Measuring & Mapping

Vernier Compass

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.

Date: 1890s

Aneroid Barometer

The face of this cylindrical instrument is marked “HOLOSTERIC BAROMETER / COMPENSATED.” The additional circle with the letters “HBPN” was the logo of Naudet & Cie., and probably represents the words: Holosteric Barometer Paul Naudet.
Description
The face of this cylindrical instrument is marked “HOLOSTERIC BAROMETER / COMPENSATED.” The additional circle with the letters “HBPN” was the logo of Naudet & Cie., and probably represents the words: Holosteric Barometer Paul Naudet. The firm was founded in Paris in 1860 by Paul Naudet, and used the term Holosteric to mean “without liquid." The scale around the edge of the silvered metallic dial extends from 28 to 31 inches of mercury and is graduated to hundredths of an inch. A blued needle indicates the present pressure; a brass needle indicates a previous observation.
The “U.S. Signal Service – 1101” inscription on the back of the case refers to the organization that became responsible for America’s national weather service in 1870. The U.S. Weather Bureau transferred this instrument to the Smithsonian in 1904.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca. 1870-1890
maker
Naudet & Cie.
ID Number
PH.230002
accession number
42625
catalog number
PH*230002
230002

Set of Charts, Evans' Arithmetical Study

Around 1900 many American educators advocated the use of objects in teaching mathematics and the sciences. R. O. Evans Company of Chicago published this set of twenty chromolithographed charts.
Description
Around 1900 many American educators advocated the use of objects in teaching mathematics and the sciences. R. O. Evans Company of Chicago published this set of twenty chromolithographed charts. They were designed to apply the object method “to the entire subject of practical arithmetic.” The title chart shows a man in classical garb holding a diagram of the Pythagorean theorem and a pair of dividers, expounding to a child. Other instruments displayed include a pencil, a drawing pen, a magnetic compass, several geometric models, a globe, a telescope, two set squares, an hourglass, and one of Evans’s charts.
Charts include extensive commentary for teachers. There are sheets entitled Counting and Writing Numbers, Reviews and Colors, Addition, Subtraction, Multiplication, and Division,. Other charts discuss Fractions, Weights and Measures, the Metric System, and Mensuration (one chart considers the measurement of flat surfaces, another one 3-dimensional solids). There also are charts on Business Methods (3 charts), Lumber and Timber Measure,Surveying, Percentage, Commercial and Legal Forms, and Book Keeping. A variety of objects are shown.
The paper, cloth-backed charts are held together at the top by a piece of fabric that is tacked to a wooden backing. This backing slides into an oak case decorated with machine-made molding and panels. A mark on the case reads: This is the (/) Property of (/) F. C. Adams (/) Hillsboro N. H. (/) May 28 - 1902 (/) Loaned to (/) Miss L. Hany (?) (/) Teacher School Dist. No. 17. F.C. Adams is probably Freeman C. Adams (1845-1913) of Hillsborough and Manchester, N.H. This suggests that this particular example of Evans’ Arithmetical Study was used by a woman who taught at a school in New Hampshire.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1897
maker
R. O. Evans Company
ID Number
2009.0086.01
accession number
2009.0086
catalog number
2009.0086.01

Pocket watch, U.S. Watch Co.

The movement in this silver-cased watch, serial number 97569, was made by the U.S. Watch Company, Waltham, Mass., about 1892. It is stem-wound and set with a lever on the side of the case.Currently not on view
Description
The movement in this silver-cased watch, serial number 97569, was made by the U.S. Watch Company, Waltham, Mass., about 1892. It is stem-wound and set with a lever on the side of the case.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1892
maker
U.S. Watch Co.
ID Number
ME.317055
catalog number
317055
accession number
230383

