Historical Mining Techniques

Woodcut illustrations depict early mining processes, showcasing stamping and grinding mills powered by water wheels during ore processing.

Wood lathe using spring bow and device for eccenric turning. Engraving, 1593.

Ore which has been broken up in a stamping mill being reduced further by passing through a grinding mill. The mill is driven by a water wheel, out of the picture to right, through axle, A. Told and tin ore were treated in this way. From 'De re metallica', by Agricola, pseudonym of Georg Bauer (Basle, 1556). Woodcut

Pumping water by air pressure provided by bellows

George Agricola (1494-1555) . Book De Re Metallica, 1556. Book VIII. Methods of smelting ores. A. Furnaces. B. Forehearths. Author: George Agricola. Basilius Weffring.

Ore which has been broken up in a stamping mill being reduced further by passing through a grinding mill. The mill is driven by a water wheel, out of the picture to right, through axle, A. Told and tin ore were treated in this way. From De re metallica by Agricola, pseudonym of Georg Bauer (Basle

Industry and Idleness: The Fellow Prentices at their Looms, 1747. William Hogarth (British, 1697-1764). Etching;

Two men are working at looms as a man with a large stick looks around the door to see if they are working. Engraving by William Hogarth after himself.

Wood lathe using spring bow and device for eccenric turning. Engraving, 1593.

A rag-and-chain pump powered by an overshot water wheel being used to drain a mine. On the right is a detail of the tube of the pump. From 'De re metallica', by Agricola, pseudonym of Georg Bauer (Basle, 1556). Woodcut.

Man smoking a pipe while transferring threads from bobbins to the warping frame. Engraving after Nicolas Chodowieki (1726-1801) 'the Hogarth of Germany'.

The Spur Maker. Craftsman talks to customer while continuing to file a spur which is held in a vice. Behind him in his workshop a fire is burning in the furnace where he heats metal before shaping it on anvil in centre. On workbench and hanging above him

Textiles: tapestry weaving, a man working at a loom (top), details (below). Engraving by R. Benard after Radel.

View from the street into the workshop of a gunsmith around the year 1500, facsimile of the woodcut by Hans Burgkmair, Germany, digitally restored rep...

A Cooper's workshop. Date: 1568

Interior of a printing company, Reinier Vinkeles (I), 1751 - 1816 print Interior of a printing company with a printing press in the middle. On the right, a man wipes a plate clean. The already printed paper is drying. Amsterdam paper etching / engraving printing press. printing press (+ in workshop, laboratory)

Draining mine workings by means of a battery of three pumps. The axle, B, is powered by an overshot water wheel. The cams on the axle raise and lower the piston rods by means of tappets. C is the bottom of the pipe which is encased in the basket, D. From De re metallica, by Agricola, pseudonym of Ge

A printer's workshop: on the left a printing press, on the right and centre workmen engaged in various tasks, the scene numbered for a key. Engraving after L.J. Goussier.

William Hogarth, Industry and Idleness 1: The Fellow 'Prentices at their Looms, 1747, etching and engraving on paper.

Various stages in the process of candle making and machinery used. Engraving.

'Interior of a Weaver's Workshop', 1747, (1925). Creator: William Hogarth.

A blacksmith's forge: interior view and utensils used. Etching by R. Bénard after Harguinier.

Rolling mill and forge powered by hot gases from furnace M. Idea proposed by Giovanni Branca in 'Le Machine' Rome 1629. Woodcut.

Draining mine workings with a bank of three suction pumps. As the men turn the shaft the cams, B, connect with tappets. A, on the piston rods, C. From 'De re metallica', by Agricola, pseudonym of Georg Bauer (Basle, 1556). Woodcut.

Draining a mine using a duplex suction pump. The box ABCD, shown in detail on the right, contained the crank which operated the piston. From De re metallica, by Agricola, pseudonym of Georg Bauer (Basle, 1556). Woodcut.

Plate 1 ñ The Fellow 'Prentices at their Looms by William Hogarth (1697 ñ 1764). English painter, printmaker, pictorial satirist. Plate 6 of the series, Industry and Idleness, showing the final reward of idleness. 1747

William Hogarth, The Fellow 'Prentices at Their Looms, 1747 The Fellow 'Prentices at Their Looms

Mechanical blacksmiths by HERO OF ALEXANDRIA.

George Agricola (1494-1555) . Book De Re Metallica, 1556. Book VIII. Extract the metals. Engraving by Basilius Weffring. A.Pipe. B.Cross launder. C.Small troughs. D.Head of the buddle. E.Wooden scrubber. F.Dividing boards. G.Short strake.

