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: Washington

Chromolithograph of "Los Angeles"

This tinted lithograph of “Los Angeles" was produced by Thomas Sinclair (1805-1881) after an original sketch by expedition artist Charles Koppel (fl. 1853-1865).
Description (Brief)
This tinted lithograph of “Los Angeles" was produced by Thomas Sinclair (1805-1881) after an original sketch by expedition artist Charles Koppel (fl. 1853-1865). It was printed as Plate X in Volume V, Part I, following page 34, in the "General Report," part of the “Routes in California, to Connect with the Routes near the Thirty–Fifth and Thirty–Second Parallels, Explored by Lieutenant R. S. Williamson, Corps of Topographical Engineers, in 1853."
The volume was printed as part of the "Reports of Explorations and Surveys, to ascertain the most practicable and economical route for a railroad from the Mississippi River to the Pacific Ocean" in 1856 by A. P. O. Nicholson (1808-1876) of Washington, D.C.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1856
publisher
U.S. War Department
printer
Tucker, Beverley
author
Williamson, Robert Stockton
original artist
Koppel, Charles
graphic artist
unknown
publisher
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Topographic Command
ID Number
GA.10729.36
accession number
62261

Chromolithograph of "Metamorphic Rocks-Borders of the Desert"

This tinted lithograph of “Metamorphic Rocks - Borders of the Desert" was produced after an original sketch by expedition artist Charles Koppel (fl. 1853-1865). It was printed as Plate XIII in Volume V, Part II, following page 235, in the "Geological Report by W. P.
Description (Brief)
This tinted lithograph of “Metamorphic Rocks - Borders of the Desert" was produced after an original sketch by expedition artist Charles Koppel (fl. 1853-1865). It was printed as Plate XIII in Volume V, Part II, following page 235, in the "Geological Report by W. P. Blake, Geologist and Minerologist to the Expedition," as part of the “Routes in California, to Connect with the Routes near the Thirty–Fifth and Thirty–Second Parallels, Explored by Lieutenant R. S. Williamson, Corps of Topographical Engineers, in 1853."
The volume was printed as part of the "Reports of Explorations and Surveys, to ascertain the most practicable and economical route for a railroad from the Mississippi River to the Pacific Ocean" in 1856 by A. P. O. Nicholson (1808-1876) of Washington, D.C.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1856
publisher
U.S. War Department
printer
Tucker, Beverley
graphic artist
unknown
original artist
Koppel, Charles
author
Blake, William Phipps
Williamson, Robert Stockton
publisher
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Topographic Command
original artist
Koppel, Charles
ID Number
GA.10729.37
accession number
62261

Chromolithograph of "Fort Massachusetts at the Foot of the Sierra Blanca Valley of San Luis"

This tinted lithograph of “Fort Massachusetts at the Foot of the Sierra Blanca Valley of San Luis" was produced by Thomas Sinclair (1805-1881), Philadelphia, after a sketch by John Mix Stanley (1814-1872) and an original sketch by expedition artist R. H. Kern (1821-1853).
Description
This tinted lithograph of “Fort Massachusetts at the Foot of the Sierra Blanca Valley of San Luis" was produced by Thomas Sinclair (1805-1881), Philadelphia, after a sketch by John Mix Stanley (1814-1872) and an original sketch by expedition artist R. H. Kern (1821-1853). It was printed as a plate in Volume II following page 38, in the "Report of Explorations for a Route for the Pacific Railroad, by Captain J. W. Gunnison (1812-1853), Topographical Engineers, Near the 38th and 39th Parallels of North Latitude, from the Mouth of the Kansas River, Missouri to the Sevier Lake in the Great Basin" by Lieutenant E. G. Beckwith (1818-1881), Third Artillery.
The volume was printed as part of the "Reports of Explorations and Surveys, to ascertain the most practicable and economical route for a railroad from the Mississippi River to the Pacific Ocean" in 1855 by A. P. O. Nicholson (1808-1876) of Washington, D.C.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1855
engraver
Stanley, John Mix
artist
Kern, Richard H.
printer
Sinclair, T.
publisher
U.S. War Department
author
Beckwith, Edward Griffin
Gunnison, John Williams
printer
Tucker, Beverley
publisher
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Topographic Command
ID Number
GA.10729.27
accession number
62261