Magnetometer

This theodolite magnetometer is based on the design that the U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey developed in 1892-1893. It is similar in many ways to the instrument that the Survey had been using since the early 1880s, but with several new features.
Description
This theodolite magnetometer is based on the design that the U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey developed in 1892-1893. It is similar in many ways to the instrument that the Survey had been using since the early 1880s, but with several new features. One is the octagonal shape of the collimating magnets. Another is the black velvet screen that connects the telescope with the suspension box: this cuts off stray light and eliminates the problems that had been caused by the glass window in the earlier form. It is marked "FAUTH & CO. WASHN D.C. 941" and "T.M.C.I. 1." The serial number suggests that it was made around 1895.
This instrument belonged to the Department of Terrestrial Magnetism of the Carnegie Institution of Washington. Internal records indicate that D.T.M. purchased it from Kolesch & Co. in New York in 1906 (for $175), sent it to Bausch, Lomb, Saegmuller Co. for repairs (another $120), and kept it in service until 1919.
Ref: Edwin Smith, "Notes on Some Instruments Recently Made in the Instrument Division of the Coast and Geodetic Survey Office," Annual Report of the Superintendent of the U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey for 1894, Appendix No. 8.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
ca 1895
maker
Fauth
Fauth & Co.
ID Number
1983.0039.04
accession number
1983.0039
catalog number
1983.0039.04

Watch, Waterbury, Series J

Dating from between 1891 and 1898, this watch represents a new design that its manufacturer, the Waterbury Watch Company, hoped would overcome difficulties with an earlier product, the Long Wind.In 1880 the Waterbury Watch Co., then a new corporation founded by Connecticut brass
Description
Dating from between 1891 and 1898, this watch represents a new design that its manufacturer, the Waterbury Watch Company, hoped would overcome difficulties with an earlier product, the Long Wind.
In 1880 the Waterbury Watch Co., then a new corporation founded by Connecticut brass manufacturers Benedict and Burnham, sold the Long Wind for $3.50. This was in sharp contrast to the cheapest American-made watches at that time, which sold, cased, for between $8 and $20. At first the company had great success, but interest waned after middlemen devised a scheme to give away the Long Wind with the purchase of a suit of clothes. The firm then tried to revive falling sales with more conventional and costly watch designs like this watch, a lively advertising campaign and, in 1898, a new corporate name--the New England Watch Company. The pioneering enterprise ultimately failed in 1912, but other firms would take up the manufacture of cheap reliable timepieces that came to be known as “dollar” watches.
Details:
Movement: spring-driven, duplex escapement, regulator with indicator between plates, back plate marked: “TRADEMARK/The Waterbury Watch Co./WATERBURY/CONN. U.S.A./Patented Series J; between plates marked: “Duplex/Patents” and numerous patent dates.
Dial: white enamel, blued steel hands with second hand missing, sunk seconds at 6; marked: “WATERBURY/logo with initials for WWC
Case: open face, nickel-plated, back snaps on
References:
Watch,” Contributions from the Museum of History and Technology, United States National Museum Bulletin 218 (Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution, 1959).
Harry Chase Brearley, Time Telling Through the Ages (New York: Doubleday, Page & Company, 1919).
William J. Pape, History of Waterbury and the Naugatuck Valley, Connecticut (Chicago, New York: S. J. Clarke Publishing, 1918).
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1890
maker
Waterbury Watch Co.
ID Number
ME.259072
catalog number
259072
accession number
51251

Wall Clock

This wall clock, made about 1880 by A. Hahl & Company in Baltimore, was one of several hanging in classrooms at Jefferson Junior High School in Washington, D.C.
Description
This wall clock, made about 1880 by A. Hahl & Company in Baltimore, was one of several hanging in classrooms at Jefferson Junior High School in Washington, D.C. A mechanical master clock, located elsewhere in the building, pumped a pulse of air once a minute through tubes to this clock and others connected in a system. The pulse advanced multiple clocks’ hands simultaneously and synchronized them automatically, features that grew in popularity as the size of buildings increased in the nineteenth century. Pneumatic systems competed with early electric clock systems, which were often unreliable.
The air clock technology is based on patents (No. 140661, granted 8 July 1873, and No. 196404, granted 23 October 1877) by Hermann. J. Wenzel, a German immigrant who settled in San Francisco. Wenzel went into business with Augustus Hahl, another German immigrant, who had an establishment in Baltimore, Md., for making and selling bells systems, burglar alarms and other electrical apparatus. A. Hahl & Company sold this pneumatic clock system to the D.C. schools.
Clocks were important in school rooms. As early as the 1830s in the United States, white children were attending free public elementary schools where they were conditioned to the clock-regulated day. A ringing bell called them to class. A clock in each classroom organized their lessons, and among the first things they learned was how to read the clock dial. Strictly enforced schedules were intended to instill time discipline, preserve social order and underline moral values. Students were punished for tardiness and awarded certificates for punctuality.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1880-1899
ID Number
ME.325672
catalog number
325672
accession number
257429

