Measuring & Mapping

Where, how far, and how much? People have invented an astonishing array of devices to answer seemingly simple questions like these. Measuring and mapping objects in the Museum's collections include the instruments of the famous—Thomas Jefferson's thermometer and a pocket compass used by Meriwether Lewis and William Clark on their expedition across the American West. A timing device was part of the pioneering motion studies of Eadweard Muybridge in the late 1800s. Time measurement is represented in clocks from simple sundials to precise chronometers for mapping, surveying, and finding longitude. Everyday objects tell part of the story, too, from tape measures and electrical meters to more than 300 scales to measure food and drink. Maps of many kinds fill out the collections, from railroad surveys to star charts.

This is a short-stem instrument designed for industrial use. The brass V-shaped case is marked “Tycos” at top, and “Taylor / Instrument / Co.” at bottom.
Description
This is a short-stem instrument designed for industrial use. The brass V-shaped case is marked “Tycos” at top, and “Taylor / Instrument / Co.” at bottom. The black housing around the mercury-in-glass thermometer with a milk glass tube has a scale from 32 to 240 degrees Fahrenheit, and is marked “Tycos / ROCHESTER / N.Y. U.S.A.”
Hohmann & Maurer had been making instruments of this sort since the mid-1880s, and continued doing so after being bought out by Taylor Bros. in 1896. This example was made after 1908 when the Taylor Instrument Co. introduced the Tycos trade mark and dropped the Hohmann & Maurer signature and trade mark. It came to the Smithsonian in 1923.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1923
maker
Taylor Instrument Co.
ID Number
PH.308162
catalog number
308162
accession number
70532
Like the thermometer introduced by James Six in England in 1782, this example has a U-shaped glass tube filled with alcohol and mercury. The tube has a milk-white back, and reads from -40 to +110 Fahrenheit on either side.
Description
Like the thermometer introduced by James Six in England in 1782, this example has a U-shaped glass tube filled with alcohol and mercury. The tube has a milk-white back, and reads from -40 to +110 Fahrenheit on either side. Its two ends are bent at right angles so that their cylindrical bulbs protrude out the back of the supporting black metal plate. This plate is marked, at top, “U.S. / WEATHER BUREAU / No 32” and in the middle “Taylor Instrument Companies / ROCHESTER, N.Y.” It is also marked “Tycos” with a flag announcing the company logo, “ACCURATUS TB.”
The Weather Bureau began building kiosks in 1909, equipping them with meteorological instruments, and placing them around the country where they would be seen by citizens. This thermometer was designed for that purpose, and probably was not available commercially .
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1910
maker
Taylor Instrument Co.
ID Number
PH.314533
catalog number
314533
accession number
204612
Mercury-in-glass thermometer with a milk white tube. The supporting brass plate reads, at top, “WILLIAMS, BROWN / & EARLE / PHILADELPHIA, PA.” and at bottom “Chas. Wilder Co.
Description
Mercury-in-glass thermometer with a milk white tube. The supporting brass plate reads, at top, “WILLIAMS, BROWN / & EARLE / PHILADELPHIA, PA.” and at bottom “Chas. Wilder Co. / Troy, N.Y.” It is graduated from -32 to +120 degrees, with indications for “FREEZ/ING,” “TEMPE/RATE,” “SUMR/HEAT,” and “BLOOD/HEAT.” Williams, Brown & Earle manufactured and marketed mathematical and optical instruments. The Chas. Wilder Co., which had long been manufacturing thermometers in New Hampshire, was acquired by W. & L. E. Gurley in 1905 and moved to Troy, New York.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
after 1905
ID Number
PH.293320.3075
accession number
293320
catalog number
293320.3075
This mercury-in-glass thermometer has a bend in the stem that accommodates a rolled piece of paper on which is written, in ink: “Thermometer nach Réaumur & Fahrenheit.” The left side of the scale extends from -32 to +55, graduated by degrees Réaumur, with “E.P.” (German for ice p
Description
This mercury-in-glass thermometer has a bend in the stem that accommodates a rolled piece of paper on which is written, in ink: “Thermometer nach Réaumur & Fahrenheit.” The left side of the scale extends from -32 to +55, graduated by degrees Réaumur, with “E.P.” (German for ice point) at zero; the right side extends from -40 to +150, graduated every two degrees Fahrenheit. The whole is enclosed in an outer glass casing.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1800-1850
ID Number
PH.316459
catalog number
316459
accession number
223721
In the late 18th century, scientists set out to determine the intensity of solar radiation overall, as well as the intensity of radiation in different parts of the spectrum.
