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Royal Institution

(English, 1756–1827)
(English, 1769–1832)
(English, 1791–1819)
Medium/TechniqueEtching and aquatint with hand-applied watercolor
Credit LineGift of Mrs. Susan D. McKelvey
Accession number39.316
On View
Not on view
ClassificationsPrints
Description

Public lectures and demonstrations of science and "mechanics" (engineering in today’s parlance) were all the rage in rapidly industrializing Britain. Here is the library of the Royal Institution, set up in 1799 for the purpose of "diffusing the knowledge, and facilitating the general introduction, of useful mechanical inventions and improvements; and for teaching, by courses of philosophical lectures and experiments, the application of science to the common purposes of life."

ProvenanceMrs. Susan D. McKelvey, Boston, MA by whom given to MFA 2/9/1939