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Typewriter “Hammond” James Hammond obtained a patent for the construction of the machine in 1881, and its serial production began in 1884. The presented model 12 was created in the early 20th century in two versions; one was characterized by an arched two-row keyboard, typical of the early Hammonds; and the second, with a three-row keyboard, was typical for three-register machines. The final version, seen in the presented object, was introduced at the end of the nineteenth century along with the growing competition of lever-typing machines, with a typical arrangement of keys in straight rows. |
Typewriter “Picht” The “Picht” machine is a Braille typewriter adapted for the blind, invented by Oskar Picht in 1899. Its production began three years later. The first single copies of typewriters for the blind had beene created earlier (since the 18th century), but they allowed correspondence only with the sighted. The development of the journal for the blind by Louis Braille in 1825, disseminated in the 2nd half of the 19th century, created new opportunities that were used by the inventor—and later the director ꟷ of the centre for the blind in Bydgoszcz, Oskar Picht. |
Did you know that "The present is theirs; the future […] is mine"— Nikola Tesla An eccentric and a visionary. A genius and discoverer. But, above all, Nikola Tesla was an inventor, holding almost 300 patents, patents which protected his 125 inventions in several dozen countries around the world. His inventions have completely changed human civilisation. It is also worth remembering that he was almost forgotten, deceived and ridiculed in his own lifetime. Others stole his ideas and he was unable to turn them into a financial success. |
Did you know that Ignacy Łukasiewicz in Gorlice Ignacy Łukasiewicz came to Gorlice in the autumn of 1953. He was 31 years old then and already had quite substantial experience in research on distillation of petroleum. Together with Jan Zeh, he carried it out in a Lviv laboratory in the “Pod Złotą Gwiazdą“ pharmacy where both of them worked. Between 1952 and 1953, they managed to... |
Typewriter “Columbia Bar-Lock” The Bar-Lock typewriter is a patented design by the inventor and lawyer Charles Spiro in 1888. The presented model 10, was produced from 1900, under the brand Columbia Bar-Lock (in the United States) and Royal Bar-Lock in the British market. The keyboard used in the presented model is full, provided with 78 typing keys and one function key. The keyboard, constructed in this way, was adapted to English characters. For the needs of the non-English market, machines were produced with a set of 86 keys and only under the Royal Bar-Lock brand. |
“Brunsviga 13” calculating machine Brunsviga 13 is a manual mechanical calculating machine (arithmometer) with a 13-position counter. Arithmometers were patented in the 19th century in France and were designed to perform addition and subtraction, whereas multiplication and division could be conducted by several operations of adding and subtracting. They were driven manually (with a crank or a lever). |
Fruit squeezer Presented device was used for juicing fruit. Its effect was to crushing the fruit in a wooden barrel with a large knob located above it, combined with a screw placed inside the device. In this way a fluid, which presumably used not only for food but also for the preparation of various, often health potions. |
Knee-boot jack This is an object which is rarely seen nowadays—a device for sliding shoes off feet—especially boots with uppers. It used to be very popular, especially at a time when riding boots were fashionable. |
Did you know that The magic of the lantern and the magic of the cinema While the camera obscura was the prototype of a camera, the magic lantern had the same function, i.e. a that of a cinematographic projector. A dark room and a blank wall. If necessary, a white sheet can be hung on it. |
Stereoscope viewer from Austro-Hungary The stereoscopic viewer of Brewster’s system for stereoscopic photos (slides), in the single 7 x 7 cm image format, was manufactured in Austria-Hungary in the early twentieth century... |
The “Mercury” Stereoscope viewer by Underwood & Underwood The “Mercury” Stereoscope is a Holmes system stereoscopic viewer for stereoscopic photographs, with a single 7 x 7 cm image, produced in 1900–1920 by Underwood & Underwood from New York (USA). One of the simplest designs of stereoscopic viewers was the “open” viewer system, invented by Oliver Wendell Holmes in 1861. This was an extremely simple design, equipped with an eyepiece with lenses, including an appropriately curved wooden or metal sun visor. The Underwood & Underwood Company sold millions of stereoscopic photos, thanks to this very cheap production model of the viewer. |
Knee-boot jack The knee-boot jack was donated by Mr Piwowarczyk of Dębowa in 1982. The base has a grooved fragment for a heel, used to put a foot with a boot on it. It is also equipped with a horseshoe-shaped protection that supports the boot and facilitates its taking off. |
Tube gramophone The mechanism of the gramophone is placed in a box made of oak wood in a natural colour. The casing is modestly decorated with simple mills, the front wall bears a metal brass secession plate depicting the muse, Erato. |
Mikiphone pocket phonograph The phonograph has a spring drive mechanism and is designed to play discs that have a diameter of 10 to 25 cm at 33 rpm. It is sometimes described as the walkman of the Victorian era and the great-grandfather of the iPod. It is an example of one of the first pocket-size and movable devices for playing music. |
Cranked butter churn In peasant farmhouses butter was usually made by whipping cream in wooden stave churns. However, this must have been an exhausting activity: hands fainted and the back numbed. Nonetheless, whoever has ever tried real cottage butter shall never regret the effort. |
Pathé Baby film projector Pathé Baby (COQ D'OR) — is an amateur cinematographic projector for a 9.5 mm film strip, produced in 1937–1940 by the Pathé Frères works in Paris. Founded in 1896, Société Pathé Frères... |
“Magic Lantern” — slide projector from Austro-Hungary “Magic Lantern” – a projector for large-format transparencies framed in glass frames with a maximum format of 15 x 15 cm. The projector was produced over the years 1890–1918 by an unknown manufacturer in Austro-Hungary. Magic lanterns were devices known since the Renaissance times, used for projecting pictures painted on glass onto the screen. Later, they began to be used for displaying photographic images – diapositives. |
Coronet Midget — minature camera by Coronet Camera Company The Coronet Midget is a miniature 16 mm film camera, with frame format of 13 x 18 cm, produced in 1935 by the Coronet Camera Company from Birmingham (Great Britain). The camera is equipped with a Taylor Hobson lens... |
Ernoflex — camera by Heinrich Ernemann A.G. Company The Ernoflex (Model II) is a single-lens reflex camera with a folding structure, for cut film and glass discs, with a 9 x 12 cm format, produced in 1910–1920, by the company Heinrich Ernemann AG from Dresden (Germany). The camera body is double-folded, made entirely of metal, and covered with black leather with a decorative texture. |
“Magic Lantern” — slide projector by ICA “The magic lantern” is a slide projector made on 8 x 8 cm diaphragm glass plates, produced by the ICA company from Dresden, in the years 1909–1926. Established in 1909 from the merger of several Dresden photographic equipment factories, the large ICA (Internationale... |