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: Pennsylvania

Engraved wood block "Ohwa Tree"

This engraved wood block was used to print an image in the publication "Narrative of the U.S. Exploring Expedition, During the Years 1838, 1839, 1840, 1841, 1842," 1844, Volume 2, page 126. The image was drawn by T. R. Peale. It was engraved by J. J.
Description (Brief)
This engraved wood block was used to print an image in the publication "Narrative of the U.S. Exploring Expedition, During the Years 1838, 1839, 1840, 1841, 1842," 1844, Volume 2, page 126. The image was drawn by T. R. Peale. It was engraved by J. J. Butler, and originally printed by C. Sherman of Philadelphia in 1844.
Description
Joline J. Butler (about 1815–1846, working in New York City between 1841 and 1845) engraved this printing block after a drawing, Ohwa Tree, from the Samoan Group islands, by Expedition Naturalist Titian Ramsey Peale. The wood engraving illustration was published on page 126 of Volume II of the U.S. Exploring Expedition Narrative by Charles Wilkes, 1844.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
ca 1844
ca 1844
publisher
Wilkes, Charles
graphic artist
Butler, Joline J.
original artist
Peale, Titian Ramsay
printer
Sherman, Conger
author
Wilkes, Charles
ID Number
1999.0145.104
accession number
1999.0145
catalog number
1999.0145.104

Engraved wood block "Cannibal Cooking-Pots"

This engraved wood block was used to print an image in the publication "Narrative of the U.S. Exploring Expedition, During the Years 1838, 1839, 1840, 1841, 1842," 1844, Volume 3, page 111. The image was drawn by A. T. Agate. It was engraved by J.J.
Description (Brief)
This engraved wood block was used to print an image in the publication "Narrative of the U.S. Exploring Expedition, During the Years 1838, 1839, 1840, 1841, 1842," 1844, Volume 3, page 111. The image was drawn by A. T. Agate. It was engraved by J.J. Butler, and originally printed by C. Sherman of Philadelphia in 1844.
Description
Joline J. Butler (about 1815–1846, working in New York City between 1841 and 1845) engraved this printing block after the drawing Cannibal Cooking-Pots from the Feejee (Fiji) group cultures by Expedition Artist Alfred T. Agate. The wood engraving illustration was published on page 111 of Volume III of the U.S. Exploring Expedition Narrative by Charles Wilkes, 1844.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
ca 1844
ca 1844
publisher
Wilkes, Charles
graphic artist
Butler, Joline J.
original artist
Agate, A. T.
printer
Sherman, Conger
author
Wilkes, Charles
ID Number
1999.0145.149
accession number
1999.0145
catalog number
1999.0145.149
accession number
1999.0145

Solar Compass

This solar compass, one of the earliest instruments of its kind, is marked "Burts patent Made by Wm. J. Young Philada." It belonged to Artemas Curtis, a brother–in–law of the inventor, William Austin Burt. It was made by William J.
Description
This solar compass, one of the earliest instruments of its kind, is marked "Burts patent Made by Wm. J. Young Philada." It belonged to Artemas Curtis, a brother–in–law of the inventor, William Austin Burt. It was made by William J. Young in Philadelphia, probably in 1840, and it nicely illustrates the complex process of developing a successful instrument. Following Burt's instructions, Young produced an instrument in which the vernier for the variation arc was moved by hand. When that design proved inconvenient, a tangent screw was added to move the vernier–and this tangent screw covered the signature. This example is of that type. In later examples, the signature appears where it can be easily read.
Ref: John S. Burt, They Left Their Mark. A Biography of William Austin Burt (Rancho Cordova, Ca., 1985).
Location
Currently not on view
maker
Young, William J.
inventor
Burt, William A.
ID Number
PH.328793
catalog number
328793
accession number
277834

