Photograph of a drawing of a 1785 Boulton and Watt beam engine
Object No. P1306
The drawing that is the subject of the photograph is a finely detailed and rendered illustration of the Whitbread engine. At the time the photograph was taken, the engine was known to be significant as an early example of the rotative engines made by the ground-breaking firm of Boulton and Watt. The engine is now recognised as the oldest rotative engine in the world, so the photograph is significant as a record of how the engine appeared in its final form at Whitbread's London brewery. It completes a record that begins in the holdings of the Birmingham City Archives with drawings, dated 1784, of the proposed engine; continues with drawings in the same collection showing the engine's conversion from single-acting to double-acting in 1795; and includes a drawing by John Farey, created around 1812 for Rees' Cyclopaedia, of the engine and the brewery equipment it powered. Unfortunately, the caption below the photograph perpetuates the myth that the engine's output was originally 35 horsepower and that this was doubled to 70 horsepower in 1795. These figures were included in a plaque that was once attached to the engine but which probably never left England. It ascribed the invention of the steam engine to Edward Somerset and celebrated the contributions of Thomas Savery, Thomas Newcomen and John Cawley, John Smeaton, and James Watt and Matthew Boulton, to the engine's improvement. From other evidence, both documentary and based on the bore and stroke of the engine, the engine's original output was closer to 10 horsepower and its final output was 15 or 16 horsepower. The photograph represents the esteem in which Whitbread & Co held the engine even as it decided to dispose of it. This esteem was shared by Professor Archibald Liversidge and led him to request that the engine be donated to the Museum. Debbie Rudder, August, 2007
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Summary
Object Statement
Photographic reproduction of a drawing, possibly albumen process, mounted, beam engine made in 1785 by Boulton and Watt for Whitbread's Brewery, paper /cardboard / possibly silver chloride, photographer unknown, photographed for Whitbread and Company, London, England, c. 1880-1887
Physical Description
A photograph reproduction showing a drawing of the beam engine made by Boulton and Watt for Whitbread and Company in London, England. The drawing is a finely detailed rendered image of the engine that is now in this Museum's collection. It shows the engine in its final form at the brewery, with some detail of the supporting timbers and safety railings. It also includes a cutaway view of the tank, revealing the separate condenser, air pump, hot well and dashpots. The photograph is mounted on cardboard and text has been printed on the mount, above and below the image. There is a stamp on the back of the mount.
DIMENSIONS
Height
400 mm
Width
355 mm
PRODUCTION
Notes
There is no signature on the drawing. It would have been produced in London after the 1830s, when the engine reached its final form. The photograph was probably taken in the 1880s in order to produce multiple copies from the drawing. The drawing would probably have been commissioned by Whitbread & Co.
HISTORY
Notes
The photograph was owned by Whitbread & Company between approximately 1880 and 1887. The company gave it to Professor Archibald Liversidge, in his role as Trustee of the Technological, Industrial and Sanitary Museum, at the same time as it donated the engine to the Museum.
SOURCE
Credit Line
Gift of Whitbread & Company, 1888
Acquisition Date
21 April 1888
Copyright for the above image is held by the Powerhouse and may be subject to third-party copyright restrictions. Please submit an Image Licensing Enquiry for information regarding reproduction, copyright and fees. Text is released under Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivative licence.
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