| DULCIAN | Renaissance predecessor of the modern bassoon (7) |
| EDGARALLANPOE | Whose books of the 1840s are regarded as predecessors of the modern mystery/detective story? (5,5,3) |
| VIOL | Violin's Renaissance predecessor |
| WALKMAN | Predecessor of the iPod |
| AILETTE | A small square shield, worn on the shoulders, and the prototype of the modern epaulet. (7) |
| CHARLES | In about 1840, which naturalist was the first person to add wheeled legs to a chair, the precursor of the modern office chair? (7,6) |
| SACKBUT | Baroque brass instrument which was the forerunner of the modern trombone |
| MAMMOTH | Hairy extinct relative of the modern elephant (7) |
| PARSONS | Sir Charles Algernon -; engineer whose invention of the modern steam turbine in 1884 revolutionised marine propulsion (7) |
| STANLEE | Architect of the modern comic book |
| CHEKHOV | Russian master of the modern short story |
| BOHEMIA | With a red and white flag and Prague as its capital, historical region forming part of the modern Cz |
| LEAGUEOFNATIONS | Predecessor of the UN (6,2,7) |
| ASTOR | Namesake of a predecessor of the New York Public Library |
| CACCIA | Musical instrument which was the predecessor of the cor anglais (6) |
| GAMECUBE | Nintendo's fourth home video game console that was successor to the Nintendo 64 and predecessor of the Wii |
| PSY | Predecessor of the fifth in a line of Sony video game consoles, briefly |
| OBOEDA | Musical instrument which was the predecessor of the cor anglais (4,2) |
| PS4 | Predecessor of the fifth in a line of Sony video game consoles, briefly |
| ALPENSTOCK | Long iron-tipped staff traditionally used by shepherds in the Alps, a predecessor of the ice axe (10) |
