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.

Place: London

Zenith Telescope

Marked "Troughton & Simms, London, 1849" and "U. S. C. S. Z. T. No. 4,” this is the last of four zenith telescopes that Troughton & Simms made for the U. S. Coast Survey.
Description
Marked "Troughton & Simms, London, 1849" and "U. S. C. S. Z. T. No. 4,” this is the last of four zenith telescopes that Troughton & Simms made for the U. S. Coast Survey. It arrived in the United States in 1849, and was used for the determination of latitude by the Talcott method. .
When the Survey agreed join in the variation of latitude (polar motion) program organized by the International Geodetic Association, and found that no other instruments were available, it decided to have zenith telescopes No. 2 and No. 4 "remodeled at the Survey Office." Edwin Smith, chief of the Instrument Division, explained that "every precaution" was taken to make these instruments "as perfect as possible under the circumstances." The new features included: base and leveling screws; vertical axis; wyes for horizontal axis of telescope, with adjustment for level; larger horizontal axis for the telescope; new micrometer screw and reconstruction of micrometer box and slide; improved clamp to telescope; two fine levels attached to telescope; and a striding level for the telescope axis. The whole instrument was polished and bronzed, and provided with electric lamps and batteries "for illumination of telescope field, the reading of levels, etc." Zenith telescope No. 2 was used in Hawaii in 1891–1892, while zenith telescope No. 4 was used at Rockville, Md.
Ref: [E. Smith], "On the Variation of Latitude at Rockville, Md., as Determined from Observations Made in 1891 and 1892 in Cooperation with the International Geodetic Association," United States Coast and Geodetic Survey Report for 1892, Appendix No. 1, pp. 4–5, with illustration.
Location
Currently not on view
maker
Troughton and Simms
ID Number
PH.316660
catalog number
316660
accession number
226636

Aneroid Barometer

The inscriptions on the face of this barometer read “J.W. Queen & Co. PHILADELPHIA” and U.S.G.S. No 197.” The U.S.
Description
The inscriptions on the face of this barometer read “J.W. Queen & Co. PHILADELPHIA” and U.S.G.S. No 197.” The U.S. Geological Survey was established in 1879.
The pressure scale around the circumference of the face of this barometer reads from 17.5 to 31 inches of mercury; the altitude scale reads from zero to 3,000 feet. Despite the inscription, this instrument was probably made in London. James W. Queen & Co., the Philadelphia firm that sold it, referred to it as a Pocket Mountain Aneroid compensated for temperature, with altitude scale to 3000 feet.
Ref: J. W. Queen & Co., Mathematical and Engineering Instruments and Materials (Philadelphia, [1880]), p. 179.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
late 19th century
ID Number
PH.247926
catalog number
247926
accession number
47736

Maximum Thermometer

Phillips-type mercury-in-glass thermometer attached to a white porcelain plate on a wooden board that is designed to be hung horizontally. The plate is marked "MAXIMUM" and "L. CASELLA, Maker to the Admiralty & Ordnance, LONDON" and "12975" and is graduated every 5 degrees F.
Description
Phillips-type mercury-in-glass thermometer attached to a white porcelain plate on a wooden board that is designed to be hung horizontally. The plate is marked "MAXIMUM" and "L. CASELLA, Maker to the Admiralty & Ordnance, LONDON" and "12975" and is graduated every 5 degrees F. from -25 to +130. The thermometer has a spherical bulb; the back of the stem is milk white; the front of the stem is marked "12975" and is graduated (but not numbered) every degree (presumably Fahrenheit) from -26 to +130. Casella trade literature notes that this thermometer was designed "for registration of temperature in shade," that the thermometer was "engine divided on the stem," and that the "improved" porcelain plate "effectively resisted "frost and all effects of weather."
As in the form described in 1832 by John Phillips, a British geologist, this thermometer has a small air bubble near the top of the mercury column. As the temperature rises, the detached bit of the mercury is pushed up; and this bit remains in place when the temperature falls.
This example was owned by John William Draper or one of his sons, all of whom were accomplished men of science.
Ref: D. J. Warner, "Casella and Phillips' Maximum Thermometers for Meteorology and Medicine," Bulletin of the Scientific Instrument Society 115 (2012): 36-38.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1860-1897
maker
L. P. Casella
ID Number
PH.334276
accession number
304826
catalog number
334276

