His invented lathes are showcased in the Hermitage, and the technologies are still in use today
A comrade of Peter the Great and a companion of Lomonosov, Andrei Konstantinovich Nartov created numerous lathes and mechanisms. For a long time, he was merely considered a “court turner.” However, thorough examination of ancient documents revealed that Nartov was a great Russian scientist and engineer, far ahead of his time.
Known and Unknown
In the Hermitage, one can see Nartov’s lathes—with twisted legs, adorned with veneers and patterns in the style of Russian baroque. They are so beautiful that they seem ill-suited for serious tasks. Yet, these inventions significantly facilitated industrial activities, allowing the Russian Empire to make breakthroughs in many sectors.
Information about Nartov is contradictory. The date of his birth—March 28, 1680—is almost universally accepted. However, in later research, other dates are mentioned.
For example, in the 1950s, Doctor of Technical Sciences and academician Viktor Danilevsky discovered a personal note by Nartov dated March 5, 1754: “And by birth I, Andrei Konstantinov, son of Nartov, am sixty-one years old.” According to this admission, which coincides with his curriculum vitae, he was born in 1693.
During his lifetime, the great inventor was mentioned in the “St. Petersburg Gazette” only twice: in 1730, it was reported that his lathes were shown to the heir to the Portuguese throne, and in 1746, he was awarded for an invention for artillery.
After Nartov’s death, the first mention of him in print was not a mourning for Russia’s greatest loss but an announcement of the sale of his property. Since the man who made grand discoveries left behind debts—he spent money not on luxury and revelry, but on purchasing materials necessary for work, tools, and paying his assistants.
However, as often happens, with Peter’s passing, he almost immediately fell into obscurity as just a “court turner.”
Lathe and copying machine A.K. Nartov in the Russian Baroque style (left), 1712 and the Large lathe and copying machine A.K. Nartov in the style of Peter the Great’s Baroque (right), 1718-1729. / Photo: Yandex
Fitting into Reforms
It was Peter who discovered Nartov for Russia, possessing a keen eye and spotting talented individuals from any social class. The gifted turner was noticed by the sovereign at the Navigation School. Some sources claim that Nartov studied there. However, his name is not mentioned in the school’s lists. Yet, there was a turning workshop in the same building—where Nartov spent his time. He was not the only turner there, but undoubtedly talented, catching Peter’s attention. Later, the emperor even became the godfather of this talented individual.
After the master who supervised the turning workshop in St. Petersburg died in 1712, the lathes were entrusted to Nartov for safekeeping. In this turning shop, the young man proved himself as an outstanding mechanic and creator of new machines.
His talent came in handy: Peter was carrying out economic reforms in the country, the Russian fleet was being built in shipyards, metallurgical plants were being put into operation, and new enterprises were being established everywhere. St. Petersburg was developing, and in 1712, Nartov moved there from Moscow, becoming not just a favorite mechanic but also one of the closest people to the tsar.
Peter often visited the turning shop, where Nartov “taught the sovereign to turn.” It was also a place for meetings and conversations between the tsar and representatives of advanced technical thought—shipbuilders, architects, builders. Diplomats, commanders, Russian and foreign specialists also visited the workshop, and the conversations Peter had with them also taught Nartov a lot, expanding his knowledge and life experience.
The tsar often took him on trips to industrial enterprises, where Andrei Konstantinovich could familiarize himself with technological processes and equipment. In addition, he read a lot of specialized literature on shipbuilding, military engineering, artillery, and architecture. All this knowledge became the basis for his future inventions.
The Lathe with a “Holder”
In 1712, while working on the creation of a lathe-copying machine, Nartov invented a structural unit that revolutionized engineering. He called this unit the “holder.” The operating principle of the holder, now known as the toolpost, has remained unchanged to this day: to cut metal, the tool needed to be firmly secured, and then the workpiece on the lathe was moved not manually, but with the help of an “iron hand” holding the tool. Securely and safely.
The search for such solutions in turning techniques, where a manual tool is replaced by a mechanical device, became Nartov’s main task. He aimed to create ever more sophisticated tool holders so that the worker could produce any, even the most complex and delicate parts.
For example, this became possible when he invented and built the “rose machine”—a lathe for cutting intricate patterns (called “roses”) on convex surfaces. A curious mind and lively thought prompted him to invent ever more sophisticated lathe designs or individual units, develop new tools, and introduce new technological processes. In total, Andrei Nartov invented 30 different lathes, which amazed the whole of Western Europe.
