Skip to navigation Skip to content
Archway Bookshop
  • £0.00 0 items
  • Home
  • About Us
    • The team
    • The shop
  • Online store
  • Signed and Special Editions
  • Book stuff
    • Author Events
    • Gift cards
    • Book clubs
    • Loyalty card
  • Contact us
  • Book Subscription
    • Subscription SIGNED Hardback
    • Subscription Paperback
    • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Home
  • About Us
    • The team
    • The shop
  • Online store
  • Signed and Special Editions
  • Book stuff
    • Author Events
    • Gift cards
    • Book clubs
    • Loyalty card
  • Contact us
  • Book Subscription
    • Subscription SIGNED Hardback
    • Subscription Paperback
    • Frequently Asked Questions
Home / Childrens Non-fiction / A Compendium of Curious Contraptions

A Compendium of Curious Contraptions

Guess what some of the most unusual objects from history were used for in this book by archaeologist Anna Goldfield!

£14.99

Compare
SKU: 9781916745032 Category: Childrens Non-fiction Tags: Children's / Teenage general interest: General knowledge & trivia, Children's / Teenage general interest: Machines & how things work, Educational: Social sciences, social studies
  • Description
  • Additional information

Description

An illustrated guide to some of the most bizarre objects from history by archaeologist Anna Goldfield, including a guessing game for kids to play!

Each page contains a mystery item from the past, with a set of clues as to what it was used for. Readers can take a guess before unfolding a giant flap to reveal the answer. Without giving too much away, the book contains Inuit snow goggles, designed to protect eyes from the blinding glare of the ice, an ancient Chinese earthquake detector featuring several metal frogs, and err.. the Royal fistula – an item used to perform delicate surgery on the rear end of King Louis XIV of France.

Kids will delight in trying to work out the purpose of the beautiful objects, brought to life by Mexican illustrator Paula Zamudio, and will learn a lot about the cultures that created them – from ancient Rome to Polynesia, and Mesopotamia to Viking Scandinavia.

Additional information

Weight 0.68 kg
Dimensions 28.8 × 23.6 × 1.8 cm
Author

Goldfield, Anna

Publisher

Neon Squid

Imprint

Neon Squid

Cover

Hardback

Pages

64

Language

English

Edition
Dewey

909 (edition:23)

Readership

Children – juvenile / Code: J

Related products

  • You Can Do It

    £9.99
    Add to basket
  • The Weather Book

    £14.99
    Add to basket
  • How are babies made?

    £5.99
    Add to basket
  • The Big Book of Festivals

    £12.99
    Add to basket
Where the Dead Live Feminist History for Every Day of the Year

Visit Us

Archway Bookshop
Trinity House
Axminster
EX13 5AP

Get social with us

  • Mail
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram

Tel: 01297 33744

    Newsletter

    © Archway Bookshop 2026
    Built with WooCommerce.
    • My Account
    • Search
    • Basket 0
    You're viewing: A Compendium of Curious Contraptions £14.99
    Add to basket

    Be the first to hear about signed editions and pre-orders

    Join the Newsletter

    Select at least 2 products
    to compare

    View comparison