Mercury Barometer

In 1854, in the interest of safety and economy, the British Parliament authorized the establishment of a uniform system of meteorological observations at sea and the formation of a Meteorological Office within the Board of Trade.
Description
In 1854, in the interest of safety and economy, the British Parliament authorized the establishment of a uniform system of meteorological observations at sea and the formation of a Meteorological Office within the Board of Trade. Under the leadership of Vice-Admiral Robert FitzRoy, the Met Office issued a call for a barometer suitable for use by the Royal Navy. Patrick Adie got the contract, and the Kew Observatory tested each barometer before it was sent out. Matthew F. Maury, director of the U.S. Naval Observatory, reported in 1855 that he had ordered many barometers of this sort for the U.S. Navy.
This example is marked “ADIE, LONDON No 1711” and “SIGNAL SERVICE U.S. ARMY For Comparison of Barometers for International Simultaneous Meteorological Reports.” It may have been acquired by the Signal Service soon after the start of a weather service in 1870; it was last calibrated by the Weather Bureau in 1970.
Ref.: Sara Dry, “Fishermen and Forecasts: How Barometers Helped Make the Meteorological Department Safer in Victorian Britain,” Center for Analysis of Risk and Regulation Discussion Paper 46 (2007).
M.F. Maury, Explanation and Sailing Directions to Accompany the Wind and Current Charts (Philadelphia, 1855), p. 639.
Report of the Chief Signal Officer to the Secretary of War for the Fiscal Year Ending June 30, 1881, p. 1128.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1854-1886
maker
Adie, Patrick
ID Number
PH.333823
accession number
304553
catalog number
333823

A New MAP / of VIRGINIA from the best authorities: / by T. Kitchin Geogr

Thomas Kitchin (1718-1784) was an English engraver and cartographer, many of whose maps were published in the London Magazine. This one appeared in the issue for November 1761. It extends from lat.
Description
Thomas Kitchin (1718-1784) was an English engraver and cartographer, many of whose maps were published in the London Magazine. This one appeared in the issue for November 1761. It extends from lat. 36°10' to 39°55' north, and from 75°40' to 82°25' west of London; and from 0° to 7° west of Philadelphia. The text at top reads “For the Lond: Ma;” It would have been of interest to readers following the course of the French and Indian Wars.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1761
ID Number
PH.317828
catalog number
317828
accession number
231759

Telescope

This telescope has an achromatic objective, a five-element erecting eyepiece, a ten-sided wood tube with brass couplings that breaks down into three sections, and a tin-plated case covered with leather. It was probably made in the second half of the eighteenth century.
Description
This telescope has an achromatic objective, a five-element erecting eyepiece, a ten-sided wood tube with brass couplings that breaks down into three sections, and a tin-plated case covered with leather. It was probably made in the second half of the eighteenth century. The inscription reads "Dollond LONDON."
Location
Currently not on view
maker
Dollond
ID Number
PH.325413
catalog number
325413
accession number
256202

Aneroid Barometer

This is a small brass instrument, 1¾ inches diameter. The silvered face is marked “R. & J. BECK’S / FARMER’S / BAROMETER / 31 Cornhill / LONDON / 582.” The scale around the circumference of the face reads from 25 to 31 inches of mercury, in fifths of an inch.
Description
This is a small brass instrument, 1¾ inches diameter. The silvered face is marked “R. & J. BECK’S / FARMER’S / BAROMETER / 31 Cornhill / LONDON / 582.” The scale around the circumference of the face reads from 25 to 31 inches of mercury, in fifths of an inch. The back is marked “Signal Service / U.S. Army, / No. 17.” There is also a dark leather case. The U.S. Weather Bureau transferred it to the Smithsonian in 1954.
This was probably made after 1870, when the Signal Service was given charge of the national weather service.
R. & J. Beck was in business, as such, from 1865 to 1895, making and selling microscopes and other optical instruments. Although they sold aneroids, it is unlikely that they made them.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1870-1890
ID Number
PH.314551
accession number
204612
catalog number
314551