Earth Inductor

As scientists found that even the best dip circles gave unreliable results, they began using earth inductors to determine magnetic dip. In 1912, the Department of Terrestrial Magnetism of the Carnegie Institution of Washington developed a new earth inductor for use at sea.
Description
As scientists found that even the best dip circles gave unreliable results, they began using earth inductors to determine magnetic dip. In 1912, the Department of Terrestrial Magnetism of the Carnegie Institution of Washington developed a new earth inductor for use at sea. It had three key elements: an improved gimbal stand, a means for rotating the coil without disturbing the gimbal rings, and a sensitive galvanometer.
This example marked "D.T.M. C.I.W. E.I. N° 3" is the third Carnegie marine earth inductor. When the Carnegie closed its program in terrestrial magnetism, it was lent to the U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey. The U.S. Geological Survey acquired it in 1973 when it took over the geomagnetic program of the federal government, and transferred it to the Smithsonian in 1982.
Ref: J. A. Fleming, "Description of the C.I.W. Marine Earth
Inductor," Terrestrial Magnetism 18 (1912): 39-45.
C. W. Hewlett, "Report on the C.I.W. Marine Earth Inductor," Terrestrial Magnetism 18 (1912): 46-48.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1912
maker
Carnegie Institution of Washington. Department of Terrestrial Magnetism
ID Number
1982.0671.05
accession number
1982.0671
catalog number
1982.0671.05

National Bureau of Standards Replica Meter Standard

This aluminum bar, with an X-shaped cross-section, is a replica of the platinum international meter prototype housed in Paris and used as a standard for the metric system from 1889 to 1960. On one side, the lower left corner is marked: A.27.
Description
This aluminum bar, with an X-shaped cross-section, is a replica of the platinum international meter prototype housed in Paris and used as a standard for the metric system from 1889 to 1960. On one side, the lower left corner is marked: A.27. The upper right corner is marked: B.27. Like an actual meter standard, the bar is 102 centimeters long and there are marks 1 centimeter from each end on this side to show the precise length of a meter. Compare to 2000.0126.25.
A rectangular walnut case is lined with black felt. A brass plate on the top of the case is marked: REPLICA METER BAR (/) Presented to (/) BENJAMIN L. PAGE (/) Metrologist (/) National Bureau of Standards (/) On the occasion of his retirement (/) December 29, 1961.
Benjamin Lorenzo Page (1894–1977) began working with length standards at the National Bureau of Standards (now the National Institute of Standards and Technology) around 1920. He was presented with this replica when he retired. His widow, Helen (Bell) Page, then gave it to one of his colleagues, Rolland Ackermann (1905–1985).
References: Catalog of Artifacts on Display in the NBS Museum, edited by H. L. Mason, NBSIR 76-1125 (Washington, D.C., 1977), 17; Robert P. Crease, World in the Balance: The Historic Quest for an Absolute System of Measurement (New York: W. W. Norton, 2011), 223; Herbert Arthur Klein, The Science of Measurement: A Historical Survey (reprint, New York: Dover, 1988), 185; "Benjamin Lorenzo 'Ben' Page," http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=35098794; Calibrations of the Line Standards of Length of the National Bureau of Standards, by Lewis V. Judson and Benjamin L. Page, RP743, Bureau of Standards Journal of Research 11 (July-December 1933).
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1961
Maker
National Bureau of Standards
ID Number
1985.0819.01
accession number
1985.0819
catalog number
1985.0819.01