An engraving depicting a horse-powered mill used for shaving 60 men at a time. Dated 18th century

People dipping sheep in the river and shearing them in the field, then washing, beating and combing the wool. Engraving.

Umbrella makers: view of the workshop, and tools of the trade. Etching.

Hemp industry and rope shop, ca. 1600, 1608 print Hemp industry and rope shop, ca. 1600. On the right, bundles of hemp are unloaded and towed. On the left the hemp is beaten and spun. In the background the Lijnbaan of the rope shop. No. 5 from series professions in Noord-Holland. Northern Netherlands paper etching crafts and industries (+ fibre ~ crafts, industries, agriculture). ropery, rope-walk North Holland

Engraving depicting workmen driving the tunnel for the Central London Electric Railway. The insert picture depicts the air-lock.

Crushing gold bearing ores in mills similar in principle to flour mills, 1556. Artist: Unknown

Cork cutters: interior view and various cutting tools used in the manufacture of corks. Etching by Defehrt.

Illustration showing Draining mine workings with bank of three suction pumps. As men turn the shaft the cams, B, connect with the tappets, A, on piston rods. From Agricola 'De re metallica', Basle, 1556.

The smelting of ores, gold, silver, copper or lead. Workman beating clay to make lute with which to line furnace before smelting. Basle, 1556.

Fig. CXXXVII. Haustrum, per utres., 1662., Coloniæ Agrippinæ. Publisher, Sumptibus Pauli Principis, Technempolæi Noribergici. Subjects include mechanical engineering, machinery, mills and mill-work, oxen, waterwheels, pipes (conduits), troughs, and engravings

Crane for lifting cakes of copper/lead alloy from moulds. From Agricolla's De re Metallica, 1556

Print printing company, Abraham Bosse, 1642 print Pressing etching is demonstrated in the workplace. The printer in the background rubs the ink on the plate. The man in front of the workbench 'turns the plate' with the palm of his hand. The clean plate, on which the ink is now only in the fine grooves, is printed on the etchers. Paris paper etching printing, printing office. persons ~ printing. printing press. tools, implements of printer

Dutch villagers in the early 17th century working at the town industry of rope making from locally grown hemp. After a print by Claes Jansz Visscher (II).

Smelting of ores (gold, silver, copper and lead). Workman beats clay to make lute to line furnace. On floor are various tools needed during process. From Agricola 'De re metallica', Basel 1556

Medieval illustration depicting early textile machines. Dated 16th Century

Watermolen, Philips Galle (attributed to workshop or), After Jan van der Straet, 1589 - 1593 print Corns are brought in bags to a water mill and processed for flour. That flour is then measured with a scale. In the background a river with different water mills. The print has a Latin caption and is part of a nineteen -part series about new inventions and discoveries. print maker: Antwerpafter design by: Florencepublisher: Antwerp paper engraving watermill. ass, donkey. invention, discovery ~ science and technology. flour. river. watermill in landscape

Northern Netherlands, Visscher, Claes Jansz. (II), Occupations in North Holland, Flax Industry, ca. 1600, ca. 1600. On the right, bundles of flax are unloaded and hoisted. On the left, the flax or hemp is beaten and spun. In the background, a ropewalk, rope-making shop. No. 5 from a series of occupations in North Holland., print, prints, Frederik Muller Historieplaten, height 103 mm, width 155 mm, Noord-Nederlands, 1586 - 1652-06-19, print maker, printmaker, 1608 - 1608, first quarter 17th century, paper, papier, etching, etchings

Doekscheerders, Jan Gillisz. van Vliet, 1635 print Two cloth or drying shearers in a workshop. The men shave cloth (woolen fabric) to smooth it. In the background instruments with spines of a teasel, with which the tissue was carded or roughened. Leiden paper etching fulling ~ cloth finishing. special processes for woollen fabric. textile fabric, cloth

Fig. CXXXVI. Haustrum, per capsulas., 1662., Coloniæ Agrippinæ. Publisher, Sumptibus Pauli Principis, Technempolæi Noribergici. Mechanical engineering, machinery, mills and mill-work, hydraulic facilities, pulleys, gearing, engravings

Engraving depicting the raising of a large piece of timber using a rope and pulley, and a man-powered windlass with tooth and pinion and crown and pinion. Dated 17th century

Cooper; Professions. Two men are busy making tons in a workshop.

