Collage was of crucial importance throughout Paolozzi’s career. Many of his sculptures and prints were made in a collage fashion, built up from different imprints or layers of objects and images. These collages feature illustrations of antique sculptures superimposed with machine elements taken from specialist manuals, producing a mysterious and suggestive collision of cultures and images. They date from a brief period Paolozzi spent in Hamburg, where he had been commissioned to design a fountain in 1953. The illustrations were taken from second–hand books the artist picked up while he was there.