Exhibition of machine tools in the Peter the Great Gallery, Hermitage / Photo: Official channel of the State Hermitage on Telegram
Bureaucratic Diplomacy
In his homeland, he was practically forgotten after the death of Peter I. In fact, even during his lifetime, Nartov was not highly esteemed by those who perhaps envied the genuine affection the tsar had for his godson. These individuals went to great lengths to prove their own significance and loyalty to Peter, downplaying the inventor’s merits.
In any case, Nartov’s foreign trip, which Peter sent him on in 1718, attests to this. Nartov visited Berlin, London, and Paris, touring arsenals, mints, factories, and conversing with craftsmen, seeking to learn production secrets, enrich himself with new knowledge, and observe local inventions. He also demonstrated his lathe, showing how to operate it.
The Russian ambassador in the Netherlands, Kurakin, through whom communication with Russia was conducted, was in no hurry to send Nartov’s drawings back home or to send him funds for support. Meanwhile, Andrei Konstantinovich fell seriously ill in England and spent a considerable sum on treatment. He also bought books and tools for Peter with his own money. Kurakin “failed to notice” these expenses for a long time and did not respond to letters.
Everything changed in the spring of 1720 after Nartov reported that, by a secondary order from Peter I, he was instructed to conclude matters in France and return to Russia. Kurakin immediately engaged in active correspondence, promptly sent money, and reproached Nartov for being responsible for delaying funding.
Bureaucratic diplomacy hindered Nartov’s movements at every turn; however, the trip proved fruitful for the inventor. From France, he brought back a certificate for his work in mathematics and mechanics, signed by the president of the Paris Academy of Sciences. As if in return, Nartov left his lathe there as a gift, on which he had carved three medals with portraits. Today, it is kept in the National Repository of Arts and Crafts in Paris.
Serving Russia
Nartov dreamed of creating an Academy of Various Arts—he submitted this project to Peter in December 1724. In Nartov’s vision, the arts primarily meant technical skills. This scientific center was supposed to provide education in 24 specialties. However, despite the tsar’s approval, this project was not realized.
After Peter I’s death, the court mechanic was estranged from the court. Nartov fell into dire straits. But he did not give up. In 1735, he finally established the first academic special organization—the Laboratory of Mechanical and Instrumental Sciences. He fought against adversaries and preserved the base for the laboratory—the Peter’s lathe with its machines. He made any sacrifice to ensure its operation. But that came later.
Meanwhile, from April 1727, Nartov and his assistants stopped receiving salaries. No noblemen were interested in how the inventor made a living. And even when he again found himself in need, no one rushed to support him.
In the same year, closer to December, Andrei Konstantinovich was sent to Moscow: he was to mint two million rubles. He had no fur coat, no sleighs, and no means for food on the way. And yet, he went there to literally make money for the state!
Nartov was not bad at work. He created and put into operation many new machines for coin mints and simultaneously taught mechanical sciences to students who came with him to Moscow.
Portrait of A.K. Nartova. Unknown artist of the mid-18th century. Based on a lifetime portrait by I.N. Nikitina. State Hermitage / Photo: ru.wikipedia.org
Nartov’s talent and energy found application in artillery technology, the inception of metrology, the development of scientific principles for creating a nationwide standard weight, work on hydraulic structures, and the training of specialists. While serving in the Academy of Sciences, he, as a true patriot, fought against the dominance of foreigners in Russian science, supported Lomonosov, who also faced difficulties during the years of Russian authorities’ admiration for the West. A statesman by his worldview, Andrei Konstantinovich Nartov proved throughout his life that he always served the Russian people and Russia.
Honour and Glory
He left behind several books. One of them, “Memorable Narratives and Speeches of Peter the Great,” provides insight not only into Nartov’s beloved godfather but primarily into the great statesman of Russia, as well as into Peter the Great’s entourage and the life of that time. The other, “Clear Sight of Machines,” is a profound work with numerous meticulously drawn diagrams, addressed not only to contemporaries but also to future generations—people of the future, whom the greatest inventor, engineer, scientist, and humanist so clearly envisioned.
Andrei Konstantinovich Nartov died in 1756 in St. Petersburg. Over time, traces of his grave were lost. But in 1950, unusual excavations took place near the former Annunciation Church on Vasilievsky Island in what was then Leningrad. Thanks to extensive research, Nartov’s tomb was discovered.
When the layer of soil was removed, a granite slab with an inscription was revealed: “Here lies the body of State Councillor Andrei Konstantinovich Nartov, who served with honour and glory to the sovereigns Peter the Great, Catherine the Great, Peter II, Anna Ioannovna, Elizabeth Petrovna, and rendered many important services to the Fatherland…”
On the same day, the tombstone and the preserved remains were moved to the Alexander Nevsky Lavra and reburied next to Lomonosov’s grave. Nearly two hundred years later, two Russian geniuses were reunited once again.
By Marina Parenskaya