventing the 20th Century" will be compelling reading to anyone interested in inventors and the "age of machines." From the cash register to the safety pin, from the machine gun to the pocket protector, and from lawn tennis to the light bulb, Inventing the 19th Century is a fascinating, illustrative window into the Victorian Age.

Adopting the modernist master Vladimir Nabokov as its guide, Nabokov in Motion: Modernity and Movement is an exploration of the radically changing social, historical, technological, and literary culture of the early 20th century, a time when modes of communication and transportation, especially, were changing society in drastic and profound ways. Across seventy microchapters that are by turn serious, ironic, informative, and playful, and which take on topics such as automobiles, trains, airplanes, electricity, elevators, advertisements, telegraphs, and telephones, Yuri Leving offers new ways to understand Nabokov, Russian literature, and technology, modernism, and world material culture. Nabokov's writings are analyzed against a broad context of prose and poetry and from the point of view of what Leving calls the poetics of urbanism in literature. Nabokov in Motion is a ground-breaking exploration of urban and material themes in literature and creates a complex and vibrant cultural fabric of which Nabokov is the master weaver.

More than 100 important innovations in ceramics in the last 100 years are individually described. These include such major advances as the float glass process, continuous glass fibers and glass wool, the zirconia oxygen sensor, honeycomb ceramics, tape casting and multilayer ceramics, advances in tunnel kilns, low loss optical fiber, dental ceramics, basic oxygen steelmaking refractories, and uranium dioxide as a nuclear fuel. In addition, a summary of progress in ceramics is given that relates ceramic advances to general trends in the progress of science and industrial development.

"When Wilbur and Orville Wright executed the first successful manned flight on December 17th, 1903, they stunned the world. Man could fly Where had these two brothers come from? The impact was astonishing. (Imagine if Neil Armstrong had landed on the moon in a craft he built himself and paid for with a part-time job )

In ushering in the age of flight, the Wright brothers got past numerous obstacles the world's other scientists hadn't even begun to tackle. " The Wright Way" defines seven essential problem-solving principles the brothers used in accomplishing this enormous feat, and shows readers how to apply them to common business problems. The book presents practical, inspirational principles for achievement, including:

* Hammering out problems through constructive conflict

* Addressing the toughest issues -- or ""worst things"" -- first

* Achieving perfection through ""inveterate tinkering""

* Pursuing useful knowledge through ""forever learning""

The book gives business leaders and managers constructive tips they can use to tackle their most difficult -- and rewarding -- challenges and opportunities. A perfect combination of savvy management guidance and historical adventure story, "The Wright Way" shows readers how to make their business soar when others can't even get off the ground."

Leonardo Da Vinci is considered to be one of the greatest painters of all time and perhaps the most diversely talented person ever to have lived, responsible for the Mona Lisa, The Last Supper, The Madonna of the Carnation and Vitruvian Man. Leonardo was an Italian Renaissance polymath: painter, sculptor, architect, musician, scientist, mathematician, engineer, inventor, anatomist, geologist, cartographer, botanist, and writer, and this captivating book provides the reader with a unique insight into the life and work of one of history's most intriguing figures. All of Leonardo Da Vinci's work is presented in this compact volume - from his paintings and frescos, to detailed reproductions of his remarkable encrypted notebooks. As well as featuring each individual artwork, sections of each are shown in isolation to reveal incredible details - for example, the different levels of perspective between the background sections of the Mona Lisa, and the disembodied hand in The Last Supper. 640 pages of colour artworks and photographs of Da Vinci's original notebooks, accompanied by fascinating biographical and historical details are here.

Vladimir Babitsky was born before the Second World War and migrated West after Perestroika. The theory of vibro-impact systems that he developed helped create the world's safest jackhammer and other record-breaking machines. The author has lived through a series of fascinating epochs: experiencing life under totalitarianism, witnessing the Soviet Union's collapse, and then migrating to Europe as a specialist in his field. "On the Waves of a Pulsating World" is an animated and highly engaging story about the journey of an engineer; from childhood daydreams to creating new technologies, from East to West, and from concepts to realities. It is also the story of people who outshine authoritarianism.

While most know Thomas Edison for his invention of the light bulb, his counterpart, George Westinghouse, is too often overlooked. Westinghouse, however, became known as one of the most prolific inventors and businessmen of the Industrial Revolution. This biography reveals the man whose teachers suspected was mentally disabled and who quit college after one semester, yet founded more than 60 different companies employing 50,000 people, and received 361 U.S. patents. He later fought the "Battle of the Currents" (AC vs. DC) with Thomas Edison and won. Westinghouse, with his engineers, provided power and light for the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago. They harnessed the massive power of Niagara Falls and sent it over wires to light Buffalo and eventually the Northeast. His electric engines powered trains, and his air brakes stopped them. His scientific contributions forever changed the world.

