
Jon Baddeley
Specialist Consultant Collectors, Science & Marine
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Sold for £1,530 inc. premium
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Specialist Consultant Collectors, Science & Marine

Head of Department
The frame uses typical tie-bolts, braces and joints and represents the very short period of transition from the art of the blacksmith to that of the engineer where greater precision in manufacture and knowledge of the strength of materials were to rapidly evolve. This key engine represented the cutting edge of technological innovation which lay at the heart of the beginning of the Industrial Revolution, and James Watt's successful partnership with Matthew Boulton at the Soho Foundry. This engine incorporated what are considered to be five of James Watt's most famous inventions. These included the steam jacketed cylinder, conical pendulum, separate condenser, parallel motion and sun and planet crank. Each of these was to form the bedrock of mechanical engineering practice related to the development of the prime mover. James Watt (1736 - 1819) was a Scottish inventor, mechanical engineer, and chemist who improved on Thomas Newcomen's 1712 Newcomen steam engine with his Watt steam engine in 1776, which was fundamental to the changes brought by the Industrial Revolution.
NB: A "detent" is a device used to mechanically resist or arrest the rotation of a wheel, axle or spindle.
Provenance:
Property of The British Engineerium, Hove.