“Among the many things that I showed Sir John while at Hammerfield, was a piece of white calico on which I had got printed one million spots. This was for the purpose of exhibiting one million in visible form. In astronomical subjects a million is a sort of unit, and it occurred to me to show what a million really is. Sir John was delighted and astonished at the sight. He went carefully over the outstretched piece with his rule, measured its length and breadth, and verified its correctness.”

— James Nasmyth

Source: James Nasmyth engineer, 1883, p. 389; Cited in: Humphrey Jennings, ‎Mary-Lou Jennings, ‎Charles Madge (1985). Pandaemonium, 1660-1886: The Coming of the Machine as Seen by Contemporary Observers, 1660-1886. p. 302

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James Nasmyth9

Scottish mechanical engineer and inventor 1808–1890

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