Surveyor's Vernier Compass

This surveyor's vernier compass marked "Edmund Draper 468 Philada" dates from around 1876. The variation arc on the north arm extends 28 degrees to either side; the vernier is moved by rack and pinion, and reads to 5 minutes.
Description
This surveyor's vernier compass marked "Edmund Draper 468 Philada" dates from around 1876. The variation arc on the north arm extends 28 degrees to either side; the vernier is moved by rack and pinion, and reads to 5 minutes. There are two spirit levels on the south arm.
Edmund Draper (1805–1882) apprenticed with Benjamin Stancliffe in Philadelphia and then worked in partnership with him for a few years. By 1832 he was in business on his own, making and repairing "Theodolites, Engineer’s Levels, Surveyor’s Compasses, &c." He also built a dividing engine. The only other dividing engine in the United States at that time was one built by William J. Young, also of Philadelphia. Since Draper never published a catalog or price list, it is difficult to know how many different instruments he made, or how much each one cost. He apparently began using serial numbers around 1860, and produced some 28 instruments a year.
Ref: Robert C. Miller, "Benjamin Stancliffe and His Successors: A Century of Mathematical Instrument Makers in Philadelphia," Rittenhouse 11 (1996): 1–13.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1876
maker
Draper, Edmund
ID Number
PH.327880
catalog number
327880
accession number
271855

Wye Level

This instrument isinscribed "Young & Sons, Philadelphia 5867" and dates from around 1875. The mark on the telescope-"Patented July 28th 1874"-refers to the patent (#153,494) granted to J. W. Nystrom and Alfred Young.
Description
This instrument isinscribed "Young & Sons, Philadelphia 5867" and dates from around 1875. The mark on the telescope-"Patented July 28th 1874"-refers to the patent (#153,494) granted to J. W. Nystrom and Alfred Young. It describes a method of regulating the focus of a telescope by moving the erecting lenses back and forth while keeping the object glass and cross hairs at a fixed distance from one another.
Location
Currently not on view
maker
Young & Sons
ID Number
PH.328750A
accession number
1988.0553
catalog number
328750A

Wye Level

The inscriptions on this small level read "HELLER & BRIGHTLY, Philad" and "U.S.G.S. 82." The U. S.
Description
The inscriptions on this small level read "HELLER & BRIGHTLY, Philad" and "U.S.G.S. 82." The U. S. Geological Survey transferred this instrument to the Smithsonian in 1908, noting that it had been used by the Water Resources Branch of the Survey but was no longer suited to the work of the organization. It must have been made to order, as it does not have a Heller & Brightly serial number, and it is not listed in Heller & Brightly's Remarks on Engineers' Surveying Instruments.
Location
Currently not on view
maker
Heller & Brightly
ID Number
PH.248698.01
accession number
48341
catalog number
248698.01

Surveyor's Transit

The "Knox & Shain Makers Philadelphia" signature refers to Joseph Knox (1805-1877) and Charles J. Shain (1822-1891) who opened their own shop in 1850 and soon thereafter acquired the circular dividing engine that Jesse Ramsden had built in 1774.
Description
The "Knox & Shain Makers Philadelphia" signature refers to Joseph Knox (1805-1877) and Charles J. Shain (1822-1891) who opened their own shop in 1850 and soon thereafter acquired the circular dividing engine that Jesse Ramsden had built in 1774. Although the firm remained in business until 1929, this instrument must have been made before 1880 when the Ramsden dividing engine was sold to Henry Morton, professor at the Stevens Institute of Technology. Morton, in turn, gave this historic engine to the Smithsonian Institution.
If this transit instrument resembles those made by William J. Young, it is because Knox had been Young's foreman and Shain had apprenticed with and then worked for Young. The horizontal circle is inside the compass face, graduated to 30 minutes of arc, and read by vernier to single minutes. The face is dark, and the needle ring is silvered. There are level vials outside the compass, at south and east.
Location
Currently not on view
maker
Knox & Shain
ID Number
1983.0775.01
accession number
1983.0775
catalog number
1983.0775.01