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

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

Rule Advertising Friden Calculating Machines

This promotional white plastic six-inch ruler is divided along the top edge to sixteenths of an inch and numbered by fourths from 1 to 6. The bottom edge has six one-inch sections, three of which are divided to 1/12" and three of which are divided to 1/10".
Description
This promotional white plastic six-inch ruler is divided along the top edge to sixteenths of an inch and numbered by fourths from 1 to 6. The bottom edge has six one-inch sections, three of which are divided to 1/12" and three of which are divided to 1/10". The ruler is marked: PRODUCTS OF Friden THE NATURAL WAY ADDING MACHINE (/) THE AUTOMATIC CALCULATOR (/) THE COMPUTYPER (/) DATA PROCESSING MACHINES. It is also marked: FRIDEN, INC. (/) 1724 Wisconsin Avenue, N.W. (/) Washington 7, D.C. (/) Phone ADams 2-6377.
The back of the ruler has lists of decimal equivalents for twelfths, eighths, and sixteenths. Another list gives the number of days from January 1 to the first of each month. The right edge has a 15cm ruler, divided to millimeters. The bottom edge is marked: Printed in U.S.A.
During World War I, Carl Friden (1891–1945) emigrated from Sweden to Australia and then to the United States. He patented numerous improvements to calculating machines while working for the Marchant Calculating Machine Company of Oakland, Calif. With his royalties, he established Friden Calculating Machine Company in 1933. After briefly renting factory space, the firm built a factory in San Leandro, Calif., in 1937. In addition to calculating machines, Friden made precision machine tools and aircraft instruments. After purchasing Commercial Controls Corporation in 1957, it began making automatic electric typewriters for producing mass business correspondence. The Singer Corporation purchased the company in 1965 and phased out the Friden brand name in 1974.
Friden opened a branch office in Washington, D.C., by 1935 and operated it until around 1980. Waverly Dickson (1909–1967) was the branch manager from 1935 to 1967, and he and his sister, Lulie Dickson, owned the building at 1724 Wisconsin Ave. Theodore A. Peck (1892–1978) was the sales manager from 1945 to 1968. Large American cities used postal zone numbers from 1943 to 1963, hence the dating of the object.
The Smithsonian owns at least 18 Friden calculators and nearly 20 pieces of related documentation. For promotional rulers by Monroe's chief competitors, see MA.293320.2811, MA.293320.2812, and MA.293320.2816.
References: John Wolff, "The Friden Calculating Machine Company," December 9, 2012, John Wolff's Web Museum, http://home.vicnet.net.au/~wolff/calculators/Friden/Friden.htm; "Waverly Dickson, Manager of Firm," Washington Post (March 24, 1967), B6; "Theodore Peck, Retired Sales Manager for Friden," Washington Post (November 11, 1978), B6.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1943–1963
distributor
Friden, Inc.
maker
Friden, Inc.
ID Number
MA.293320.2813
catalog number
293320.2813
accession number
293320

Universal Magnetometer with Earth Inductor

This instrument was designed and produced by the Department of Terrestrial Magnetism of the Carnegie Institution of Washington. Unlike the Carnegie's original universal magnetometer, this one is equipped with an earth inductor to determine dip.
Description
This instrument was designed and produced by the Department of Terrestrial Magnetism of the Carnegie Institution of Washington. Unlike the Carnegie's original universal magnetometer, this one is equipped with an earth inductor to determine dip. It is marked "DEPARTMENT TERRESTRIAL MAGNETISM Carnegie Institution of Washington E.I. - M. No. 28." It was completed in 1914 and used in many locations around the world. The U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey used it in South and Central America in the early 1940s. The U.S. Geological Survey acquired it in 1973, when that agency took charge of the federal program in geomagnetism, and transferred it to the Smithsonian in 1982.
Ref: J. A. Fleming and J. A. Widner, "Description of the C.I.W. Combined Magnetometer and Earth Inductor," Terrestrial Magnetism 18 (1913): 105-110.
Carnegie Institution of Washington. Department of Terrestrial Magnetism. Land Magnetic Observations, 1911-1913 (Washington, D.C., 1915), pp. 9-12.
U. S. Coast and Geodetic Survey, Magnetic Observations in the American Republics 1941-44 (Washington, D.C., 1946), p. 16.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1914
maker
Carnegie Institution of Washington. Department of Terrestrial Magnetism
ID Number
1982.0671.07
accession number
1982.0671
catalog number
1982.0671.07

Universal Magnetometer with Dip Circle

This instrument is marked "D.T.M. C.I.W.
Description
This instrument is marked "D.T.M. C.I.W. N° 19." Designed and built by the Department of Terrestrial Magnetism of the Carnegie Institution of Washington in 1912, it incorporates an astronomical telescope and magnetometer for the determination of magnetic declination and horizontal intensity, and a dip circle with a Lloyd-Creak attachment for the determination of inclination and intensity. It is relatively light and easy to manipulate. It was used for a few years and then set aside when the universal magnetometer with earth inductor came into use.
This magnetometer was probably transferred to the U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey after the Carnegie Institution closed its geomagnetic program. The U.S. Geological Survey acquired it in 1973, when it took over the geomagnetic program of the federal government, and transferred it to the Smithsonian in 1982.
Ref: J. A. Fleming, "Two New Types of Magnetometers Made by the Department of Terrestrial Magnetism of the Carnegie Institution of Washington," Terrestrial Magnetism 16 (1911): 1-12.
Carnegie Institution of Washington, Land Magnetic Observations, 1911-1913 (Washington, D.C., 1915), pp. 7-8.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1912
maker
Carnegie Institution of Washington. Department of Terrestrial Magnetism
ID Number
1982.0671.03
accession number
1982.0671
catalog number
1982.0671.03

