Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh is staging a new exhibition to celebrate the life of inventor James Watt.

“An original genius – James Watt and his legacy” is running in the University’s museum until January 28, 2018.

Highlights include:

  • Watt’s Patent Roller copying press, the world’s first successful letter copying machine, patented in 1780 (the press enabled Watt to keep copies of his outgoing letters without having to rewrite each one); and
  • a model depicting Watt’s improvements to Newcomen’s steam engine, made by one of the first students of the Edinburgh School of Arts, James Nasmyth, inventor of the steam hammer.

Read more on the University website 

Watt Copier
Watt’s copying machine. Picture courtesy of Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh.

 

Published by Editor