As you might expect from its name, the "Difference Engine" is a strangely difficult object to describe. You might start by imagining the side of a large crib with uprights ringed by small metal wheels ...

Innovation stems from the minds of individuals who recognize a need and strive to develop a new way to fill it. One such innovation was the difference engine, an automatic mechanical calculator ...

The history of science and technology often features brilliant inventors whose ideas change the world forever. But every ...

Microedition produced for the Museum by Oxford Microform Publications ltd. Microfiche of Ms. Buxton 16 & 17, in Oxford University, Museum of the History of Science.