Description
In the late 18th century, scientists set out to determine the intensity of solar radiation overall, as well as the intensity of radiation in different parts of the spectrum. In time they learned that the temperature of a black object was related to the intensity of the incident radiation and the movement of the ambient air. Negretti & Zambra’s solar radiation thermometer, the first commercial instrument suitable for this purpose, was unveiled in 1864. It had a blackened bulb, and was encased in a second glass tube from which the air had been evaporated. James J. Hicks obtained a British patent for a method of testing the vacuum of a solar thermometer in 1873, and described his solar radiation thermometer at a meeting of the British Meteorological Society in early 1874.
This example consists of a mercury-in-glass thermometer with a constriction in the stem just above the spherical bulb. The white enamel back of the stem is marked "202" and "J. Hicks. 8 Hatton Garn. London" and "Hicks's Patent No. 3647" and "14951" with the K/O monogram of the Kew Observatory. The clear front is graduated every degree F. from -5 to +192. This thermometer is encased in a glass jacket from which the air has been evacuated. The jacked is provided with two platinum electrodes that can be connected to a spark coil so that the vacuum can be checked, a feature described in Hicks' 1873 patent. It was made after the issuance of Hicks' patent in 1873 and before the expansion of his business to 8, 9, & 10 Hatton Garden in the 1880s.
Ref.: W. E. K. Middleton, A History of the Thermometer (Baltimore, 1966), pp. 162-164.
James J. Hicks, Illustrated and Descriptive Catalogue of Standard, Self-Recording, and Other Meteorological Instruments (London, n.d.), pp. 60-61.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1873-1885
maker
J. J. Hicks
ID Number
PH.314560
accession number
204612
catalog number
314560
This is a mercury-in-glass thermometer with a mile-white back that reads from -40 to +110 degrees Fahrenheit. Its lower part is bent so that the cylindrical bulb protrudes out the back of the supporting black metal plate. This plate is marked, at top, “U.S.
Description
This is a mercury-in-glass thermometer with a mile-white back that reads from -40 to +110 degrees Fahrenheit. Its lower part is bent so that the cylindrical bulb protrudes out the back of the supporting black metal plate. This plate is marked, at top, “U.S. / WEATHER BUREAU / No 2” and in the middle “Taylor Instrument Companies / ROCHESTER, N.Y.” It is also marked “Tycos” with a flag announcing the company logo, “ACCURATUS TB.”
The Weather Bureau began building kiosks in 1909, equipping them with meteorological instruments, and placing them around the country where they would be seen by citizens. This thermometer was designed for that purpose, and probably was not available commercially.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1910
maker
Taylor Instrument Co.
ID Number
PH.314534
catalog number
314534
accession number
204612
This is a glass thermometer filled with a red liquid that the manufacturer termed “Permacolor or Mercolor.” The tube has a milk-white back and a front configured so as to magnify the liquid column. The supporting metal plate is marked, at top, “Tycos / ROCHESTER, N.Y. U.S.A.
Description
This is a glass thermometer filled with a red liquid that the manufacturer termed “Permacolor or Mercolor.” The tube has a milk-white back and a front configured so as to magnify the liquid column. The supporting metal plate is marked, at top, “Tycos / ROCHESTER, N.Y. U.S.A. / TORONTO, CANADA.” This is graduated from 26 to 102 degrees Fahrenheit, and provided with a metal bulb guard. This is mounted, in turn, on a wood board. The Taylor Instrument Companies donated it to the Smithsonian in 1923. It was apparently made in 1913, the year Taylor opened an office in Toronto.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1913
maker
Taylor Instrument Co.
