Mind-boggling technology from the days of yore. An amazing collection of fascinating and visually intriguing gadgets which will engage and amuse everyone. The incredible clockwork teasmade on the cover is just one of over 100 bizarre and ingenious gadgets in Maurice Collins? collection from the complexity of mechanical fruit peelers and a hand-pumped automatic shaver to the simplicity of the ?toe socks? of the 1920s which claimed to cut hosiery bills by 80%. If you thought burglar alarms were a modern invention, there is a Victorian brass clockwork one in the collection, if you?ve always found striking matches too taxing, someone in the 1920s invented an automated self-striking match box to save you the trouble. Fascinating and humorous Eccentric Contraptions will intrigue and amuse and is a testament to human ingenuity and resourcefulness.

Eccentric Contraptions: and Amazing Gadgets, Gizmos and Thingamabobs

Collins, Maurice

Kearey, Ian

Reference

David&Charles

A funny, revealing look at inventions that never caught on with the public introduces the electric comb, automatic shaving cream filler, and a cuff holder for card sharks intent on hiding an ace up their sleaves, as well as other ill-fated ideas.

Ingenious Gadgets: Guess the Obscure Purpose of Over 100 Eccentric Contraptions

Science & Math

Hundreds of 19th- and 20th-century curiosities and contraptions are catalogued in this amusing assembly of more than 1,000 images. The days from the first Great Industrial Exhibition of 1851 to the post-WWII Festival of Britain saw rapid technological advancement throughout the United Kingdom and elsewhere, and countless numbers of products, from the ingenious to the idiotic, appeared on the market. Twenty-two sections divided into time- and money-saving devices, kitchen utensils, gadgets for ladies and gentlemen, trains, bikes, autos, and many more, recall these bygone products. Some, like the moustache spoon, clearly served a need amid polite Victorian society. However, less scrupulous merchants also hawked gizmos like the nose shaper and the asthma-curing necklace. Marvel at the multitude of devices humankind has conceived, some of which could be considered forerunners of modern-day conveniences like smartphones and computers.

Bizarre & Outlandish Gadgets & Doohickeys: Used in Everyday Life-1851 to 1951

Crafts, Hobbies & Home

Antiques & Collectibles

Schiffer

Raffles

Biographies & Memoirs

Graham Brash Pte Ltd

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Collins, Maurice. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by Collins, Maurice