Surveyor's Vernier Compass

In the Aurora General Advertiser for Feb.
Description
In the Aurora General Advertiser for Feb. 23, 1808, Thomas Whitney stated that he made surveyor's compasses "of the most accurate construction, and with several late improvements, which have been approved of, in preference to any other, by several eminent surveyors, and others." What these improvements were, however, he did not say. In Whitely's Philadelphia Annual Advertiser for 1820, Whitney announced that during the past 13 years or so he had made about 500 compasses, "the good qualities of which are well known to many Surveyors, in at least sixteen of the States and Territories of the Union." Another Whitney document, this one dated March 1, 1814 and headed "Variation of the Compass," provides information about the extent of the variation in several states as observed by different surveyors, and the change of variation with time. It also describes five ways to determine a meridian line, so that the local variation can be found.
This compass, marked "Thos Whitney maker Philadelphia No 437," has a variation arc on the north arm that extends 25 degrees either way. The vernier is moved by rack and pinion, and reads to 5 minutes. A level vial is on the south arm. Under the socket on the bottom of the compass is the date "1818."
The cover of the box is marked in ink "R. R. MORRIS NEW YORK, May 27th 1817 red'd from Philadelphia." Two printed cards are inside the box. One, signed by Whitney and dated March 1, 1817, is headed "Care in the Use of the Compass." The other is a trade card that indicates that while Whitney specialized in compasses, he made many other instruments as well. The date of the card can be inferred from the statement that Whitney "has made near 400 Surveying Compasses."
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1818
maker
Whitney, Thomas
ID Number
PH.328751
accession number
308252
catalog number
328751

Sextant

Sextant with a double brass frame of the sort introduced by Edward Troughton in London in 1788. The silvered scale is graduated every 10 minutes from -5° to +155° and read by vernier with tangent screw and swinging magnifier to 10 seconds of arc.
Description
Sextant with a double brass frame of the sort introduced by Edward Troughton in London in 1788. The silvered scale is graduated every 10 minutes from -5° to +155° and read by vernier with tangent screw and swinging magnifier to 10 seconds of arc. The "Riggs Brothers, Philadelphia" inscription came into use in 1865, and refers to a firm that sold instruments of this sort to American customers.
Location
Currently not on view
ID Number
1989.0010.01
catalog number
1989.0010.01
accession number
1989.0010

Stormer Viscosimeter

This viscometer was designed by Edward J. Stormer, chief chemist of the Case Threshing Machine Co. in Racine, Wisconsin.
Description
This viscometer was designed by Edward J. Stormer, chief chemist of the Case Threshing Machine Co. in Racine, Wisconsin. In 1909 it was described as “distinctly new in design, and since it comes from a practical chemist who has found it superior to other forms in making a large number of determinations daily, it may be expected to appeal to other practical men.” And indeed it did. Stormer viscosimeters were soon being used for paint, clay slips, and pyroxylin solutions, as well as for corn, catsup, and cod liver oil.
Stormer’s original viscosimeter consisted of a falling weight that caused something to rotate at constant speed through a viscous liquid held at a constant temperature. Viscosity would be expressed either in terms of the number of rotations in a given time, or the time needed to make a number of rotations. By 1914, Arthur H. Thomas was offering Stormers with a rotating cylinder, and this basic form remains available to this day.
Inscriptions on this example read “ARTHUR H. THOMAS CO. PHILADELPHIA, PA.” and “FISHER SCIENTIFIC CO. PITTSBURGH, PA. USA.” The Metal Products Division of Koppers Co., Inc., donated it to NMAH in 1976. It was apparently used to determine the consistency of canned corn.
Location
Currently not on view
distributor; retailer
Arthur H. Thomas Company
maker
Fisher Scientific Company
Arthur H. Thomas Company
ID Number
CH.336370
accession number
1978.0078
catalog number
336370