Water Current Meter

William Gunn Price of the U.S. Corps of Engineers designed a water current meter in 1882, obtained a patent, and arranged with W. & L. E. Gurley, a large instrument firm in Troy, N.Y., for commercial production.
Description
William Gunn Price of the U.S. Corps of Engineers designed a water current meter in 1882, obtained a patent, and arranged with W. & L. E. Gurley, a large instrument firm in Troy, N.Y., for commercial production. Gurley Precision Instruments offers improved models of Price meters to this day.
This example of Gurley’s “Deep Water and Harbor Meter” has a four-blade rudder and a wheel with five conical buckets. It is 34 inches long overall. A tag on the wheel housing reads “R. R. S. No. 1 / W. G. PRICE / PAT. AUG. 25, 1885 / No. 28 / W. & L. E. GURLEY / TROY, N.Y.” The Mississippi River Commission bought it around 1890 and used it at various points between Rosedale and Vicksburg. The Engineer Office of the U.S. War Department transferred it to the Smithsonian in 1939.
Ref: William Gunn Price, “Current Meter,” U.S. Patent 325,011 (1885).
Arthur H. Frazier, William Gunn Price and the Price Current Meters (Washington, D.C., 1967), p. 50.
Arthur H. Frazier, Water Current Meters in the Smithsonian Collections of the National Museum of History and Technology (Washington, D.C., 1974), pp. 80.
W. & L. E. Gurley, Manual of the Principle Instruments Used in American Engineering and Surveying (Troy, N.Y., 1893), p. 244.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1890
maker
W. & L. E. Gurley
ID Number
PH.311708
accession number
152263
catalog number
311708

Maximum and Minimum Soil Thermometer

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

Magnetometer

Theodolite magnetometers were designed for observations in the field, and so are relatively light, compact, of simple construction, and easily handled. Their tri-leg base can hold either the magnetometer or the theodolite that is used for astronomical alignment. The U.S.
Description
Theodolite magnetometers were designed for observations in the field, and so are relatively light, compact, of simple construction, and easily handled. Their tri-leg base can hold either the magnetometer or the theodolite that is used for astronomical alignment. The U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey designed this particular form in the early 1890s, basing it on the instrument that the Survey had been using since the early 1880s but adding several new features. One is the octagonal shape of the collimating magnets. Another is the black velvet screen that connects the telescope with the suspension box: this cuts off stray light,and eliminates the problems caused by the glass window in the earlier form.
This example is marked "C. & G. S. NO. 18." The Survey produced it in 1892-1893 and made it available for L.A. Bauer's magnetic survey of Maryland at the end of the century. The base—marked "Bausch, Lomb, Saegmuller Co., ROCHESTER, N.Y. 2690"—must be a replacement, made after the formation of that firm in 1905.
The U.S. Geological Survey acquired this magnetometer in 1973 when it assumed control of the geomagnetic program of the federal government, and it transferred it to the Smithsonian in 1982.
Ref: Edwin Smith, "Notes on Some Instruments Recently Made in the Instrument Division of the Coast and Geodetic Survey Office," Report of the Superintendent of the United States Coast and Geodetic Survey for the Year 1894, Appendix No. 8, p. 275.
L. A. Bauer, Maryland Geological Survey (Baltimore, 1897), p. 433.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1892-1893
maker
U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey
ID Number
1982.0671.08
accession number
1982.0671
catalog number
1982.0671.08

Chicago Stamping Co. Combination Rule and Paper Cutter, Advertising The Hartford Insurance Co.

