Machinery and Mechanical Devices: A Treasury of Nineteenth-Century Cuts

by William Rowe

Book Overview

Bizarre tableaux featuring amalgams of vintage machines, contraptions, and gizmos of the 19th century.?Hundreds of exotic illustrations. This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0486254453
• ISBN13: 9780486254456
• Release Date: August 1987
• Publisher: Dover Publications
• Length: 64 Pages
• Weight: 0.55 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.2" x 9.3" x 12.2"

Customer Reviews

Fanciful wit and dark humor make this book a masterpiece.

Machinery and Mechanical Devices, isn't just a clip-art book. This sixty-page presentation of copyright free illustrations from the 1800's is a humorous personal expression of the wonderment and fear associated with functionally obscure mechanical devices. Unlike other clip-art books which present the material as individual objects separated by a lot of white space, this book is brought to much higher levels of interest. The way Rowe does this is by creating collages of illustrations on each page - not simply displaying them piece-by-piece. He even goes so far as to make up names for many of his concoctions, and adds other details such as twinkling stars and abstract patterns. The result is a highly entertaining picture book useful not only for the art it displays, but also as a catalog of visual and humorous ideas. Enjoy!