Dip Circle

This Kew pattern dip circle is marked "U.S.C.&G.S. No. 23" and was probably made in the instrument shop of the U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey. The vertical circle is silvered, graduated to 30 minutes, and read by opposite verniers and magnifiers to single minutes.
Description
This Kew pattern dip circle is marked "U.S.C.&G.S. No. 23" and was probably made in the instrument shop of the U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey. The vertical circle is silvered, graduated to 30 minutes, and read by opposite verniers and magnifiers to single minutes. The horizontal circle is graduated to 30 minutes and read by vernier to single minutes. On top of the box there is a compass needle in a box with peep sights that measures magnetic variation.
A brass housing on the front of the instrument holds an auxiliary needle (now missing) that serves as a deflector for the determination of total intensity; this technique was introduced by Humphrey Lloyd, professor of natural philosophy at Trinity College, Dublin, in the early 1840s.
Ref: Daniel Hazard, Directions for Magnetic Measurements (Washington, D.C., 1911), pp. 66-69.
Humphrey Lloyd, "On a New Magnetical Instrument, for the Measurement of the Inclination, and Its Changes," Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy 2 (1840-1844): 210-217, 226-232.
Location
Currently not on view
maker
U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey
ID Number
PH.314632
accession number
208213
catalog number
314632

Dip Circle

This dip circle was designed by Julius Hilgard of the U.S. Coast Survey, constructed by William Würdemann, and in use by 1860.
Description
This dip circle was designed by Julius Hilgard of the U.S. Coast Survey, constructed by William Würdemann, and in use by 1860. The vertical circle is located outside the wood and glass box, silvered, graduated to 15 minutes, and read by opposite verniers with magnifiers to 30 seconds. It supports two telescopes which are used to take sights on small holes pierced through the ends of the needle. The horizontal circle is silvered, graduated to 30 minutes and read by vernier to single minutes. The inscriptions read "Wm Würdemann, Washington, D.C." and "U.S.C.S. No. 10."
Ref: "Results of Magnetical Observations Made at Eastport, Maine, Between 1860 and 1864, for the United States Coast Survey," Report of the Superintendent of the United States Coast Survey During the Year 1865, Appendix 18.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
ca 1860
maker
Wurdemann, William W.
ID Number
PH.314633
catalog number
314633
accession number
208213

Universal Magnetometer with Dip Circle

This instrument was designed and built by the Department of Terrestrial Magnetism of the Carnegie Institution of Washington in 1912.
Description
This instrument was designed and built by the Department of Terrestrial Magnetism of the Carnegie Institution of Washington in 1912. It incorporates an astronomical telescope and magnetometer for the determination of magnetic declination and horizontal intensity, and a dip circle with a Lloyd-Creak attachment for the determination of inclination and intensity. It is relatively light and easy to manipulate. It was used for a few years and then set aside when the universal magnetometer with earth inductor came into use. The inscription reads "D.T.M. C.I.W. No 21."
This instrument ended up in the hands of the U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey, and that agency transferred it to the Smithsonian in 1959.
Ref: J. A. Fleming, "Two New Types of Magnetometers Made by the Department of Terrestrial Magnetism of the Carnegie Institution of Washington," Terrestrial Magnetism 16 (1911): 1-12.
Carnegie Institution of Washington. Department of Terrestrial Magnetism. Land Magnetic Observations, 1911-1913 (Washington, D.C., 1915), pp. 7-9.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1912
maker
Carnegie Institution of Washington. Department of Terrestrial Magnetism
ID Number
PH.316504
accession number
225703
catalog number
316504

