Description
Book SynopsisHundredsof19th- and 20th-century curiositiesand contraptions are cataloguedin thisamusing assembly of more than 1,000 images.The daysfromthe first Great Industrial Exhibition of 1851 to the post-WWIIFestival of Britainsawrapid technological advancement throughout the United Kingdom and elsewhere, andcountless numbers of products, from the ingenious to the idiotic, appeared on the market. Twenty-two sections divided intotime- and money-saving devices, kitchen utensils, gadgets for ladies and gentlemen, trains, bikes,autos, and many more, recall these bygone products.Some, like the moustache spoon,clearly served a needamidpolite Victorian society. However,less scrupulous merchants also hawkedgizmoslike the nose shaper andthe asthma-curing necklace.Marvel at the multitudeof devices humankind has conceived, some of which could be consideredforerunnersofmodern-dayconveniences like smartphones andcomputers.
