This fan (or blower) reproduces a model designed by John Theophilus Desaguliers and presented to the Royal Society in 1734. The apparatus, like other similar ones invented in the eighteenth century, was intended to prevent the build-up of foul air or to circulate hot or cold air in hospitals, prisons, and public places.

The fan, attached to a rectangular wooden base, consists of a profiled and decorated box containing a paddle wheel activated by a handle. The air is sucked up by the moving paddles through a vertical duct leading to the wheel's center, and then expelled through the side outlet. The model provides an example of a machine that harnesses the effect of the centrifugal force. Provenance: Lorraine collections.