Solar Compass

William J. Young mentioned this instrument in a letter that he sent to the inventor, William A. Burt, on June 14, 1848: "On the 21st of April I sent to Mr. John Ferris of Pauline, Dutchess Co. N.Y. one Solar Compass." A Ferris descendant gave it to the Smithsonian.
Description
William J. Young mentioned this instrument in a letter that he sent to the inventor, William A. Burt, on June 14, 1848: "On the 21st of April I sent to Mr. John Ferris of Pauline, Dutchess Co. N.Y. one Solar Compass." A Ferris descendant gave it to the Smithsonian. The horizontal circle is silvered, graduated to 30 minutes, and read by opposite verniers. A telescope is mounted at one side of the compass, and a counterweight is mounted on the other. With the telescope is a vertical circle that is graduated to 30 minutes, and read by vernier to single minutes. The inscriptions read: "Burts Patent" and "Made by Wm. J. Young Philada."
A solar compass is a railroad compass with a solar attachment that allows surveyors to find north by reference to the sun rather than by reference to the magnetic needle. The form originated with William Austin Burt, a United States Deputy Surveyor who began surveying government lands in Michigan in 1833. In 1835, while working in an area of Wisconsin where there were large deposits of iron ore, Burt experienced great difficulty in using his standard vernier compass. By December he had roughed out his ideas for a solar compass, and asked William J. Young to make a model that he could submit to the Patent Office. Burt received a patent (#9428) the following year, and the Franklin Institute awarded him the Scott’s Medal for this "ingenious" instrument. But, as the solar compass was not yet serviceable, Burt went back to the drawing board. In 1840, confident that he had solved all the problems of his design, Burt asked Young to produce solar compasses. In 1850, the year that Burt’s patent expired, the General Land Office adopted the solar compass as a standard instrument for all major boundary lines in regions of magnetic disturbance, and demand rose accordingly. Claiming that he had never received even $300 "for his right in said invention," Burt petitioned Congress to renew his patent, but to no avail.
Burt’s solar apparatus has three arcs: one for setting the latitude of the land to be surveyed; one for setting the declination of the sun; and one for setting the hour of the day. In the latter half of the 19th century, several instrument makers offered solar attachments of this sort that could be used with transit instruments.
Ref: William A. Burt, Description of the Solar Compass (Detroit, 1844).
William A. Burt, A Key to the Solar Compass, and Surveyor’s Companion (Philadelphia, 1855).
John Burt, History of the Solar Compass Invented by Wm. A. Burt (Detroit, 1878).
Location
Currently not on view
maker
Young, William J.
inventor
Burt, William A.
ID Number
1983.0548.03a
accession number
1983.0548
catalog number
1983.0548.03
1983.0548.03a

Engraved wood block "Indians Pounding Acorns"

This engraved wood block was used to print an image in the publication "Narrative of the U.S. Exploring Expedition, During the Years 1838, 1839, 1840, 1841, 1842," 1844, Volume 5, page 205. The image was drawn by A. T. Agate, and drawn on wood by G. Armstrong.
Description (Brief)
This engraved wood block was used to print an image in the publication "Narrative of the U.S. Exploring Expedition, During the Years 1838, 1839, 1840, 1841, 1842," 1844, Volume 5, page 205. The image was drawn by A. T. Agate, and drawn on wood by G. Armstrong. It was engraved by J. J. Butler, and originally printed by C. Sherman of Philadelphia in 1844.
Description
Joline J. Butler (about 1815–1846, working in New York City 1841-45) engraved this printing block after a drawing, Indians Pounding Acorns at New Helvetia (near present-day Sacramento, California), by Expedition Artist Alfred T. Agate. The wood engraving illustration was published on page 205 of Volume V of the U.S. Exploring Expedition Narrative by Charles Wilkes, 1844.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
ca 1844
ca 1844
publisher
Wilkes, Charles
graphic artist
Butler, Joline J.
original artist
Agate, A. T.
Armstrong, G.
printer
Sherman, Conger
author
Wilkes, Charles
ID Number
1999.0145.207
accession number
1999.0145
catalog number
1999.0145.207

Engraved printing plate "Ichthyology, Pl."

This engraved printing plate was prepared to print an image showing four fish species in the never published Volume 21-22, Ichthyology, part of the series of publications the "United States Exploring Expedition, During the Years 1838, 1839, 1840, 1841, 1842." The plate images wer
Description (Brief)
This engraved printing plate was prepared to print an image showing four fish species in the never published Volume 21-22, Ichthyology, part of the series of publications the "United States Exploring Expedition, During the Years 1838, 1839, 1840, 1841, 1842." The plate images were engraved by W. H. Dougal after Joseph Drayton.
Description
William H. Dougal (1822–1895) of New York and Washington, D.C., (after 1844) engraved this copper printing plate depicting four species of fish documented by the U.S. Exploring Expedition. The illustrations were to be published in Volumes XXII and XXIII, Ichthyology, by Louis Agassiz. Dougal engraved 26 of the 28 plates for this volume which was never printed.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1849
1862
publisher
Wilkes, Charles
original artist
Drayton, Joseph
graphic artist
Dougal, William H.
author
Agassiz, Louis
ID Number
1999.0145.435
accession number
1999.0145
catalog number
1999.0145.435