America loves innovation and the can-do spirit that made this country what it is-a world leader in self-government, industry, technology, and pop culture. Everything about America has been an experiment and a leap of faith. And one such experiment-upon which all others depend for success-is the U.S. Patent System. Why Has America Stopped Inventing? takes a close look at why this experiment appears to be failing, and why America has all but stopped inventing. Our belief that we are the most innovative people on earth is mistaken. Statistics show that today we invent less than half of what our counterparts did a century and a half ago. Look around: Where are the groundbreaking inventions comparable to those from the Industrial Revolution? It's unforgivable that we've been using the same mode of transportation for over a century. Why are we giving trillions of dollars every year to hostile foreign nations for imported oil when we have the inventive talent in America to solve the nation's energy crisis? We don't have these desperately needed technologies because regular Americans have given up on inventing. Why Has America Stopped Inventing? compares some of America's most successful 19th century inventors with those of today, showing Jefferson refusing to waste any more weekends examining patent applications, Whitney being robbed of his fortune while the South's wealth exploded, the patent models that kept British soldiers from burning Washington's last-standing federal building, the formation of Lincoln's cabinet, and Selden crippling the entire U.S. Auto Industry. It also tells the largely unforgotten stories of the Wright brother's airplane monopoly, the Colt revolver's role in the Mexican American War, the Sewing Machine wars, the last six months of Daniel Webster's life, and the controversy surrounding the first telephone patents.

First published in 1925. This study examines the advances in engineering and science in the nineteenth century. The author examines topics on locomotion and sea travel, photography, chemistry, electricity amongst many other industrial and scientific developments. This title will be of interest to historians as well as scientists and engineers.

We're excited to present our 2019 Make: Digital Fabrication Guide! This year we get our hands on maker-ready waterjet cutters with machines from Wazer and Omax. We also review the latest 3D printers, CNC routers, laser cutters, and vinyl cutters. More than 20 tools tested to help you find the best one for your shop or makerspace. Plus, more than 30 DigiFab projects and lessons: Build a robot companion that reacts to the faces of people around you Make Nixie tube-style display with LEDs and acrylic Create a mini Intaglio printing press and create unique artwork and much more.

Discover the trials & triumphs of great female inventors

Astrolabe
Automatic Dishwasher
Barbie® Doll
Buffered Aspirin
COBOL
Cotton Gin
Disposable Phone
Drip Coffeemaker
Fabric Softener Sheets
Hang Glider
IV Fluids
Jell-O®
Kevlar®
Mars Rover
Nystatin
PDA (Personal Digital Assistant)
Protease Inhibitors
Rolfing
Smallpox Variolation
Space Suit
Spic & Span®
Tract Housing
Vacuum Canning
Windshield Wipers
Zig-Zag Sewing Machine
Zovirax®

and many, many more!

Reviews for Mothers of Invention by Ethlie Ann Vare and Greg Ptacek

"It’s a fascinating and gratifying book….It gives us a positive view of women’s inventiveness, from the frivolous to the noble."
–The New York Times Book Review

"It is the wide spectrum of female humanity and ability in this book that makes it an especially valuable addition to the growing popular library on the accomplishments and work lives of women."
–Los Angeles Times

"An informative collection of talent, trivia, and history, Mothers of Invention will interest most anyone. More importantly, though, it will serve to inspire girls and women of all ages. For that reason, it belongs on the shelves of schools and public libraries everywhere."
–Tampa Tribune

"Wonderful….A book to be dipped into and sampled at one’s leisure."
–The Chicago Biweekly

"This fascinating volume will find a place in the browsing sections of both adult and YA collections…recommended."
–Library Journal

One of the "Best Books for Young Adults,"
American Library Association, 1988

At only nineteen years old Vitalik Buterin published a visionary paper outlining the ideas behind what would become Ethereum. He proposed to take what Bitcoin did for currency - to end the central control of governments and corporations - and apply it to society as a whole. Now, less than a decade later, Ethereum is the second-most-valuable cryptocurrency and has opened the gates for the extraordinary new world of NFT artworks, virtual real estate in the metaverse and decentralised autonomous organisations. The essays in Proof of Stake reveal Buterin as a lively, creative thinker, relentlessly curious and adventurous in exploring the fascinating social, economic and political possibilities of his invention, and will guide future generations of Ethereum's community of radicals and builders.

From Galaxies to Turbines: Science, Technology and the Parsons Family looks at the way science and industry relate to each other, and at the way social attitudes affect this relationship. An expert on the Parsons Family, the author beautifully illustrates this by tracing the story of the remarkable endeavors of the Parsons family during the 125 years that embraced their lives in Ireland and Great Britain during the developing Industrial Revolution. The father of the family, William Parsons, Earl of Rosse, discovered the Spiral Nebulae at his observatory in Ireland and displayed an unusual familiarity with engineering principles in the building of his two giant telescopes. His son, Charles, was at the forefront of the new age of technology among shipbuilders and engineers in the northeast coast of England. Lavishly illustrated throughout, with a handy family tree and map of the River Tyne pin-pointing key historic events, this is a highly accessible and fascinating account for the general reader interested in the way scientific knowledge and industrial application have slowly emerged in recent history.

