Science Art: Figs. 1315-1333 (Various rotary piston engines), 1890.

This is a page of figures from (deep breath) The engineer’s sketch-book of mechanical movements, devices, appliances, contrivances and details : employed in the design and construction of machinery for every purpose : classified and arranged for reference for the use of engineers, mechanical draughtsmen, managers, mechanics, inventors, patent agents, and all engaged in the mechanical arts, with nearly two thousand illustrations, descriptive notes and memoranda. I’ve posted images from there before, but this is a whole page of them because there’s something about the presentation that’s compelling. A geometry of geometries.

It’s almost like an Arts & Crafts wallpaper swatch.

The engines here are mostly rotary piston engines, with the last, Fig. 1333, being Mellor’s patent pump, which “has a rocking vane or partition, with packing device which accommodates itself to the revolving oval piston.” Some of these are different perspectives on the same mechanism; Fig 1316: “The small crescent-shaped piston revolves three times to one revolution of the three-armed piston,” or Fig. 1326, “a modification of Fig. 1323.” Fig. 1325 is simply labeled “Baker’s pressure blower.”

Each of these little shapes was thought out to solve a specific problem, and then shared in this massive compendium of cleverly conceived bits and pieces.

I found the book, with many more pages like this one, on archive.org.