ID Number
PH.308157
catalog number
308157
accession number
70532
Charles F. Marvin and Milton Whitney, both of the U.S. Weather Bureau, introduced this type of Combined Maximum and Minimum Soil Thermometer in 1893. This example has a wood and brass frame. A brass plate on the frame is marked "H. J. GREEN B'KLYN N.Y." and "No. 8 U.S.
Description
Charles F. Marvin and Milton Whitney, both of the U.S. Weather Bureau, introduced this type of Combined Maximum and Minimum Soil Thermometer in 1893. This example has a wood and brass frame. A brass plate on the frame is marked "H. J. GREEN B'KLYN N.Y." and "No. 8 U.S. WEATHER BUREAU" and graduated every 5 degrees Fahrenheit from -20 to +170. The glass thermometer inside the frame is filled with mercury and alcohol. The back of the stem is milk glass. The clear front is marked "U.S. 8" and graduated every degree Fahrenheit from -20 to +180. The Weather Bureau transferred it to the Smithsonian in 1954.
Ref: C. F. Marvin and M. Whitney, "Instructions for Use of Combined Maximum and Minimum Soil Thermometer," U.S. Weather Bureau Circular G (1894).
Location
Currently not on view
date made
after 1890
maker
H. J. Green
ID Number
PH.314540
catalog number
314540
accession number
204612
This mercury-in-glass thermometer has a cylindrical bulb. The milk-white back is marked "L. Casella. London. 14490." The clear front is graduated every degree Fahrenheit from -25 to +130. It was made before the death of Louis Casella in 1897.Currently not on view
Description
This mercury-in-glass thermometer has a cylindrical bulb. The milk-white back is marked "L. Casella. London. 14490." The clear front is graduated every degree Fahrenheit from -25 to +130. It was made before the death of Louis Casella in 1897.
Location
Currently not on view
maker
L. P. Casella
ID Number
PH.317445
accession number
230396
catalog number
317445
Mercury-in-glass thermometer designed so that an air bubble separates a small bit of mercury from the main part of the column. When the temperature falls, the detached mercury remains in place indicating the maximum temperature attained, until reset by the observer.
Description
Mercury-in-glass thermometer designed so that an air bubble separates a small bit of mercury from the main part of the column. When the temperature falls, the detached mercury remains in place indicating the maximum temperature attained, until reset by the observer. John Phillips, an English geologist, introduced the form at the 1832 meeting of the British Association for the Advancement of Science. In 1856 he showed an improved form made by Louis P. Casella of London.
Appleton's Encyclopaedia noted in 1860 that James Green of New York "appears to have removed the objections to the previous forms of the maximum thermometers, and produced a highly simple and perfect instrument." Henry J. Green, who was James Green's nephew and successor, also made instruments of this sort. This example has a grooved aluminum plate that is marked "H. J. GREEN B'KLYN. N.Y." and "No. 12701 U.S. WEATHER BUREAU" and "MAXIMUM" and is graduated every 5 degrees Centigrade [?] from -25 to +55 degrees. The bulb is spherical. The stem is marked "U.S. 12701" and graduated every degree from -29 to +57.
Ref.: Henry J. Green, Meteorological and Scientific Instruments (Brooklyn, 1900), p. 22.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
after 1890
maker
H. J. Green
ID Number
PH.317474
accession number
230396
catalog number
317474
This is a mercury-in-glass thermometer with a brass collar at the lower end of the tube. The milk-white scale is marked “Centigrade” and “J. Salleron 24 Rue Pavee (au Marais) Paris” and carries a scale extending from -20 to +82 degrees Centigrade.
Description
This is a mercury-in-glass thermometer with a brass collar at the lower end of the tube. The milk-white scale is marked “Centigrade” and “J. Salleron 24 Rue Pavee (au Marais) Paris” and carries a scale extending from -20 to +82 degrees Centigrade. The protective glass tube is marked “1 26”. Jules Salleron was a prominent precision instrument maker in Paris.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1875-1897
maker
Salleron, Jules
ID Number
PH.314559
catalog number
314559
accession number
204612
This unusually precise mercury-in-glass thermometer measured temperatures over a very small range, especially near the melting and freezing points of substances.