This convex orange-coated tin combination rule and paper cutter has a 9" scale divided to sixteenths of an inch along one long edge. The other long edge is shaped into a tube, which may serve as a handle while cutting or tearing paper.
Description
This convex orange-coated tin combination rule and paper cutter has a 9" scale divided to sixteenths of an inch along one long edge. The other long edge is shaped into a tube, which may serve as a handle while cutting or tearing paper. A small hole at the right end may be for hanging the rule. The rule is marked: Compliments (/) of (/) THE HARTFORD FIRE INS. Co. (/) HARTFORD, CONN. The company's logo of a stag appears between the words "HARTFORD" and "FIRE." The tube notes that the company had paid $33,000,00 for claims in New York City in 1835, Nantucket, Mass., in 1846, St. Louis, Mo., in 1849, Portland, Me., in 1866, Chicago in 1871, Boston in 1872, and St. John, New Brunswick, "and other places" in 1877. These were all historic destructive fires. The back of the rule is marked: AGENCIES IN ALL CITIES AND TOWNS THROUGHOUT THE COUNTRY (/) Commenced Buisness 1794 • Charter Perpetual (/) The Chicago Stamping Co. Combination Rule and Paper Cutter. Patent Sept. 8th 1885. Hartford Fire Ins. Co. Sole Owner and Manufacturer. All Infringements prosecuted.
Richard S. Thain (1845–1912) received the patent mentioned on the instrument. He fought for the Union in the Civil War, was advertising manager of a Chicago publication, Western Rural, and organized an advertising firm with George W. Sharp in 1868. He spent some time in New York City after the Chicago fire of 1871. From 1882 to 1889, he worked for a Chicago advertising agency, Lord & Thomas. Another ruler made from Thain's design is 293320.2815.
The Chicago Stamping Company was in business from at least as early as 1868 to at least as late as 1911. The firm made enameled cylindrical tin containers, such as milk and trash cans; published sheet music and stationery items; and manufactured the United States Wheel brand of bicycles. Although text on the rule says The Hartford started selling fire insurance in 1794, the history on the company's website indicates it was not incorporated until May 10, 1810. The firm adopted its stag logo in 1875. As of 2013, it was one of the biggest insurance companies worldwide.
References: Richard S. Thain, "Combination Ruler and Paper Cutter" (U.S. Patent 325,992 issued September 8, 1885); "Men of the Ninety-sixth Regiment with Millburn Connections," excerpted from Charles A. Partridge, ed., History of the Ninety-Sixth Regiment Illinois Volunteer Infantry (Chicago, 1887), Historic Millburn Community Association, http://www.hmca-il.org/k6men.htm; "The Hartford's Historical Timeline," http://www.thehartford.com/about/.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1890
distributor
Hartford Fire Insurance Company
maker
Chicago Stamping Company
ID Number
MA.293320.2814
accession number
293320
catalog number
293320.2814

Pocket Watch

A Washington, D.C., policeman, Thomas Oriani, received this watch as a Christmas present in 1890 from the jewelers on his Seventh Street beat in appreciation for his keeping a protective eye on their businesses.The watch movement—marked “Appleton, Tracy & Co., Waltham, Mass.” and
Description
A Washington, D.C., policeman, Thomas Oriani, received this watch as a Christmas present in 1890 from the jewelers on his Seventh Street beat in appreciation for his keeping a protective eye on their businesses.
The watch movement—marked “Appleton, Tracy & Co., Waltham, Mass.” and with serial number 4299303—was made by the American Waltham Watch Company.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1890
maker
American Waltham Watch Co.
ID Number
ME.315931
catalog number
315931
accession number
225007

Maximum Thermometer

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

Solar Radiation Thermometer

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

Thermometer

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

Aneroid Barometer

The inscriptions on the face of this aneroid barometer read “Compensated” and “James W. Queen & Co. / PHILADELPHIA.” The pressure scale around the circumference extends from 18 to 31 inches of mercury.
Description
The inscriptions on the face of this aneroid barometer read “Compensated” and “James W. Queen & Co. / PHILADELPHIA.” The pressure scale around the circumference extends from 18 to 31 inches of mercury. The altitude scale extends to 15,000 feet elevation and is read by vernier and microscope to single feet. The diameter is about 3.5 inches. Although this instrument was sold by Queen, it was was probably made in London, perhaps by Short & Mason. New, it would have sold for $60.
Ref.: James W. Queen & Co., Priced and Illustrated Catalogue of Meteorological Instruments (Philadelphia, 1882), p. 93.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1859-1896
maker
James W. Queen & Co.
ID Number
1996.0163.01
accession number
1996.0163
catalog number
1996.0163.01

