Watt is shown seated holding a pair of dividers, and a scroll of paper on his lap. It surmounts a stone pedestal. James Watt was an engineer and inventor. In the 1760s he began investigating ways to improve existing steam engines. His improvements, including the separate condenser, were commercially exploited in his partnership with Matthew Boulton. Beginning in 1774 at the famous Soho works, Birmingham, Boulton and Watt began to manufacture the engines that made the use of steam power a practical reality for many industries. Other improvements to the steam engine were made in the following years. Watt was a versatile engineer and inventor whose interest was not confined to steam engines. The design of an effective sculpture-copying machine was one of the mechanical problems that occupied him for many years.