Description
This unusually precise mercury-in-glass thermometer measured temperatures over a very small range, especially near the melting and freezing points of substances. Ernest Otto Beckmann, a physical chemist who worked with Wilhelm Ostwald in Leipzig, described the form in 1888.
This example has a long cylindrical bulb at the bottom, an s-shaped tube with auxiliary bulb at the top, and a porcelain plate carrying a scale that ranges from -.04 to +1.1 degrees Centigrade and that is graduated to 0.002 degrees. The back of the plate is marked “Centigrade” and “Thermometer n. Beckmann.” The whole is enclosed in a cylindrical glass tube with brass cap.
This thermometer was used at the Johns Hopkins University, perhaps by Harry C. Jones, a chemist who received his PhD from Hopkins in 1892, spent two years working in the laboratories of Ostwald and other important European chemists, and then returned to Hopkins to teach physical chemistry. It may have been made by F. O. R. Goetze, a Leipzig firm that specialized in thermometers of this sort.
Ref.: Wilhelm Ostwald, Manual of Physico-Chemical Measurements (London, 1894), pp. 180-182.
Harry C. Jones, The Elements of Physical Chemistry 4th edition, revised (New York, 1915), pp. 228-230.
John Servos, Physical Chemistry from Ostwald to Pauling (Princeton, 1990).
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1900
ID Number
CH.315870
catalog number
315870
accession number
221777
Mercury-in-glass thermometer with a milk white tube and metal bulb guard.
Description
Mercury-in-glass thermometer with a milk white tube and metal bulb guard. The supporting metal plate is marked, at top, “TAYLOR BRO’S / ROCHESTER, N.Y.” and graduated from 8 to +120 degrees Fahrenheit, with indications for “FREEZ/ING,” “TEMPE/RATE,” SUMR/HEAT,” and “BLOOD/HEAT.” This is mounted, in turn, on a wood board. It came to the Smithsonian in 1923.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1872-1890
maker
Taylor Brothers
ID Number
PH.308155
catalog number
308155
accession number
70532
Mercury-in-glass thermometer with a cylindrical bulb.
Description
Mercury-in-glass thermometer with a cylindrical bulb. The tube is graduated from -10.2 to 108.0 degrees (Centigrade?), and marked, in red, “Tonnelot à Paris (1884.5) 4289.” It is probably one of the very precise thermometers with a tube of extra-hard glass that was made by Tonnelot for the International Committee of Weights and Measures, tested at the Bureau International at Sèvres, and distributed to government organizations around the world.
Ref: J. A. Hall, “The International Temperature Scale Between 0 Degrees and 100 Degrees C,” Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London 229 (1930): 1-48.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1884
maker
Tonnelot, Jules
ID Number
PH.317449
catalog number
317449
accession number
230396
Mercury-in-glass thermometer with a spherical bulb. The milk-white back is marked “L. Golaz à Paris 725” and has a scale reading from -14 to +69 degrees centigrade, which seem to be done by hand rather than by machine.
Description
Mercury-in-glass thermometer with a spherical bulb. The milk-white back is marked “L. Golaz à Paris 725” and has a scale reading from -14 to +69 degrees centigrade, which seem to be done by hand rather than by machine. The inscription indicates that this thermometer was made after 1891 (when Lucien Golaz took charge of the firm that his father had begun in 1830) and before the demise of the firm in 1919.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1870-1888
ca 1891-1919
maker
L. Golaz
ID Number
PH.317446
catalog number
317446
accession number
230396
Mercury in glass Fahrenheit thermometer with a brass scale and a brass protective case. The scale ranges from 0 to 220 degrees, graduated every two degrees, and marked "FREEZING", "BLOOD HEAT", and "WATER BOILS." It is also marked "G. TAGLIBUE 302 PEARL ST.
Description
Mercury in glass Fahrenheit thermometer with a brass scale and a brass protective case. The scale ranges from 0 to 220 degrees, graduated every two degrees, and marked "FREEZING", "BLOOD HEAT", and "WATER BOILS." It is also marked "G. TAGLIBUE 302 PEARL ST. N.Y."