Mathematical Chart, Metric System

In the wake of the Revolution of 1789, French scientists developed a new system of weights and measures known in English-speaking countries as the metric system. A handful of early 19th-century American mathematics textbooks discussed metric measurements.
Description
In the wake of the Revolution of 1789, French scientists developed a new system of weights and measures known in English-speaking countries as the metric system. A handful of early 19th-century American mathematics textbooks discussed metric measurements. In the 1860s, metric measures were legalized in the United States, although they were not mandatory. A few advocates of the new system, most notably the distinguished librarian Melville Dewey, joined together to form the American Metrological Society and to advocate the use of metric measures. This chart was prepared by the Society for classroom use.
The tan paper chart shows a meter length divided into decimeters, centimeters, and millimeters. It also shows a liter container and a block 1,000 cubic centimeters in size. It gives the value in United States currency of silver coins weighing from 1 gram to 1000 grams. A mark at the bottom front of the chart reads: Copies of this chart will be mailed on receipt of ten cents in postage stamps. (/) ADDRESS AMERICAN METROLOGICAL SOCIETY, 41 EAST 49TH ST., N.Y. CITY.
Science magazine noted publication of the chart in 1891, which is used as the approximate date of the object. This example was found uncatalogued in the collections of the Smithsonian Institution Libraries.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1891
maker
American Metrological Society
ID Number
1990.3012.01
catalog number
1990.3012.01
nonaccession number
1990.3012

Thermometer

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

Psychrometer

A psychrometer determines humidity by measuring the cooling effect of evaporation. This example has two mercury in glass thermometers, Each mounted a silvered brass plate, and the whole mounted on a wooden board. The plate holding the wet-bulb thermometer is marked "No.
Description
A psychrometer determines humidity by measuring the cooling effect of evaporation. This example has two mercury in glass thermometers, Each mounted a silvered brass plate, and the whole mounted on a wooden board. The plate holding the wet-bulb thermometer is marked "No. 1868 SIGNAL SERVICE U.S. ARMY" and the plate holding the dry-bulb theremometer is marked "H.J. GREEN, N.Y" and "No. 3070 SIGNAL SERVICE U.S. ARMY."
The Signal Service maintained a national weather service from 1870 until the establishment of the U.S. Weather Bureau in 1891. This instrument was made after 1885 when James Green retired and his nephew, Henry J. Green, went into business on his own; and it was probably made before 1890 when H.J. Green relocated to Brooklyn. The Weather Bureau transferred it to the Smithsonian in 1904.
Ref.: Henry J. Green, Meteorological and Scientific Instruments (Brooklyn, ca. 1890), p. 30.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1885-1890
ca. 1890
maker
H. J. Green
ID Number
PH.230007
catalog number
230007
accession number
42625

