Antique Jamaican Sugar Mill Engineering Engraving, Bryan Edwards, 1818
Original antique technical engraving titled "Elevation & Plan of an improved Sugar Mill, by Edward Woollery Esq. of Jamaica," published in the 1818 London edition of Bryan Edwards' "History of the British West Indies."
This fascinating plate provides a detailed early 19th-century representation of the machinery used in Jamaican sugar production. The upper portion shows an elevation of the mill with its three large vertical rollers, supporting structure and gearing. Below are individual technical diagrams of the rollers, wheel, cog and other mechanical components, accompanied by an engraved explanatory key.
The plate is signed "J. Record sculp." beneath the principal illustration.
Sugar production was central to the economy of colonial Jamaica and the wider British Caribbean. Mills of this type were used to crush harvested sugar cane in order to extract the juice for subsequent processing into sugar and related products. As plantation sugar production depended upon the labor of enslaved people, the engraving is also an important material document of the technology and infrastructure of the Caribbean plantation economy.
The design is attributed in the title to Edward Woollery of Jamaica and is specifically described as an "improved Sugar Mill," illustrating contemporary efforts to increase the efficiency of sugar processing.
The engraving comes from the work of Bryan Edwards (1743–1800), the British politician, merchant, plantation owner and historian who spent considerable time in Jamaica. His extensive writings on the West Indies remain important historical sources for the economic, geographical and colonial history of the Caribbean, while reflecting the perspective of a prominent defender of the plantation system and opponent of abolition.
An unusual and highly decorative historical print, particularly suitable for collections relating to Jamaica, Caribbean history, sugar production, industrial history, engineering, agricultural technology and the history of the plantation economy.
Author: Bryan Edwards (1743–1800) Designer: Edward Woollery, Jamaica Engraver: J. Record Title: Elevation & Plan of an improved Sugar Mill Subject: Jamaican sugar mill / sugar production Technique: Engraving on paper Origin: London, England Publication: History of the British West Indies Date: 1818 Period: Early 19th Century Style: Georgian / Regency
Condition: Good antique condition with considerable age-related toning, foxing and scattered spotting throughout the sheet. Some creasing, minor edge wear and paper irregularities are visible, consistent with age and removal from the original volume. The engraved technical details remain clear and well defined. Please study the photographs carefully as they form part of the condition description.
Other maps and plates relating to Jamaica and the Caribbean from the same 1818 edition of Bryan Edwards' History of the British West Indies are also available.
An original antique engraving, more than 200 years old. Not a modern reproduction.
Sold unframed. Any framed images or interior views shown are for presentation and inspiration only.
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