Imperial Cyclopedia

[paul gough]

A few people showed an interest in the hard to get, 'The Imperial Cyclopedia of Machinery' by William Johnson, 1870, when I mentioned it previously. There is one copy available On ABEBOOKS from a US. dealer. Price seems reasonable compared to what I had to pay for mine some years ago. If you like 19th century machinery with a discourse on the steam engine and an account of screw propelling and the railways in Britain and a large number of engravings of a range of machines and engines, with descriptions, then this may satisfy. Much for the modeller to contemplate. Regards Paul Gough.

[b.lindsey]

I was thinking of snatching it up Paul, but at $802.18 the bookdealer apparently wants it more than I do   NO doubt will make a fine addition to someone's library though.

Bill

[Jo]

 

I thought I had a spare copy of Mason's "Model 4-Stroke Petrol Engines" but I have just realised that it is titled "Model Four Cycle Gasoline Engines"  . Now I will have to read it to see it is has all been translated into over the pond speak

Jo

[crueby]

I thought I had a spare copy of Mason's "Model 4-Stroke Petrol Engines" but I have just realised that it is titled "Model Four Cycle Gasoline Engines"  . Now I will have to read it to see it is has all been translated into over the pond speak

Jo

Send it over, we can help translate it back into English for you!   

[Mosey]

Have you ever thought about what it would be like if the Huguenots had prevailed? All like Louisiana?   
Mosey

[mklotz]

Have you ever thought about what it would be like if the Huguenots had prevailed?

Hearing/reading stuff like...

Where's it at?

The engine had ran real good.

It runs real smooth.

leads me to believe they did.

[gerritv]

I contacted Google Books to find out why a book published in 1870 and digitized at a University library in 2014 is not downloadable. To my amazement they responded within a few hours and said they will look into making it available if possible.

[paul gough]

I do hope you achieve success in goading Mr. Google into action. It would be great if members had reasonable access to this record of machines past. I think the price of the real item is reasonable, though I grant you not 'cheap', but wonderful things rarely are. The texture of the ink above the surface of the page, the aroma of the pages and the incredible skill and mastery from the engravers hand on metal plates make eyeing, holding and fondling this tome an experience beyond accessing information, or that sterile contemporary term, data. Regards Paul Gough.

[gerritv]

Merry Christmas, this is the link to the now publically viewable and downloadable pdf: https://books.google.ca/books?id=xlxDAQAAMAAJ.
This also serves as a reminder that Google Books does respond promptly to requests. So if you find a book there that is not downloadable but you think should be, send them an email.

Thank you Paul for the original heads up, this is a fine piece of work even as a pdf. I think however that the Plates are missing from the scan. Can you confirm that? If they are missing I will contact Google Books again :-)

Gerrit

[crueby]

All the figures on the pages are there, but it looks like the seperate plates are not.

Thanks for pursuing this!!   

[paul gough]

The Google copy is bound with sections in a different order to mine but is complete, however it lacks all the Plates, (not an uncommon experience). It is possible this is a dual Volume edition. Though I did not see any indication of this in the one shown. Dual Volumes are common in this era, (19th century), and usually consist of separate 'TEXT' and 'PLATES' volumes, (sometimes referred to as an Atlas). It would be odd if the holding library did not have it, but whether Google had it scanned is another matter. Much digitising of archives is done by contractors, some in India and elsewhere and their machines may be limited in size or they are not prepared to fumble around unfolding large illustrations. I usually use these digital archives as a 'preview' of a book for evaluation prior to purchase. It might be worth enquiring with the holding library if this volume contains the plates or whether they hold a separate Plates volume. Otherwise enquire with Google.  Another option is to check on a site that gives all the Library holdings for this title in your country, at least you might get the chance to visit and copy what you need, also check with the appropriate library whether they can make it or the parts wanted available to you over the net, or, make a copy onto a disk and have it mailed to you, (usually for a fee), British Library has this service so I expect in the U.S. there would be something similar from some institutions. About all I can suggest, other than buying a copy, but if purchasing make sure ALL the plates are intact. Regards, Paul Gough.

[paul gough]

Gerrit, Did you have any success tracing the 'missing' plates from Googles digitised 'Cyclopedia' or were you able to source it elsewhere? Regards, Paul Gough.