Tagliabue was an extended family of Italian descent that specialized in producing such glass instruments as thermometers, barometers, hydrometers and hygrometers. Giuseppe Tagliabue (1812-1878) was born in Como, Italy, apprenticed with a brother in England, immigrated to the United States, established a business in New York in 1834, and won numerous awards for his instruments.
Ref.: "Giuseppe Tagliabue," in , vol 18, p. 273.
Location
Currently not on view
maker
Tagliabue, Giuseppe
ID Number
PH.333985
accession number
304826
catalog number
333985
Here, a mercury-in-glass thermometer with a milk white back is held in a black V-shaped housing that is marked “Tycos / ROCHESTER / N.Y. U.S.A.” and that caries a scale extending from -25 to +120 Fahrenheit.
Description
Here, a mercury-in-glass thermometer with a milk white back is held in a black V-shaped housing that is marked “Tycos / ROCHESTER / N.Y. U.S.A.” and that caries a scale extending from -25 to +120 Fahrenheit. The outer brass case is marked “Tycos” at top, and “Taylor / Instrument / Co’s” at the bottom. The Taylor Instrument Companies began operating as such in 1903, adopted the Tycos trade mark around 1908, and donated this instrument to the Smithsonian in 1923.
Ref.: Taylor Instrument Companies, Illustrated and Descriptive Catalog and Price List [of] Thermometers Hydrometers Barometers (Rochester, 1911) p. 111.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1908-1923
maker
Taylor Instrument Co.
ID Number
PH.308163
catalog number
308163
accession number
70532
Bathing, whether for cleanliness or health, was not a common practice in Colonial America, or even Great Britain, and only became so over time. This bath thermometer indicates this changing practice.
Description
Bathing, whether for cleanliness or health, was not a common practice in Colonial America, or even Great Britain, and only became so over time. This bath thermometer indicates this changing practice. It was probably owned by John William Draper (1811-1882), an American scientist with wide-ranging interests and accomplishments and who kept in touch with friends and colleagues abroad.
This simple mercury-in-glass thermometer was designed for determining when bath water is at a healthy temperture. The scale extends from 0 to 130 degrees, and is marked "Dr. FORBES SPECIFICATIONS" as well as "FREEZING"; "COLD BATH"; "COOL"; "TEM."; "TEPID"; "WARM"; and "HOT." The reference is to John Forbes, a Scottish physician who recommended therapeutic bathing.
Ref. Richard Bushmann and Claudia Bushmann, “The Early History of Cleanliness in America,” Journal of American History 74 (1988): 1213-1238.
John Forbes, et. al., The Cyclopaedia of Practical Medicine (London, 1833), vol. 1, p. 260.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
early 19th century
ID Number
PH.333987
catalog number
333987
accession number
304826
Mercury-in-glass thermometer mounted on a grooved metal plate that is marked "H. J. GREEN B'KLYN N.Y." and "No. 11065 U.S. WEATHER BUREAU" and graduated every five degrees Fahrenheit from -25 to +115. The stem is marked "11065" and graduated every degree F.
Description
Mercury-in-glass thermometer mounted on a grooved metal plate that is marked "H. J. GREEN B'KLYN N.Y." and "No. 11065 U.S. WEATHER BUREAU" and graduated every five degrees Fahrenheit from -25 to +115. The stem is marked "11065" and graduated every degree F. from -25 to +120.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
after 1890
maker
H. J. Green
ID Number
PH.317455
accession number
230396
catalog number
317455
Mercury-in-glass thermometer with a cylindrical bulb, and scale that extends from -38 to +20 degrees Centigrade. The inscription on the milk-white back reads “Centigrade C. Gerhardt, Bonn No.
Description
Mercury-in-glass thermometer with a cylindrical bulb, and scale that extends from -38 to +20 degrees Centigrade. The inscription on the milk-white back reads “Centigrade C. Gerhardt, Bonn No. 1940.” There is a hinged, black paper case.