Universal Magnetometer with Earth Inductor

This instrument is marked "DEPARTMENT OF TERRESTRIAL MAGNETISM Carnegie Institution of Washington E.I. - M No 26." It was designed and produced by the Department of Terrestrial Magnetism of the Carnegie Institution of Washington.
Description
This instrument is marked "DEPARTMENT OF TERRESTRIAL MAGNETISM Carnegie Institution of Washington E.I. - M No 26." It was designed and produced by the Department of Terrestrial Magnetism of the Carnegie Institution of Washington. Unlike the Carnegie's original universal magnetometer, this one is equipped with an earth inductor to determine dip. It was completed in 1914, compared with standard magnetic instruments at the Kew and Greenwich observatories in England, and at the U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey observatory at Cheltenham, Md., and used in many locations around the world.
Ref: J. A. Fleming and J. A. Widner, "Description of the C.I.W. Combined Magnetometer and Earth Inductor," Terrestrial Magnetism 18 (1913): 105-110.
Carnegie Institution of Washington. Department of Terrestrial Magnetism. Land Magnetic Observations, 1911-1913 (Washington, D.C., 1915), pp. 9-12.
Location
Currently not on view (Tripod at Fullerton)
Currently not on view
Date made
1914
maker
Carnegie Institution of Washington. Department of Terrestrial Magnetism
ID Number
PH.320627
accession number
2003.0312
catalog number
320627

Geodetic Transit

This transit instrument was made in 1877 for the new John C. Green Astronomical Observatory at Princeton University.
Description
This transit instrument was made in 1877 for the new John C. Green Astronomical Observatory at Princeton University. Like the instruments that Stackpole & Brother had made for the 1874 transit of Venus, this one has a "broken" telescope that is viewed through one end of the horizontal axis. It also has a micrometer eyepiece, a cast-iron base, and a mechanism that is used to lift and reverse the telescope. The vertical circle is silvered, graduated to 10 minutes, and read by opposite verniers to 10 seconds.
The inscription reads "No 145 EDWD KAHLER WASHINGTON, D.C." Edward Kahler (1833–1890) was born in Germany, and was working as an instrument maker in Washington by 1869. Charles A. Young, the newly appointed astronomer at Princeton, carried on a lengthy correspondence with Kahler, repeatedly modifying the design even as the instrument was being built for the university's new observatory.
Ref: Charles A. Young Papers, Princeton University Archives.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1877
maker
Kahler, Edward
ID Number
PH.328709
catalog number
328709
accession number
275579

Dip Circle

This is one of eight dip circles that Edward Kahler made for the American expeditions sent to observe the transit of Venus across the face of the sun in 1874. It is marked "106." The vertical circle is graduated to 20 minutes.
Description
This is one of eight dip circles that Edward Kahler made for the American expeditions sent to observe the transit of Venus across the face of the sun in 1874. It is marked "106." The vertical circle is graduated to 20 minutes. The horizontal circle is graduated to 30 minutes and read by vernier to single minutes. Both are silvered.
Ref: Steve Dick, Sky and Ocean Joined (Cambridge, 2002), p. 250.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
ca 1874
maker
Kahler
ID Number
PH.327714
catalog number
327714
accession number
283554

Copley 16-Inch Terrestrial Globe

There is no cartouche on this globe, but the texts on the horizon circle read: “IMPROVED GLOBE BOSTON” and “REFERENCES / Flamstead 46. Hevelius 24. Piazzi 180. LaCaille 1661. Nebulae. W. Herschell, J. Herschell, & J. Dunlop.” and “MANUFACTURED FOR H. B. NIMS & CO.
Description
There is no cartouche on this globe, but the texts on the horizon circle read: “IMPROVED GLOBE BOSTON” and “REFERENCES / Flamstead 46. Hevelius 24. Piazzi 180. LaCaille 1661. Nebulae. W. Herschell, J. Herschell, & J. Dunlop.” and “MANUFACTURED FOR H. B. NIMS & CO. / TROY N.Y.” and “THE EQUATION OF TIME” and “Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1852 by Charles Copley, in / the Clerks office, of the District Court, of the Southern District, of New York” and “MAGNITUDES / First Magnitude. . . Ninth Nebulae” and “EXPLANATION. / Ancient Constellations . . . Modern . . .”
This globe has a short 4-leg wooden base, a wooden horizon circle and a brass meridian. The astronomical information on the horizon circle suggests that this element could be used for celestial as well as terrestrial globes.
Charles Copley (b. 1800) was a cartographer and engraver from England who became an American citizen in 1844 and lived in Brooklyn. He is best known for the pair of 16-inch globes that he introduced in 1852. Despite being extremely detailed, even to the point of obscurity, these globes won a gold medal at the 1852 fair of the American Institute in New York, and a first premium at the 1853 fair of the Franklin Institute in Philadelphia. Copley’s globes would be revised from time to time, and marketed by other firms.
This example of Copley’s terrestrial globe contains revisions that would have been of particular interest to Americans: Alaska (1867) is shown, but Lake Victoria (1858) and Mt. Kilimanjaro (1848) are not. Other additions include isothermal lines, the Atlantic Cable, and various deep sea soundings which, as advertised, “are not laid down on any other globe.”
H. B. Nims & Co., the firm that marketed this example, was in business in Troy, N.Y., from 1869 to 1885 and again from 1890 to 1896, publishing and selling books and other school supplies. The globe was probably made by Gilman Joslin in Boston.
Ref: D. J. Warner, “The Geography of Heaven and Earth,” Rittenhouse 2 (1999): 54-55, 63-64, and 88-89.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1870
maker
Copley, Charles
Joslin, Gilman
H. B. Nims & Co.
ID Number
PH.327974
accession number
270024
catalog number
327974

