Images

The Birth of Minerva, oil on canvas by René-Antoine Houasse, 1688. Palace of Versailles.

Vulcan's Forge, oil on panel by Cornelis Schut, between 1617 and 1655. Alte Pinakothek, Munich.

An advertisement for Goodyear rubber tyres from 1920. Vulcanised rubber was invented by Charles Goodyear (1800-60) in the United States in 1839 and patented in 1844. Rubber had long been used for its flexibility and softness but Goodyear...

The Difference Engine was invented by the Englishman Charles Babbage (1791-1871) in 1822. This example is a modern model of Babbage's Mark II, designed c. 1848. Like most other inventions of the Industrial Revolution, Babbage built on the...

The milling machine was once thought to have been invented by Eli Whitney (already famous for his cotton gin) c. 1818, but as with many other inventions of the Industrial Revolution, the truth may be more complex regarding who invented what...

Battle of Millesimo (13 April 1796) during the first weeks of Napoleon's Italian campaign, painting by Nicolas-Antoine Taunay, 1812. Palace of Versailles.

Taking prisoners in Napoleon's Italian Campaign, 1797, oil on canvas by Nicolas-Antoine Taunay, c. 1801-1824. Palace of Versailles.

Napoleon Bonaparte at the Battle of Rivoli (14 January 1797) during Napoleon's Italian Campaign, oil on canvas by Henri Félix Emmanuel Philippoteaux, 1844. Palace of Versailles.

As with many inventions during the Industrial Revolution, the papermaking machine was something of a collaborative affair. This model is of one of the early machines developed by the Frenchman Nicholas Louis Robert (1761-1828) in 1799. The...

Battle of Castiglione, 5 August 1796, during Napoleon's Italian Campaign, oil on canvas by Victor Adam, 1836. Palace of Versailles.