“Les merveilles de l’industrie, ou description des principales industries modernes“, by Louis Figuier (1873-1877).
You can find the 4 volumes online, in French: Part 1 (750 pages), Part 2 (736 pages), Part 3 (687 pages) & Part 4 (744 pages).
Beautiful engravings, a selection of which you can see on these Flickr sets: a and b.
Found on a beautiful blog: No Tech Magazine, which also links three thousand pages of 19th century technology: (paper version for € 1,248; Internet Archive has made the entire seventh edition (published in 1875) available for free: Volume 1 (A-C), Volume 2 (D-I), Volume 3 (J-Z) .)
The “Dictionary of arts, manufactures, and mines containing a clear exposition of their principles and practice” by Andrew Ure (and many others) is a 3,000 page illustrated encyclopedia packed with useful technical and statistical information relating to industrial development in the nineteenth century.
Below: salt mines in Wieliska, Poland (extra large illustration), and other engravings.
Related: Low Tech Magazine
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