Gravity Pendulums (3)

These are some of the earliest examples of the pendulums that Thomas C. Mendenhall designed soon after he became superintendent of the U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey. One is marked "U.S.C. & G.S. A1"; the second "U.S.C. & G.S. A2"; and the third "U.S.C.& G.S.
Description
These are some of the earliest examples of the pendulums that Thomas C. Mendenhall designed soon after he became superintendent of the U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey. One is marked "U.S.C. & G.S. A1"; the second "U.S.C. & G.S. A2"; and the third "U.S.C.& G.S. A3." Each is also stamped with the date "1891." The dummy pendulum (presumably marked "A0") is missing.
Each pendulum is made of a copper-aluminum alloy, with a flat stem supporting a lenticular bob. Each has a period of swing of nearly ½ second, so that a coincidence between the pendulum and a chronometer would occur every 5 or 6 minutes. These pendulums are similar to those designed by von Sterneck of Austria in the late 1880s, and widely used in Europe. Mendenhall, however, reversed the mode of support, putting the plane surface on the pendulum, and the knife edge on the corresponding stand. This design, he claimed, made the pendulums less liable to accidental injury.
The Coast and Geodetic Survey produced many sets of Mendenhall apparatus, and used them until the 1930s. It transferred this example to the Smithsonian in 1955.
Ref: Victor Lenzen and Robert Multhauf, "Development of Gravity Pendulums in the 19th Century," United States National Museum Bulletin 240 (1965): 301-348.
C. H. Swick, Modern Methods of Measuring the Intensity of Gravity (Washington, D.C.: United States Coast and Geodetic Survey, 1921).
T. C. Mendenhall, "Determination of Gravity with the New Half-Second Pendulum," Report of the Superintendent of the U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey for 1890-91, part 2, pp. 503-564.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1891
ID Number
PH.314639
accession number
208213
catalog number
314639

Lithograph of "Indian Antiquities" pottery artifacts

P. S. Duval and Company (ca 1840s-1858) of Philadelphia produced this chromolithographic print from an original illustration by John M. Stanley (1814-1872).
Description (Brief)
P. S. Duval and Company (ca 1840s-1858) of Philadelphia produced this chromolithographic print from an original illustration by John M. Stanley (1814-1872). The image of "Wooden Ware, etc." was published as Plate X in Volume 2, following page 116 of Appendix E (Indian Antiquities) by Thomas Ewbank (1792-1870) in the report describing "The U.S. Naval Astronomical Expedition to the Southern Hemisphere during the Years 1849, 1850, 1851, and 1852" by James M. Gillis (1811-1865). The volume was printed in 1855 by A. O. P. Nicholson (1808-1876) of Washington, D.C.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1855
original artist
Wallis, O. J.
Dreser, William
Herbst, Francis
graphic artist
Sinclair, Thomas
Dougal, William H.
Duval, Peter S.
printer
Nicholson, A. O. P.
publisher
United States Navy
original artist
Richard, John H.
Stanley, John Mix
Siebert, Selmar
author
Cassin, John
Ewbank, Thomas
Baird, Spencer Fullerton
Gilliss, James Melville
ID Number
2007.0204.01
accession number
2007.0204
catalog number
2007.0204.01