Lantern Clock

Joseph Hall of London, England, made this clock about 1680. It is a weight-driven style of domestic clock made entirely of metal and named after its shape, which roughly resembles a lantern.
Description
Joseph Hall of London, England, made this clock about 1680. It is a weight-driven style of domestic clock made entirely of metal and named after its shape, which roughly resembles a lantern. English emigrants from Bermuda purportedly brought the clock to Massachusetts around 1700.
At that time, a brass lantern clock or a tall case clock with a brass movement would have been among the most expensive items its owners possessed. More important as status symbols than as precise timekeepers, the clocks often had only an hour hand. Most people did not require to-the-minute accuracy.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1700
ID Number
CL.334367
catalog number
334367
accession number
314557

Railroad Watch

This English watch was a part of a technical fix applied to U.S.
Description
This English watch was a part of a technical fix applied to U.S. railroads following accidents in the middle of the 19th century.
Back then timetables governed train arrivals and departures, established train priorities, and ensured that trains did not collide on single-track lines. Clocks in railroad stations and watches held by conductors and engineers helped to enforce the timetables.
But in the middle of the 19th century, timepieces in use on the railroads varied wildly in quality and availability to employees of the line. There was no single standard of quality for railroad timekeepers. After a horrific fatal accident on the Providence & Worcester Railroad in August 1853, caused in part by the inaccuracy of a conductor's watch, some railroads in New England responded to public criticism of their industry by tightening up running rules and ordering top-quality clocks and watches for their employees.
This is one such high-quality railroad watch.
An official representing the Vermont Central Railroad and three other New England lines, William Raymond Lee, ordered watches and clocks in late 1853 from William Bond & Sons, Boston, the American agent for Barraud & Lund of London. The English firm delivered the first of the timepieces in January 1855. The Vermont Central purchased fifteen watches for $150 each and one clock for $300.
Barraud & Lund, founded in 1750 by Huguenot watchmaker Francis-Gabriel Barraud, had a long-standing reputation for high-quality timepieces, including marine chronometers, clocks and watches. By the middle of the nineteenth century, the firm had extensive foreign markets and added John Richard Lund, a chronometer maker, to their business.
William Bond & Son, the firm named on the watch's dust cap, was one of the principal timepiece purveyors of nineteenth-century America. Intimately connected to navigation and commercial shipping, the firm rated and repaired marine chronometers for the busy port of Boston and supplied instruments of all sorts to agencies of the federal government-specifically, the coast survey, the topographical engineers, and the navy. The firm, whose original business provided time for navigating at sea, branched out with the railroad business to perform the same service on land.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1853
maker
Barraud & Lund
ID Number
1999.0278.01
catalog number
1999.0278.01
accession number
1999.0278

Aneroid Barometer

This small barometer was probably made by Short & Mason in London, in the latter decades of the nineteenth century.
Description
This small barometer was probably made by Short & Mason in London, in the latter decades of the nineteenth century. The inscriptions on the face read “Compensated” and “MADE IN ENGLAND.” The scale around the circumference of the face extends from 21 to 31 inches of mercury, graduated to tenths, with indications for “RAIN,” “CHANGE” and “FAIR.” Another scale, which is moveable, indicates elevation from zero to 10,000 feet. The case is gilt.
Ref: Short & Mason, Ltd., Illustrated and Descriptive Catalogue and Price List of Barometers, Compasses, Air Meters, Self-Recording and Other Scientific Instruments (London, after 1900), pp. 9-10.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
late 19th century
ID Number
PH.247927
catalog number
247927
accession number
47736

Telescope (Spyglass)

This telescope once belonged to Francis Asbury Bassett, an engineer who took part in the development of Route 50 through Ohio. It has an achromatic objective, a four-element erecting eye piece, and a three-draw brass body painted green and gold. The inscription reads "G.
Description
This telescope once belonged to Francis Asbury Bassett, an engineer who took part in the development of Route 50 through Ohio. It has an achromatic objective, a four-element erecting eye piece, and a three-draw brass body painted green and gold. The inscription reads "G. Bracher London for E. A. Kutz New York." George Bracher was an optician working in London between 1826 and 1840. Erasmus Kutz was an English immigrant to the U.S. who sold rules and other mathematical instruments.
Ref: Gloria Clifton, Directory of British Scientific Instrument Makers, 1550-1851 (London, 1995), p. 36.
Charles Smart, The Makers of Surveying Instruments in America Since 1700 (Troy, N.Y., 1962), pp. 99-100.
Location
Currently not on view
maker
Bracher, George
ID Number
1998.0088.01
accession number
1998.0088
catalog number
1998.0088.01

