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Trading wind

‘Everything changes, everything progresses…’ This Gem is a trade card, a business card for companies which would have been distributed to clients and potential customers to advertise their products, services and contact details. This card was produced for the French wine company, Byrrh, probably during the 1930s. It was part of a series of trade…

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The Wing Major

‘It consists of a windmill, but one totally different in appearance and principle from all windmills known hitherto.’ This is a Ventimotor, designed by an Artillery Officer. It is a very early version of an electricity-producing wind turbine. Designed by Major Kurt Bilau, it makes use of principles from aeroplane design to produce greater centrifugal…

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Napoleon’s folly

A supposed French invasion craft designed to cross the channel during the Napoleonic Wars. In the late 1790s, Britain was gripped by the scare of an invasion by the infamous French warlord Napoleon Bonaparte. Over the channel he was amassing his forces; rumours of his conquests were rife and everyone knew he had set his…

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