Keep in mind that this book 1) is paperback, 2) measures 6 1/4 inches wide by 7 1/8 inches tall, and 3) most every illustration is less than 2" square. All the illustrations are clear - printed in a grid on the left handside with a SHORT explanation of what it does on the right. The movements are described, but a lot of them leave me wondering what the heck you'd use them for in the real world. Certainly not as detailed of a book as I was expecting, but a nice LITTLE reference. On with a search for something more detailed!

The illustrations are well done, many of the mechanisms are repeated. The descriptions are dated. All in all, I would not buy this book again.

What more can be said about this essential book for all gizmologists? This is a great book just to get the brain working.

This is a great collection of mechanisms for the curious. There is no kinematic, static or dynamic analysis; nor is it a source book for contemporary mechanism design. Instead there is an inspiring collection of mechanical innovation from the boom era of mechanical design.

I have seen far, far, larger collections (well over 5,000 items) in academic treatises and a modern mechanism sourcebook may be more useful to the busy mechanical inventor - but there is still a lot of value in having this gem to hand.

Dover has again produced a clear (though small) and robust paperback version of an old classic at a very attractive price.

well... it is what it says it is. I was under-whelmed. This is just a reprinting of old old patent drawings with very incomplete descriptions of the mechanisms described. In fact all of this is duplicated in "1800 Mechanical Movements Devices and Appliances" down to the word for word copy of the descriptions.
Most of the diagrams are self explanatory; of those that aren't, very brief 1902 style descriptions which are probably abridged versions of the original patent application are only a little helpful. The rest (about 15 percent) still don't make sense.
I was disappointed and I only paid 5 dollars for it.

This book is very brief on the explanations of each mechanism. They are basically 4 to 6 small mechanisms in 2D per page with their explanation in the opposite page, so expect the small print.

You have to imagine how they work which forces you to use some imagination. It is a good book for a 3D brain workout.