Haskell Water Current Meter

Eugene Elwin Haskell graduated from Cornell University in 1879, spent a few years with the U.S. Lake Survey, and then joined the U. S. Coast and Geodetic Survey.
Description
Eugene Elwin Haskell graduated from Cornell University in 1879, spent a few years with the U.S. Lake Survey, and then joined the U. S. Coast and Geodetic Survey. For the purpose plotting the currents in New York Harbor he designed a horizontal-axis, screw-type current meter, the results of which could be read electrically.
John Wesley Powell, the first director of U.S. Irrigation Survey, a project of the U.S. Geological Survey, explained that the wheel of this meter “is of the propeller type, conical in longitudinal projection, thus cleaning itself from leaves and grass,” adding that “There is no question that this is the best type of wheel yet presented for a current meter.” “Beyond the inconvenience of wires and batteries common to all electric meters,” Powell went on to say, “the Haskell is superior to any form yet tried.”
This example is a variation of the Haskell meter as conceived in the late 1880s by engineers of the U.S. Irrigation Survey. It is marked “U.S.G.S. No. 3” and “J. S. J. Lallie, Maker, Denver, Colo.” The U.S. Geological Survey transferred it to the Smithsonian in 1908.
John S. J. Lallie was born in Marseilles, France, in 1856, and came to the U.S. in 1864. In 1888, after working as a surveyor for some time, he established the Western Mathematical Instrument Co. in Denver. From 1891 until his death in 1911, he traded as J. S. J. Lallie.
Ref: E.E. Haskell, “Ship’s Log,” U.S. Patent 384362 (1888).
J. W. Powell, “Irrigation Survey—Second Annual Report,” in Report of the Secretary of the Interior (Washington, D.C., 1890), vol. 4, part 2, p. 9.
Arthur H. Frazier, Water Current Meters in the Smithsonian Collections of the National Museum of History and Technology (Washington, D.C., 1974), pp. 64-67.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1890
ID Number
PH.248697
accession number
48341
catalog number
248697

Celestial Globe

The cartouche reads “H. SCHEDLER’S / CELESTIAL GLOBE / (12 inch diameter) / Exhibiting all the stars visible to / the naked eye up to the sixth magnitude / H. SCHEDLER. / JERSEY CITY, N.J. / Patented Nov.
Description
The cartouche reads “H. SCHEDLER’S / CELESTIAL GLOBE / (12 inch diameter) / Exhibiting all the stars visible to / the naked eye up to the sixth magnitude / H. SCHEDLER. / JERSEY CITY, N.J. / Patented Nov. 1868 / Entered according to Act of Congress.” Broken black lines represent the constellation boundaries, while the constellation figures are in red.
The globe has a three-legged wooden stand with metal braces, a metal horizon circle, and a metal meridian circle.
Joseph Schedler was a German immigrant who worked in New York and New Jersey, publishing books and globes. His globes won medals at several local and international exhibitions, and were widely used in the public schools of several American cities. His son Herman continued the business from the late 1880s until after the turn of the century. The referenced patent on this globe was #84,398 issued to Edward Weissenborn. It pertained to an “Improvement in the Construction of School Globes.”
This example was owned by Samuel Corby, an itinerant science lecturer who succeeded to the business begun by his father-in-law, Charles Came.
Ref: Schedler’s Illustrated Manual for the Use of the Terrestrial and Celestial Globes (New York and Jersey City: H. Schedler, 1889).
D. J. Warner, “The Geography of Heaven and Earth,” Rittenhouse 2 (1988): 125-127.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1890
maker
Schedler, Joseph
Schedler, Herman
ID Number
1989.0743.438
accession number
1989.0743
catalog number
1989.0743.438

Water Current Meter

This is a direct-reading instrument with a vertical axis and a five-bucket rotor that was said to be particularly suited for use in “the rough torrents, filled with drift of all sorts” found in Western waters.
Description
This is a direct-reading instrument with a vertical axis and a five-bucket rotor that was said to be particularly suited for use in “the rough torrents, filled with drift of all sorts” found in Western waters. Known variously as a Bailey or a Colorado water current meter, it was designed in the late 1880s by Howard Safford Bailey, a draughtsman who worked for the Western Mathematical Instrument Co. in Denver. It resembles the form developed in the early 1880s by Edwin Nettleton, the State Engineer of Colorado.
The U.S. Irrigation Survey, a project of the U.S. Geological Survey, used several meters of this sort. The Geological Survey transferred this example to the Smithsonian in 1908. The frame is nickel-plated.
Ref: J. W. Powell, “Irrigation Survey—Second Annual Report,” in Report of the Secretary of the Interior (Washington, D.C., 1890), vol. 4, part 2, pp. 6-8.
Arthur H. Frazier, Water Current Meters in the Smithsonian Collections of the National Museum of History and Technology (Washington, D.C., 1974), pp. 75-78.
Arthur H. Frazier and Wilbur Heckler, Embudo, New Mexico, Birthplace of Systematic Stream Gauging (Washington, D.C., 1972).
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1890
ID Number
PH.248696
accession number
48341
catalog number
248696

