Automaton swan, 1846.

Page of text with an illustration of a mechanical swan from 'A Dictionary of Arts, Manufactures and Mines' by Andrew Ure, (1846). Dr Andrew Ure (1778-1857) was a profesor of chemistry at Anderson College, Glasgow from 1804 to 1830, and became Director of Glasgow Observatory in 1809. In the 1820s and 1830s he was a research chemist for the British government, his work including analytical chemistry for the Board of Customs. Ure was a firm believer in the benefits of mechanisation in factories and a pasionate advocate of free trade, and inaugurated popular scientific lectures. He also published the 'Dictionary of Chemistry' (1821).