Carl Gerhardt began making laboratory apparatus in 1872. This thermometer was used by chemists at the Johns Hopkins University, and may date from soon after the establishment of that school in 1876.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1876
maker
C. Gerhardt
ID Number
CH.315873
catalog number
315873
accession number
221777
This mercury-in-glass thermometer with a milk-white back is held in a flat black housing. The scale reads from 20 to 230 degrees Fahrenheit, with an indication for “WATER/BOILS.” It was probably made by Hohmann & Maurer. It came to the Smithsonian in 1923.Currently not on view
Description
This mercury-in-glass thermometer with a milk-white back is held in a flat black housing. The scale reads from 20 to 230 degrees Fahrenheit, with an indication for “WATER/BOILS.” It was probably made by Hohmann & Maurer. It came to the Smithsonian in 1923.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1885-1923
ID Number
PH.308158
catalog number
308158
accession number
70532
Alcohol-in-glass Rutherford-type thermometer mounted on a white porcelain plate that is marked "575" and with the M/O monogram of the British Meteorological Office and "J. HICKS, 8, 9 & 10. HATTON GARDEN LONDON" and an monogram.
Description
Alcohol-in-glass Rutherford-type thermometer mounted on a white porcelain plate that is marked "575" and with the M/O monogram of the British Meteorological Office and "J. HICKS, 8, 9 & 10. HATTON GARDEN LONDON" and an monogram. The plate is also graduated every 5 degrees Fahrenheit from -20 to +110. The thermometer stem is marked "575" and with the M/O monogram; and graduated every degree Fahrenheit from -25 to +110. The whole is mounted on a wooden base that has metal guards protecting the bulb, and that once had two metal loops so that it could be hung horizontally.
James J. Hicks (1837-1916) apprenticed with Casella and rose to the position of foreman before beginning in business on his own. He rented a shop at 8 Hatton Garden in 1864 and expanded to 8, 9 & 10 Hatton Garden in the 1880s.
Ref: Anita McConnell, King of the Clinicals. The Life and Times of J. J. Hicks (1837-1916) (York, 1998).
Location
Currently not on view
maker
J. J. Hicks
ID Number
PH.317471
accession number
230396
catalog number
317471
This mercury-in-glass thermometer has a cylindrical bulb, and a milk white tube that is marked “Yale Observatory Standard No.
Description
This mercury-in-glass thermometer has a cylindrical bulb, and a milk white tube that is marked “Yale Observatory Standard No. 51 Made by Tonnelot à Paris Equal graduations Crystal glass tube made April 1879.” The scale, which extends from -4.8 to +104.6 degrees Centigrade, is graduated every degree, in fifths. The protective chrome case is marked “Yale Observatory Standard No 51.”
Ref.: Leonard Waldo, “Examination of Thermometers at the Yale Observatory,” Popular Science Monthly 18 (1881): 367-374.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1879
maker
Tonnelot, Jules
ID Number
PH.317451
catalog number
317451
accession number
230396
Alcohol-in-glass Rutherford-type thermometer mounted on a brass plate marked "J. & H. J. GREEN NEW YORK" and "YALE MIN. STD. MAY 1881. CORNING GLASS, SQUIBBS ETHER" and "SIGNAL SERVICE U.S. ARMY No. 3." The plate is graduated every 5 degrees F. from 0 to +250.
Description
Alcohol-in-glass Rutherford-type thermometer mounted on a brass plate marked "J. & H. J. GREEN NEW YORK" and "YALE MIN. STD. MAY 1881. CORNING GLASS, SQUIBBS ETHER" and "SIGNAL SERVICE U.S. ARMY No. 3." The plate is graduated every 5 degrees F. from 0 to +250. The back of the stem is milk white. The clear front is graduated (but not numbered) every degree from 0 to +250.
John Rutherford, a Scottish country doctor, devised this form in 1790. Green stated in 1900 that it was "the only one in general use." It has a black index inside the tube. "On a decrease of temperature the alcohol recedes, taking with it the glass index; on an increase of temperature the alcohol alone ascends the tube, leaving the end of the index farthest from the bulb indicating the minimum temperature."
Ref.: Henry J. Green, Meteorological and Scientific Instruments (Brooklyn, 1900), p. 23.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1879-1885
maker
J. & H. J. Green
ID Number
PH.328772
accession number
277511
catalog number
328772

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