Price Water Current Meter

William Gunn Price designed a water current meter in 1882, obtained a patent, and asked W. & L. E. Gurley, a large instrument firm in Troy, New York, to undertake commercial production. This example is marked “W. G. PRICE / PAT. AUG. 25, 1885 / No. 21 / W. & L. E.
Description
William Gunn Price designed a water current meter in 1882, obtained a patent, and asked W. & L. E. Gurley, a large instrument firm in Troy, New York, to undertake commercial production. This example is marked “W. G. PRICE / PAT. AUG. 25, 1885 / No. 21 / W. & L. E. GURLEY, TROY, N.Y.” It has a four-blade rudder, and a wheel with five conical buckets. Since it is 34 inches long, it must date from the period 1886-1894 when Gurley offered Price meters of this size. The National Bureau of Standards , the organization that calibrated current meters for federal agencies and engineers in private practice, transferred it to the Smithsonian in 1959.
Ref: William Gunn Price, “Current Meter,” U.S. Patent 325011 (1885).
W. & L. E. Gurley, Manual of the Principal Instruments Used in American Engineering and Surveying (Troy, N.Y., 1891), pp. 234-239.
Arthur H. Frazier, William Gunn Price and the Price Current Meters (Washington, D.C., 1967), p. 50.
Arthur H. Frazier, Water Current Meters in the Smithsonian Collections of the National Museum of History and Technology (Washington, D.C., 1974), pp. 78-87.
date made
1886-1894
maker
W. & L. E. Gurley
ID Number
PH.316591
accession number
225869
catalog number
316591

Theodolite

This theodolite was made for the U. S. Geological Survey, soon after that agency was organized in 1879. It was transferred to the Smithsonian in 1907. The inscriptions read "No. 172 Edward Kübel, Washington, DC" and "U.S.G.S. 8 IN No.
Description
This theodolite was made for the U. S. Geological Survey, soon after that agency was organized in 1879. It was transferred to the Smithsonian in 1907. The inscriptions read "No. 172 Edward Kübel, Washington, DC" and "U.S.G.S. 8 IN No. 1." The horizontal circle is silvered, graduated to 20 minutes, and read by opposite verniers and magnifiers to 20 seconds. The vertical circle is silvered, graduated to 20 minutes of arc, and read by vernier and magnifier to single minutes.
Edward Kübel (1820-1896) was born in Bavaria, moved to Washington, D.C. around 1849, and became foreman for William Würdemann. He began in business on his own in 1875, advertising that he "continues to manufacture the class of Astronomical and Geodetical Instruments formerly made by Mr. Würdemann." According to an account written in 1884, Kübel employed seven or eight skilled workmen, and his business was principally for the U. S. government.
Ref: Silvio Bedini, "Edward Kübel (1820-1896) Washington, D.C. Instrument Maker," Journal of the Washington Academy of Sciences 85 (1998): 247-279.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1879-1896
maker
Kübel, Edward
ID Number
PH.247971
accession number
47736
catalog number
247971

Aspiration Psychrometer

In the late 1880s, a German meteorologist named Adolph Richard Assmann designed an aspiration instrument with a fan to draw air past the wet- and dry-bulb thermometers of a common psychrometer.
Description
In the late 1880s, a German meteorologist named Adolph Richard Assmann designed an aspiration instrument with a fan to draw air past the wet- and dry-bulb thermometers of a common psychrometer. Assmann also enclosed the device in double-walled ducts of polished metal designed to minimize the effect of radiation. This form remained in widespread use for many years.
An inscription on the clockwork housing of this example reads "R. Fuess / Berlin-Steglitz / No. 189500." That on the back side of the thermometer scales reads "CENTIGRADE R. FUESS, BERLIN-STEGLITZ JENAER Normaliglas 16111."
Ref: R. Fuess, Liste D2 über Thermometer, Psychrometer, Hygrometer und Hypsometer (Steglitz bei Berlin, 1910), p. 6.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
after 1891
maker
R. Fuess
ID Number
1988.0794.01
catalog number
1988.0794.01
accession number
1988.0794

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