Locksmiths, Jan Gillisz. van Vliet, 1635 print Two locksmiths at work in a workshop. Leiden paper etching lock-smith. tools, aids, implements ~ crafts and industries: tongs. tools, aids, implements ~ crafts and industries: file. tools, aids, implements ~ crafts and industries: hammer

industry, metal, smelting, copper engraving to the ""Cosmographia"" of Sebastian Muenster, Basel, 1552, metal processing, metal, workers, ore digestion, metallurgy, Germany, Switzerland, 16th century,

Fabel of the blacksmith and the dog. A blacksmith in his Smidse. He beats a hammer on an anvil. On the right under a table a sleeping dog. The fable describes how the blacksmith complains because his dog is only sleeping and still fed every day, while the blacksmith himself must work day and night to survive. The moral of the story shows that beggars are exploiters.

A cloth weaving mill in the middle of the 18th century in England, historic drawing by William Hogarth, 1697 - 1764, a sociocritical English painter and graphic artist

Lettergieterij, Reinier Vinkeles (I), After Jacobus Buys, 1766 print In a letter foundry, six men's lead letters are manufacturing. In the foreground, two men pour lead into a mold. The lead is heated in the background. Amsterdam paper etching / engraving printing, printing office. publishing, publisher (+ in workshop, laboratory)

Hand-operated pump on an early English fire engine. Black and White Illustration;

A brickmaker making bricks: others carry them away in wheelbarrows to be fired in a kiln. Woodcut.

Lesson in the workshop of the blacksmith, Daniel Nikolaus Chodowiecki, 1791 print Berlin paper etching Utopia. smith, blacksmith. tools, aids, implements ~ crafts and industries: hammer. education

Mule-spinning: Spinning shed equipped with self-acting mules of the type devised by Richard Roberts in 1825. Engraving, London, 1845.

Various processes in the manufacture of silk.

Blast furnace for smelting iron ore. From Agricola 'De re Metallica', Basle, 1556. Woodcut

A woodcut engraving depicting a carpenter making a stamping mill. A, stamp, B, stem, H, cam-shaft, I, cam. Dated 16th century

An engraving depicting the Bessemer process for the mass production of steel from molten pig iron before the development of the open hearth furnace. Named after Henry Bessemer (1813-1898) an English inventor. Dated 19th century

industry printshop copper engraving by Theodor Galle after Johannes Stradanus Netherlands late 16th century,

Starch manufacture: (a) process of washing and drying (b) plan and elevation of a furnace used. Etching by Antonio Baratti.

Old 17th century engraving showing female workers operating reeling machine in spinning mill

Printing industry: Stanhope press; composing stick; stereotype casting box and moulding frame; papermaking machinery; compositor at work.. Knight, Charles, 1791-1873. Prints, Illustrations. 1858. Science, Industry and Business Library: General Collection. Art, Industrial arts, Printing presses, Typesetting, Composing stick, Papermaking machinery

De Re Metallica Plate 9: Making Pipes, Mining - De Re Metallic

Man saws wood together with a boy in a carpenter's workshop, Jan Luyken, 1689 print Amsterdam paper etching carpenter. tools, aids, implements ~ crafts and industries: saw

Overshot water wheel turning the cam-shaft of a stamping mill being used to turn the crush ore to begin the process of extracting metal from the ore won from a mine. From De re metallica, by Agricola, pseudonym of Georg Bauer (Basle, 1556). Woodcut

mining mine well winder woodcut from ""Vom Bergwerk"" (About the Mine) by Georg Agricola 1557,

Two men on a machine for grinding mirrors, Frans de Bakker, 1747 print Print from a series with performances of different crafts. Amsterdam paper etching handicrafts ~ glass

Hay wagon / bleaching of linen / beer vessels / Simson releases the foxes with burning torches. Four performances. Top left: a hay wagon pulled by three horses. At the top right people at work on a meadow, on which linen is bleached. Bottom left: a storage with beer vessels. A man tapped from a barrel under the watchful eye of two other men. At the bottom right: Simson binds a torch on the tails of two foxes. He controls the grain field of the Philistines so that the field flies in fire.

Sugar factory and plantation in the West Indies. Copperplate engraving from Allain Manesson Mallet Description de l'Univers ƒ Frankfurt-am-Main 1686. Cane crushed in horse or mule-powered mill with vertical rollers, centre left, juice gravity-fed to tanks by boiling house. Engraving.

Two men look at how a large beam is cut down; The saw.

Industry and Idleness The fellow prentices at their looms From the original design by Hogarth from The Works of Hogarth published London 1833, Historic, digitally restored reproduction from a 19th century original, Record date not stated

Iron trigger in large furnaces. T. .