Celestial Globe

This globe shows no constellation figures or contours, but only the brightest stars used for navigation. It has a brass horizon and meridian ring designed by a Lieut. English, that are used to identify the stars.
Description
This globe shows no constellation figures or contours, but only the brightest stars used for navigation. It has a brass horizon and meridian ring designed by a Lieut. English, that are used to identify the stars. The inscriptions read "CARY & CO Makers to the Admiralty 7 PALL MALL LONDON" and "CARY, LONDON. PATENT No 21540." The wooden case is stamped with the name of the owner: "J DAVIES / I R N SIGNAL STATION / ST CATHERINES POINT / NITON UNDERCLIFF / N R VENTOR / IOW"
John Cary began making globes in London in 1791. The firm became Cary & Co. in the early 1890s, and were at this Pall Mall address in the early 1900s.
Ref: Elly Dekker, Globes at Greenwich (London, 1999), pp. 293-303.
English’s Patent Star Finder (n.p., n.d.)
Location
Currently not on view
maker
Cary & Co.
ID Number
PH.327570
accession number
267874
catalog number
327570

Octant

Octant with an ebony frame and flat brass index arm. The ivory scale is graduated every 20 minutes from -2° to +99° 40' and read by vernier with tangent screw to single minutes of arc.
Description
Octant with an ebony frame and flat brass index arm. The ivory scale is graduated every 20 minutes from -2° to +99° 40' and read by vernier with tangent screw to single minutes of arc. There is also a back sight and a back horizon glass that can be used to measure angles greater than 90°. The "Spencer Browning & Rust London" and "SBR" inscriptions refer to a firm that was in business from 1784 to 1840.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1800
maker
Spencer Browning & Rust
ID Number
PH.326111
catalog number
326111
accession number
257245

Surveyor's Compass

This surveyor's compass, with a face reading clockwise, reflects a British rather than an American design. In Britain it would have been referred to as a “circumferentor.” The "W. & S.
Description
This surveyor's compass, with a face reading clockwise, reflects a British rather than an American design. In Britain it would have been referred to as a “circumferentor.” The "W. & S. JONES 30 Holborn London" inscription refers to an instrument firm that was in business from 1791 to 1859, and at this address from 1800 to 1859.
Ref: Gloria Clifton, Directory of British Scientific Instrument Makers 1550-1851 (London, 1995), p. 155.
Location
Currently not on view
maker
W. & S. Jones
ID Number
PH.336705
accession number
1979.0770
catalog number
336705

Waywiser

This waywiser has a wooden frame, and a dial of silvered brass with the usual scales, one for poles and furlongs and the other for miles. The "J. Sisson LONDON" signature refers to Jonathan Sisson (c.
Description
This waywiser has a wooden frame, and a dial of silvered brass with the usual scales, one for poles and furlongs and the other for miles. The "J. Sisson LONDON" signature refers to Jonathan Sisson (c. 1690–1749) or his son, Jeremiah Sisson (1720–1783).
A waywiser consists of a large wheel that can roll along a level surface, and a dial that registers the distance traveled. The wheel usually measures 8.25 feet in circumference, such that 2 revolutions are equal to 1 pole. The larger hand on the dial makes one sweep per mile (320 poles or 8 furlongs). The shorter hand indicates the number of miles traveled. Waywisers became popular in England in the 18th century, and were still in use in the United States in the late 19th century. They were was also known as perambulators.
Ref: Jane Insley, "Odometer," in Robert Bud and Deborah Warner, eds., Instruments of Science (New York and London, 1998), pp.423–424.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
Eighteenth Century
maker
Sisson, Jonathan
ID Number
PH.336995
catalog number
336995
accession number
1979.0217
catalog number
1979.0217.01

Telescope (spyglass)

This is an early achromatic telescope. The erecting eye piece has five glass elements. The draw tubes are pasteboard with brass ferules; the outer one is covered with green shagreen. The inscription reads "DOLLOND / LONDON."Currently not on view
Description
This is an early achromatic telescope. The erecting eye piece has five glass elements. The draw tubes are pasteboard with brass ferules; the outer one is covered with green shagreen. The inscription reads "DOLLOND / LONDON."
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca. 1750-1800
maker
Dollond
ID Number
PH.330320
catalog number
330320
accession number
290549