Engraved wood block "Natives of Wytoohee"

This engraved wood block was used to print an image in the publication "Narrative of the U.S. Exploring Expedition, During the Years 1838, 1839, 1840, 1841, 1842," 1844, Volume 1 (page 334 of the Lea & Blanchard stereotyped copy).
Description (Brief)
This engraved wood block was used to print an image in the publication "Narrative of the U.S. Exploring Expedition, During the Years 1838, 1839, 1840, 1841, 1842," 1844, Volume 1 (page 334 of the Lea & Blanchard stereotyped copy). The image was drawn by Joseph Drayton, and drawn on wood by John H. Manning. It was engraved by O'Brien, and originally printed by C. Sherman of Philadelphia in 1844.
Description
Robert O'Brien engraved this printing block after a drawing, Natives of Wytoohee, by Expedition Artist Joseph Drayton. Wytoohee is part of the Tuamotu Archipelago of French Polynesia. The wood engraving illustration was published on page 334 of Volume I of the U.S. Exploring Expedition Narrative by Charles Wilkes, 1844.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
ca 1844
ca 1844
publisher
Wilkes, Charles
graphic artist
O'Brien
original artist
Drayton, Joseph
graphic artist
Manning, John H.
printer
Sherman, Conger
author
Wilkes, Charles
ID Number
1999.0145.081
accession number
1999.0145
catalog number
1999.0145.081

Engraved printing plate "Ichthyology, Pl."

This engraved printing plate was prepared to print an image showing three species of shark in the never published Volume 21-22, Ichthyology, part of the series of publications the "United States Exploring Expedition, During the Years 1838, 1839, 1840, 1841, 1842." The plate image
Description (Brief)
This engraved printing plate was prepared to print an image showing three species of shark in the never published Volume 21-22, Ichthyology, part of the series of publications the "United States Exploring Expedition, During the Years 1838, 1839, 1840, 1841, 1842." The plate images were engraved by W. H. Dougal after Joseph Drayton.
Description
William H. Dougal (1822–1895) of New York and Washington, D.C., (after 1844) engraved this copper printing plate depicting three species of shark documented by the U.S. Exploring Expedition. The engraved illustrations were to be published in volumes XXII and XXIII, Ichthyology, by Louis Agassiz. Dougal engraved 26 of the 28 plates for this volume which was never printed.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1849
publisher
Wilkes, Charles
original artist
Drayton, Joseph
graphic artist
Dougal, William H.
author
Agassiz, Louis
ID Number
1999.0145.437
accession number
1999.0145
catalog number
1999.0145.437

Engraved wood block "Drummond's Islander"

This engraved wood block was used to print an image in the publication "Narrative of the U.S. Exploring Expedition, During the Years 1838, 1839, 1840, 1841, 1842," 1844, Volume 5, page 48. The image was drawn by A. T. Agate. It was engraved by R. S.
Description (Brief)
This engraved wood block was used to print an image in the publication "Narrative of the U.S. Exploring Expedition, During the Years 1838, 1839, 1840, 1841, 1842," 1844, Volume 5, page 48. The image was drawn by A. T. Agate. It was engraved by R. S. Gilbert, and originally printed by C. Sherman of Philadelphia in 1844.
Description
Reuben S. Gilbert (about 1815–about 1850) engraved this printing block after a drawing, Drummond's Islander, from the Kingsmill Island group by Expedition Artist Alfred T. Agate. The wood engraving illustration was published on page 45 of Volume V of the U.S. Exploring Expedition Narrative by Charles Wilkes, 1844.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
ca 1844
ca 1844
publisher
Wilkes, Charles
graphic artist
Gilbert, Reuben S.
original artist
Agate, A. T.
printer
Sherman, Conger
author
Wilkes, Charles
ID Number
1999.0145.193
accession number
1999.0145
catalog number
1999.0145.193

Engraved printing plate "Ptilouopus Perousei"