First published in 1925. This study examines the advances in engineering and science in the nineteenth century. The author examines topics on locomotion and sea travel, photography, chemistry, electricity amongst many other industrial and scientific developments. This title will be of interest to historians as well as scientists and engineers.

Why do some states and societies thrive while others do not? What awaits us in the future? Is there a universal model that can guide our success? The author, Vadim Makhov believes that there is and that it can be found by means of careful analysis of the past. In this truly big-idea book, he presents his `lucky clover' theory in which, when four critical elements - science, society, innovation and wealth - are present, interacting and developing simultaneously, culminate in success. Having studied hundreds of sources, scrutinized numerous tangled intricacies in world history, and found interesting correlations between various events and phenomena, the author sets out to demonstrate that, through careful analysis of the past, we can find the right path to success.

Penicillin has affected the lives of everyone, and has exerted a powerful hold on the popular imagination since its first use in 1941. The story of its development from a chance observation in 1928 by Alexander Fleming to a life-saving drug is compelling and exciting. It revolutionized healthcare and turned the modest, self-effacing Fleming into a world hero. This book tells the story of the man and his discovery set against a background of the transformation of medical research from nineteenth-century individualism through to teamwork and modern-day international big business (pharmaceutical companies like Fisors, Distillers, or Beecham (Smith Kline)). Now, sixty years after the antibiotic revolution, when there are fears that the days of antibiotics are numbered it has never been more timely to look at the beginnings.

A remarkable compendium of wild schemes, mad plans, crazy inventions, and truly glorious disasters

Every phenomenally bad idea seemed like a good idea to someone. How else can you explain the Ford Edsel or the sword pistol--absolutely absurd creations that should have never made it off the drawing board? It Looked Good on Paper gathers together the most flawed plans, half-baked ideas, and downright ridiculous machines throughout history that some second-rate Einstein decided to foist on an unsuspecting populace with the best and most optimistic intentions. Some failed spectacularly. Others fizzled after great expense. One even crashed on Mars. But every one of them at one time must have looked good on paper, including: The lead water pipes of RomeThe Tacoma Narrows Bridge--built to collapseThe Hubble telescope--the $2 billion scientific marvel that couldn't seeThe Spruce Goose--Howard Hughes's airborne atrocity: big, expensive, slow, unstable, and made of wood

With more than thirty-five chapters full of incredibly insipid inventions, both infamous and obscure, It Looked Good on Paper is a mind-boggling, endlessly entertaining collection of fascinating failures.

Josiah Wedgwood, perhaps the greatest English potter who ever lived, epitomized the best of his age. From his kilns and workshops in Stoke-on-Trent, he revolutionized the production of ceramics in Georgian Britain by marrying technology with design, manufacturing efficiency and retail flair. He transformed the luxury markets not only of London, Liverpool, Bath and Dublin but of America and the world, and helping to usher in a mass consumer society. Tristram Hunt calls him 'the Steve Jobs of the eighteenth century'. But Wedgwood was radical in his mind and politics as well as in his designs. He campaigned for free trade and religious toleration, read pioneering papers to the Royal Society and was a member of the celebrated Lunar Society of Birmingham. Most significantly, he created the ceramic 'Emancipation Badge', depicting a slave in chains and inscribed 'Am I Not a Man and a Brother?' that became the symbol of the abolitionist movement. Tristram Hunt's hugely enjoyable new biography, strongly based on Wedgwood's notebooks, letters and the words of his contemporaries, brilliantly captures the energy and originality of Wedgwood and his extraordinary contribution to the transformation of eighteenth-century Britain.

One of the preeminent natural philosophers of the Enlightenment, Benjamin Thompson started out as a farm boy with a practical turn of mind. His inventions and scientific explorations include the Rumford fireplace, insulated clothing, the thermos, convection ovens, double boilers, double-paned glass and an improved sloop. Successful in world affairs, he was knighted by King George III and became a Count of the Holy Roman Emperor. Thompson was popular with women - so much so that his personal life eclipsed his achievements. While British spy in the colonies, he had an affair with the wife of Boston printer Isaiah Thompson. In London, he had a fling with the wife of a doctor who would be in the first man to balloon across the English Channel. He fathered a child by the court mistress of the Prince Elector and had affairs with several other German noblewomen. He wrote that his first marriage, to a New England minister's daughter, made his career, and called his second wife, the widow of the French chemist Lavoisier, a ""female dragon."" Drawing on Thompson's correspondence and diaries, this book examines his friendships and romantic relationships.