Aneroid Barometer

This small brass instrument, 2½ inches diameter, was owned by Spencer Fullerton Baird (1823-1887), the second Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution. The silvered face is marked "R. & J.
Description
This small brass instrument, 2½ inches diameter, was owned by Spencer Fullerton Baird (1823-1887), the second Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution. The silvered face is marked "R. & J. Beck / 51 Cornhill / LONDON / 516 / Compensated." The pressure scale around the circumference of the face extends from 15 to 31 inches of mercury. The altitude scale extends from 0 to 18,000 feet. The instrument is stored in a round, red leather case. R. & J. Beck was in business, as such, from 1865 to 1895.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1865-1895
maker
R. & J. Beck
ID Number
PH.284273
accession number
55865
catalog number
284273

Altitude and Azimuth Instrument

This astronomical instrument belonged to Columbia College (now University), and dates from around 1837. The horizontal and vertical circles are silvered, graduated to 10 minutes, and read by verniers to 10 sec. The insription reads "Troughton & Simms, London."Ref: Frederick W.
Description
This astronomical instrument belonged to Columbia College (now University), and dates from around 1837. The horizontal and vertical circles are silvered, graduated to 10 minutes, and read by verniers to 10 sec. The insription reads "Troughton & Simms, London."
Ref: Frederick W. Simms, A Treatise on the Principal Mathematical Instruments Employed in Surveying, Levelling, & Astronomy (Baltimore, 1844), pp. 89–109, describes a similar instrument, but with two vertical circles.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1837
maker
Troughton and Simms
ID Number
PH.323689
catalog number
323689
accession number
249200

Aneroid Barometer

This small instrument, the size of a pocket watch, was probably made for the French market. The inscription on the silvered face reads “L.
Description
This small instrument, the size of a pocket watch, was probably made for the French market. The inscription on the silvered face reads “L. Casella / Maker to the Admiralty / & Ordnance / LONDON / Compensated / 2311.” The outer scale around the edge of the face indicates altitude in “Mètres.” The inner scale indicates pressure from 63 to 70 centimeters of mercury, subdivided to half millimeters; another scale indicates altitudes from 300 feet below sea level to 15,000 feet above. A curved thermometer reads from -12 to +55 degrees centigrade. There is also a leather carrying case.
Ref.: L. Casella, Improved Aneroid Barometers (London, 188?).
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1865-1897
maker
L. P. Casella
ID Number
PH.326964
accession number
264006
catalog number
326964

Telescope (Spyglass)

This telescope was probably made after 1878 when the U.S. Coast Survey became the U.S. Coast & Geodetic Survey, and was transferred to the Smithsonian in 1929. The inscription reads "L. CASELLA LONDON" and "U.S.C.&G.S. No.
Description
This telescope was probably made after 1878 when the U.S. Coast Survey became the U.S. Coast & Geodetic Survey, and was transferred to the Smithsonian in 1929. The inscription reads "L. CASELLA LONDON" and "U.S.C.&G.S. No. 168."
Casella described this as a "Military or Target Telescope" that "will show the time by a clock at six miles distance, and the form of the rocks of Calais from Dover, a distance of twenty-one miles." It has an achromatic objective, and a tapered four-draw brass body covered with leather. Its four-element erecting eye piece is "pancratic," which means that it can produce various magnifications (in this case, of 20, 25, or 30 times).
Louis Paschal Casella (1812–1897) was an Italian immigrant who opened a shop in London in 1848, offering a wide range of meteorological, mathematical, optical, and philosophical instruments, and photographic apparatus. Casella prospered, and soon obtained appointments to the Prince of Wales and several government agencies. With Charles Frederick Casella in charge, the firm became C.F. Casella in 1897, and C. F. Casella & Company Ltd. in 1910.
Ref: L. Casella, List with Notes of Standard Meteorological and Other Instruments for Observatories, Travellers and Explorers, and the Army and Navy (London, 187?), p. 61.
Gloria Clifton, Directory of British Scientific Instrument Makers 1550-1851 (London, 1995), pp. 51-52.
Location
Currently not on view
maker
Casella, Louis Paschal
ID Number
PH.309649
catalog number
309649
accession number
106954