This engraved printing plate was prepared to print an image of "Ptilonopus Perousei" (now Many-colored Fruit Dove, Ptilinopus perousii Peale (S.
Description (Brief)
This engraved printing plate was prepared to print an image of "Ptilonopus Perousei" (now Many-colored Fruit Dove, Ptilinopus perousii Peale (S. polynesia)) for the publication "United States Exploring Expedition, During the Years 1838, 1839, 1840, 1841, 1842," Volume 8, Mammalogy and Ornithology, plate 33, in the edition Philadelphia : J. B. Lippincott & Co., 1858. The engraving was produced by Robert Hinshelwood after T. R. Peale.
Description
Robert Hinshelwood (1812–after 1875) of New York City engraved this copper printing plate after a drawing by Expedition Naturalist Titian Ramsey Peale. The image depicts the Ptilonopus Perousei (now Many-colored Fruit Dove, Ptilinopus perousii Peale [S. polynesia]). The engraved illustration was published as Plate 33 in Volume VIII, Mammalogy and Ornithology, by John Cassin, 1858.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1858
publisher
Wilkes, Charles
original artist
Peale, Titian Ramsay
graphic artist
Hinshelwood, Robert
printer
Sherman, Conger
author
Cassin, John
ID Number
1999.0145.413
catalog number
1999.0145.413
accession number
1999.0145

Surveyor's Transit

This surveyor's transit marked "Wm. J. Young Maker" and "3192" and "Philadelphia" was made in the early 1850s, soon after William J. Young began putting serial numbers on his instruments.
Description
This surveyor's transit marked "Wm. J. Young Maker" and "3192" and "Philadelphia" was made in the early 1850s, soon after William J. Young began putting serial numbers on his instruments. The horizontal circle is larger than the compass box, silvered, and graduated every 30 minutes of arc. The two opposite verniers are on a beveled edge; one reads to single minutes, and the other reads to 1/100 of a degree. The tangent screw that moves the plates is at the south side of the horizontal plate. Level vials are at north and west.
Location
Currently not on view
maker
Young, William J.
ID Number
PH.337244
catalog number
337244
accession number
1979.0861

Surveyor's Compass

This compass was made between 1853 and 1859. The "Jas. W. Queen, Philada. Warranted" inscription indicates that James W. Queen sold the compass and guaranteed its quality. The style, however, suggests that it was made by W. & L. E. Gurley, the Troy, N.
Description
This compass was made between 1853 and 1859. The "Jas. W. Queen, Philada. Warranted" inscription indicates that James W. Queen sold the compass and guaranteed its quality. The style, however, suggests that it was made by W. & L. E. Gurley, the Troy, N. Y., firm that was rapidly becoming the largest producer of complex mathematical instruments in the United States. The Queen Catalogue of 1859 offered several compasses, levels, and transits, with illustrations and descriptions copied from the Gurley Manual of 1855. A compass of this sort, with 6-inch needle, two straight levels, outkeeper, and mounting for use on a Jacob staff, cost $30. A paper label inside the box reads “James W. Queen 264 Chestnut St., near 10th, Philadelphia.”
Ref: James W. Queen & Co., Illustrated Catalogue of Mathematical, Optical, and Philosophical Instruments and School Apparatus (Philadelphia, 1859), p. 14.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1853-1859
maker
W. & L. E. Gurley
ID Number
1982.0104.04
accession number
1982.0104
catalog number
1982.0104.04

Surveyor's Vernier Compass

William Lukens Potts (1771-1854) worked with Benjamin Rittenhouse in the years 1796-1798, making plain and vernier compasses for surveyors.
Description
William Lukens Potts (1771-1854) worked with Benjamin Rittenhouse in the years 1796-1798, making plain and vernier compasses for surveyors. In 1800, now in business on his own, he advertised "surveying instruments of all kinds, and Rittenhouse' Circumferentors, with each a nounes and spirit level compleat." "Nounes" here refers to a nonius, a term sometimes used in place of vernier.
This example marked "W.L. POTTS Bucks Penna." was made between 1807, when Potts bought land in Bucks County, Pa., and 1817, when he moved to Philadelphia. The variation arc on the south arm extends 15 degrees either way; the "folded" vernier is moved by rack and pinion, and reads to 5 minutes. There is a spirit level on the north arm. A copy of Thomas Whitney's 1814 discussion of "The Variation of the Compass" is pasted into the inside cover of the wooden box.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1807-1817
maker
Potts, William Lukens
ID Number
1985.0468.01
accession number
1985.0468
catalog number
1985.0468.01