National Bureau of Standards SP-376 Pocket Rule

This white plastic promotional rule has a scale of centimeters along the top edge, divided to millimeters and numbered by ones from 1 to 15, and a scale of inches along the bottom edge, divided to 1/16" and numbered by ones from 1 to 6.
Description
This white plastic promotional rule has a scale of centimeters along the top edge, divided to millimeters and numbered by ones from 1 to 15, and a scale of inches along the bottom edge, divided to 1/16" and numbered by ones from 1 to 6. The center of the rule is marked: For Good Measure from the National Bureau of Standards (/) Washington, D. C. 20234.
The back of the rule has a table comparing metric and customary units of length, volume, and weight. A second table explains the prefixes used in the metric system and gives conversions to yards, quarts, and pounds. The back is marked: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE (/) National Bureau of Standards (/) Washington, D. C. 20234 (/) NBS Special Publication 376 (/) Issued December 1972 (/) For sale by the Superintendent of (/) Documents, U.S. Government Printing (/) Office, Washington, D.C. 20402 (/) (Order by SD Catalog No. C13.10:376). (/) Price 25 cents.
In order to encourage Americans to adopt the metric system, NBS (now the National Institute of Standards and Technology) distributed this rule in the 1970s both individually and as part of a "metric kit," NBS Special Publication 410, which also included four informational pamphlets and a conversion card.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1972
maker
National Bureau of Standards
ID Number
1990.3146.02
catalog number
1990.3146.02
nonaccession number
1990.3146

Engraved woodblock of the "Earliest map showing the location of the Cherokees, 1597"

This engraved woodblock of the “Earliest map showing [the] location of the Cherokees, 1597” was prepared by the Government Printing Office in Washington, D.C.; the image was published as Plate VII (p.128) in an article by Charles Royce (1845-1923) entitled “The Cherokee Nation of
Description
This engraved woodblock of the “Earliest map showing [the] location of the Cherokees, 1597” was prepared by the Government Printing Office in Washington, D.C.; the image was published as Plate VII (p.128) in an article by Charles Royce (1845-1923) entitled “The Cherokee Nation of Indians: a narrative of their official relations with the colonial and federal governments” in the Fifth Annual Report of the Bureau of Ethnology to the Secretary of the Smithsonian, 1883-84.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1887
publisher
Government Printing Office
Bureau of American Ethnology
printer
U.S. Government Printing Office
author
Royce, Charles C.
block maker
J. J. & Co.
ID Number
1980.0219.1531
catalog number
1980.0219.1531
accession number
1980.0219

Liter Block Model, Moving with Metric

When folded, this flat paper object becomes a cube 10 centimeters on a side, and hence has a volume of 1000 cubic centimeters or one liter. The sides discuss units of volume, length, mass and temperature in the metric system in the context of driving on a highway.
Description
When folded, this flat paper object becomes a cube 10 centimeters on a side, and hence has a volume of 1000 cubic centimeters or one liter. The sides discuss units of volume, length, mass and temperature in the metric system in the context of driving on a highway. Text on the object reads: Moving With Metric. Additional text reads: U.S. Department of Transportation (/) Federal Highway Administration.
This is Federal Highway Administration publication FHWA-SA-94-018, reportedly published in 1997.
Reference:
This publication is listed in the Open Library at https://openlibrary.org/books/OL17572757M/Moving_with_metric.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1997
maker
Federal Highway Administration
ID Number
2001.3009.04
catalog number
2001.3009.04
nonaccession number
2001.3009

Metric Conversion Card

In the 1970s, after metric units of measure had been adopted in Canada and Great Britain, some people in the United States advocated adoption of the metric system. The National Bureau of Standards of the U. S.
Description
In the 1970s, after metric units of measure had been adopted in Canada and Great Britain, some people in the United States advocated adoption of the metric system. The National Bureau of Standards of the U. S. Department of Commerce prepared this white plastic reference card to assist those wishing to use the unfamiliar units of measure. One side gave approximate conversion factors for computing metric measures from customary measures of length, area, mass and volume. This side also has a scale eight centimeters long divided to millimeters, and a chart with temperatures in degrees Fahrenheit along the top and temperatures in degrees centigrade along the bottom.
The other side of the card gives factors for converting from metric to common measures of length, area, mass, volume, and temperature. There also is a scale three inches long divided to 1/16th of an inch.
The card was a gift of machinist George A. Norton, a longtime employee of the National Museum of American History.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1972
maker
U.S. Department of Commerce, National Bureau of Standards
ID Number
1990.3231.02
catalog number
1990.3231.02
nonaccession number
1990.3231

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