Daniell Hygrometer

John Frederic Daniell, a young English natural philosopher, described this type of instrument in 1820. It consists of two glass balls, one partially filled with ether and the other covered with muslin, connected by a thin tube from which the air has been evacuated.
Description
John Frederic Daniell, a young English natural philosopher, described this type of instrument in 1820. It consists of two glass balls, one partially filled with ether and the other covered with muslin, connected by a thin tube from which the air has been evacuated. There is a thermometer in the tube above the ball with the ether, and another on the supporting stand. When a few drops of ether are poured on the muslin, their evaporation chills the covered ball; that in turn causes the ether vapor inside the instrument to condense, thereby cooling the other ball and causing dew to form on its surface. These instruments, Daniell said, were "accurately constructed, and packed in a box for the pocket, by Mr. Newman, Lisle-Street." The reference was to John Frederick Newman, a noted instrument maker in London.
The stand of this example is metal. The interior thermometer is mounted on a white ivory plate, the front is graduated every degree Fahrenheit from +15 to +95, and the back is marked "5 x 31 J. NEWMAN LONDON." The exterior thermometer is missing, and the dry bulb is broken. The U.S. Military Academy purchased it sometime between 1831 and 1844.
Ref: J. F. Daniell, "On a New Hygrometer, which Measures the Force and Weight of Aqueous Vapour in the Atmosphere, and the Corresponding Degree of Evaporation," Quarterly Journal of Science 8 (1820): 298-336.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1831-1844
maker
J. Newman
ID Number
PH.315733
catalog number
315733
accession number
217544

Sextant

Sextant with a brass frame. The silvered scale is graduated every 10 minutes from -5° to +125° and read by vernier with tangent screw and swinging magnifier to 10 seconds. The "Spencer Browning & Co. London" inscription refers to a firm that was in business from 1840 to 1870.
Description
Sextant with a brass frame. The silvered scale is graduated every 10 minutes from -5° to +125° and read by vernier with tangent screw and swinging magnifier to 10 seconds. The "Spencer Browning & Co. London" inscription refers to a firm that was in business from 1840 to 1870. The serial number is "5861."
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1840-1870
maker
Spencer, Browning & Co.
ID Number
PH.328887
accession number
277637
catalog number
328887

A MAP / of / MARYLAND / with the / DELAWARE / COUNTIES / and the / Southern part of NEW JERSEY &c. / By T. Kitchin Geogr

Thomas Kitchin (1718-1784) was an English engraver and cartographer who produced many maps for the London Magazine. This one appeared in the issue for August 1757. It extends from lat.
Description
Thomas Kitchin (1718-1784) was an English engraver and cartographer who produced many maps for the London Magazine. This one appeared in the issue for August 1757. It extends from lat. 37°10' to 40°30' north, and from 74° to 80°10' west of London; and from 1°25' east to 4°40' west of Philadelphia. It has a scale of British state miles. The text at top reads “For the Lond: Mag:” The text at bottom reads “Printed for R. Baldwin in Pater Noster Row.”
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1757
ID Number
PH.317826
catalog number
317826
accession number
231759

Aneroid Barometer

The inscriptions on the face of this barometer read “J. & H. J. GREEN / NEW YORK” and “JAS PITKIN / Maker / LONDON / COMPENSATED” and “U.S.G.S. No 181.” They indicate a date between 1879 and 1885 when James and Henry J. Green were working in partnership. The U.S.
Description
The inscriptions on the face of this barometer read “J. & H. J. GREEN / NEW YORK” and “JAS PITKIN / Maker / LONDON / COMPENSATED” and “U.S.G.S. No 181.” They indicate a date between 1879 and 1885 when James and Henry J. Green were working in partnership. The U.S. Geological Survey was established in 1879.
The pressure scale around the circumference of the face reads from 20 to 31 inches of mercury; the altitude scale reads from zero to 12,000 feet.
James Pitkin received a British provisional patent (#2947) for “Improvements in Aneroid Barometers” in 1861. In 1870, together with Thomas W. Short, his partner at that time, he brought out an Illustrated Catalogue of Aneroid Barometers.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1879-1885
retailer
J. & H. J. Green
maker
Pitkin, James
ID Number
PH.247925
catalog number
247925
accession number
47736

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