These books seem to have little in common. They are both well written and deeply researched. The importance and their connections are their publication dates. The first was published in 1916, the latter in 1943 so both in wartime. The latter is part of my collection of small but beautifully written snd illustrated books on an impressively wide range of topics by Britons who knew their subjects, such as Cecil Beaton on Photography.

I always associate these periods with shortages, with people struggling to obtain the bare necessities. Such books seem frivolous, a waste of resources. But they played an important role in reminding people what they were fighting for, and what they could lose.

This leads me to the first of these, Henry Bridges Microcosm Clock, a giant automata which toured Britain, Ireland and North America to inspire research and technology, to encourage experiments and collaboration. It is hard to imagine England’s Enlightenment and Industrial Revolution without this and the many other technological displays and developments where people exchanged ideas and inspired inventions.

You can learn more in my book ‘Mr Bridges Enlightenment Machine’ available in print and ebook formats.