Brunel's despatch case

This despatch case belonged to the incredible British engineer Isambard Kingdom Brunel. He is best known for the creation of the Great Western Railway, a series of famous steamships, including the first propeller-driven transatlantic steamship, and numerous important bridges and tunnels. His designs revolutionised public transport and modern engineering. The case now lives aboard one of Brunel's masterpieces, the ss Great Britain, at its home in Bristol. This uniquely successful ship design brought together new technologies in a way which transformed world travel. It was launched in 1843. She was immediately successful - on her maiden voyage across the Atlantic the ss Great Britain easily broke the previous speed record. Although effectively a prototype, she continued sailing until 1886, and travelled thirty-two times around the world and nearly one million miles at sea.