A rag-and-chain pump powered by an overshot water wheel being used to drain a mine. On the right is a detail of the tube of the pump. From De re metallica, by Agricola, pseudonym of Georg Bauer (Basle, 1556). Woodcut

A Dutch potter turns a pot on his wheel in his country workshop Date: 17th century

Fig. XX. Hippomylos, 1662, 1662, Coloniæ Agrippinæ, Publisher, Sumptibus Pauli Principis, Technempolæi Noribergici. Depicts mechanical engineering, machinery, mills and mill-work, millstones, and gears related to the flour and meal industry, accompanied by engravings

Illustration showing Road menders at work. From Rural Scenes, Harvey & Darton, London, 1825

Dyeing a length of cloth in a vat. Engraving from Encyclopedie, Paris, 1851-1780.

Interior of a mid-18th century candle maker's workshop. Bleaching process. The Encyclopédie by Diderot and d'Alembert. Engraving. Later colouration.

Mine being drained by a rag-and-chain pump powered by overshot water wheel. At right is detail of section of pipe K. From Agricola 'De re metallica', Basle, 1556.

Smelting of copper: making liquation cakes by reducing copper in furnaces and alloying with lead. 1683 English edition of Lazarus Ercker 'Beschreibung allerfurnemisten mineralischen Ertzt und Berckwercksarten' 1580. Copperplate engraving.

Plate VIII, from Theatrum instrumentorum et machinarum, Julio Paschale, Woodcut on paper, Man at right working on a wood turning lathe. Treadle on floor connected by rope to string of a bow, upper left, on ceiling. On shelf, upper right, more spools for turning. Grinding pieces with blades on wall. Man holds a section of a bow. Description in Latin on verso of 1949-152-205., Europe, 1582, Print, Print

Buyers' bearing; Professions. Two buyers bearings in a workshop; One of them harms on a tub, the other cuts a copper plate.

Ploughing and harrowing with horses and sowing seed broadcast. In background is a postmill for grinding corn. From French 'La Nouvelle Maison Rustique' 8th edition Paris 1762. Copperplate engraving.

Cooper in apron hammering a metal hoop on a hogshead barrel with a mallet in a workshop. Hoops, saws, spoke-shave, stock and bit, adze and auger on the walls, wooden planks on the floor. Woodblock engraving from The Book of English Trades, or Library of Useful Arts, F.C.& J. Rivington, London, 1821.

Pin-makers manufacturing pins in a workhouse. A woman in bonnet and fichu uses a foot-powered machine to cut wire into pins, while a man draws wire on a frame. Woodblock engraving from The Book of English Trades, or Library of Useful Arts, F.C.& J. Rivington, London, 1821.

the herring fishery in Holland. Packing and trade increased continuously in the 17th century

Brewery in northern Germany (barrels are filled with beer then transported by barge), 17th century German engraving

Stone Mason, European Trades - 1820

A stoneworker working with hammer and chisel. Date: 17th century

Knife cutter at work at a shoemaker, Adriaen van Ostade, 1669 - 1673 print A knife grinder grinds the tools of a shoemaker who is in his small workshop in front of a house. Haarlem paper etching sharpening, grinding (industrial processes). tools, aids, implements ~ crafts and industries: grindstone. male sex; man. shoe-maker, cobbler

A cooper's workshop: two men and a boy are using knives and a spokeshave to make hoops fit around the staves of a barrel, other men outside are hammering on lids, some tools of their trade are hanging on the walls. Coloured etching.

Ploughing with oxen, sowing seed broadcast and harrowing. In background agricultural tools are being made from wood. From 18th century edition of Virgil 'Georgics' which followed the agricultural traditions set down in Roman times by Virgil. Copperplate engraving.

Surgical instrument-makers producing items in their workshop. Etching, 17--

William Hincks, 1752-1797, Plate VII: representing Winding, Warping with a new improved Warping Mill, and Weaving, 1791. Stipple engraving.

Seated farmer with pipe for a steaming boiler; Farmers. .

Indian agriculture: drawing water for crops. Gouache drawing.

Coal miners, carrying their safety lamps, being lowered down the pit shaft on a chain with stirrups attached. The man the bottom has lost his grip and is in danger of plunging to his death. By the middle of the 19th century this method of descending mines was abandoned except in a few very shallow pits From 'Underground Life; or, Mines and Miners' by Louis Simonin (London, 1869). Wood engraving.

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