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

Wye Level

This is marked "QUEEN & CO. PHILADA 6750." The firm termed it an Improved Engineer's Y Level, and priced it at $110. The serial number suggests a date from the mid-1890s.
Description
This is marked "QUEEN & CO. PHILADA 6750." The firm termed it an Improved Engineer's Y Level, and priced it at $110. The serial number suggests a date from the mid-1890s. The "QUEEN & CO., Inc." label in the box refers to the incorporation of the firm in 1896.
Ref: Queen & Co., Catalogue of Mathematical and Engineering Instruments and Materials (Philadelphia, 1887), pp. 153-154.
Location
Currently not on view
maker
Queen and Company
ID Number
1980.0319.01
accession number
1980.0319
catalog number
1980.0319.01

Surveyor's Vernier Compass

Surveyor's vernier compass marked "Wm. J. Young Maker Philadelphia." William J. Young began using this particular signature around 1840, and began putting serial numbers on his instruments in the early 1850s. The variation arc on the north arm extends 27 degrees either way.
Description
Surveyor's vernier compass marked "Wm. J. Young Maker Philadelphia." William J. Young began using this particular signature around 1840, and began putting serial numbers on his instruments in the early 1850s. The variation arc on the north arm extends 27 degrees either way. The vernier is moved by rack and pinion located on the south arm and hidden under a brass plate, and reads to 5 minutes. There is a circular level vial on the south arm and an outkeeper on the north arm. The face is dark, and the needle ring was probably silvered originally.
This compass belonged to David Newton Ellis (1850-1926), the County Surveyor of Monroe County, West Virginia.
Ref.: D. J. Warner, "William J. Young. From Craft to Industry in a Skilled Trade," Pennsylvania History 52 (1985): 53-68.
Location
Currently not on view
maker
Young, William J.
ID Number
1981.0648.02
accession number
1981.0648
catalog number
1981.0648.02

Book of Tables, Useful Information For Business Men, Mechanics And Engineers

This pocket-sized book, distributed by the firm of Jones and Laughlins of Pittsburgh, Pa., is particularly designed to assist customers of that manufacturer of “steel, iron, and nails, patent cold-rolled shafting, pulleys, hangers and couplings, &c.” The tables were compiled by m
Description
This pocket-sized book, distributed by the firm of Jones and Laughlins of Pittsburgh, Pa., is particularly designed to assist customers of that manufacturer of “steel, iron, and nails, patent cold-rolled shafting, pulleys, hangers and couplings, &c.” The tables were compiled by mechanical engineer C. C. Briggs and, from 1898, revised by F. L. Garlinghouse. Surviving editions date from what may be the third edition of 1878 through the twentieth edition of 1942.
This volume is the eleventh edition, published in 1895. It includes some 487 pages of tables, listing such information for engineers as properties of various forms of iron and steel, material on the flow of water through pipes, formulae for the dimensions of small gears, information needed in the design of railroads, moments of inertia, bending moments and safe loads for beams, dimensions of columns, and strengths of bolts.
More mathematical tables deemed useful concern the circumference and area of circles of differing diameter; square, cubes, square roots, and cube roots of numbers; trigonometric functions; and the logarithms of trigonometric functions. More miscellaneous tables give rates of interest allowed in different states, interest tables, tables for conversions of weights and measures, the time in different places (neglecting the introduction of standard time), the amount of seed required to plant an acre of differing crops, and electoral votes cast in the presidential elections of 1884, 1888, and 1892.
The book of tables was received with a collection of drawing instruments. It is signed in ink inside the front cover: E. O. Hoffmann (/) 1573 - 30th St. N. W. (/) Washington, D. C. (/) 349 Carondelet St. (/) New Orleans, La. (/) U. S. Light House Service.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1895
author
C. C. Briggs, M. E.
ID Number
MA.335333
catalog number
335333
accession number
305958

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