Science & Mathematics

Chemical Balance

The Museum's collections hold thousands of objects related to chemistry, biology, physics, astronomy, and other sciences. Instruments range from early American telescopes to lasers. Rare glassware and other artifacts from the laboratory of Joseph Priestley, the discoverer of oxygen, are among the scientific treasures here. A Gilbert chemistry set of about 1937 and other objects testify to the pleasures of amateur science. Artifacts also help illuminate the social and political history of biology and the roles of women and minorities in science.

The mathematics collection holds artifacts from slide rules and flash cards to code-breaking equipment. More than 1,000 models demonstrate some of the problems and principles of mathematics, and 80 abstract paintings by illustrator and cartoonist Crockett Johnson show his visual interpretations of mathematical theorems.

Place: United Kingdom

Tripod and Mount for Telescope

Tripod and mount for the 3.5-inch aperture refracting telescope made by W. & S. Jones of London, and used at Georgetown College.Ref: Annals of the Astronomical Observatory of Georgetown College, D.C. 1 (1852), p. 14.Currently not on view
Description
Tripod and mount for the 3.5-inch aperture refracting telescope made by W. & S. Jones of London, and used at Georgetown College.
Ref: Annals of the Astronomical Observatory of Georgetown College, D.C. 1 (1852), p. 14.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1840
maker
W. & S. Jones
ID Number
PH.316098.02
accession number
224215
catalog number
316098.02

Equinoctial Sundial by John Smith

This brass universal equinoctial ring dial consists of a meridian ring, hour ring, rotating crosspiece or bridge, and suspension ring/handle. The suspension ring looks like it should slide, but it does not in its current condition.
Description
This brass universal equinoctial ring dial consists of a meridian ring, hour ring, rotating crosspiece or bridge, and suspension ring/handle. The suspension ring looks like it should slide, but it does not in its current condition. The meridian ring is calibrated on one side for northern and southern latitudes from 90 to 0 to 84 by half-degree. The reverse contains an elongated nautical quadrant for solar altitude calibrated 0 to 90 by half-degree. The hour ring is calibrated on one side from I to XII x 2 by I. Each hour is divided into increments of 5 minutes; these divisions continue onto the inner edge of the hour ring. The bridge contains a pinhole gnomon sliding over a calendar scale calibrated by 3-letter abbreviations for the English months. There is a declination scale (20 to AE to 20 by 0.5) and zodiacal sign scale on verso. There is no list of cities on this dial. There were numerous John Smiths active in England, but this dial may have been made by the one who died in 1694. This sundial is a transfer from the Findlay Collection in the NMAH Division of Physical Sciences.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1600s
1600s?
maker
Smith, John
ID Number
MA.319946
catalog number
319946
accession number
239625

Microscope

This is a low-power brass microscope with lens holder, stage, sub-stage mirror, and cylindrical stand. It fits into and stands on a small leather-covered box. Robert Bancks (or Banks), a mathematical and optical instrument maker in London, designed the form around 1830.
Description
This is a low-power brass microscope with lens holder, stage, sub-stage mirror, and cylindrical stand. It fits into and stands on a small leather-covered box. Robert Bancks (or Banks), a mathematical and optical instrument maker in London, designed the form around 1830. This example was collected by Richard Halsted Ward (1837-1917), a noted medical microscopist, or his son, Henry B. Ward, a early parasitologist. The “Bate / LONDON” inscription on the stage refers to Robert Brettell Bate.
Ref: Brian J. Ford, “Charles Darwin and Robert Brown—their microscopes and the microscopic image,” infocus (Sept. 15, 2009): 19-28.
Anita McConnell, R. B. Bate of the Poultry, 1782-1847: The Life and Times of a Scientific Instrument Maker (London, 1993).
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1830-1847
maker
Bate, Robert Brettell
ID Number
MG.M-09731
accession number
174919
catalog number
M-9731

Microscope

With the brass tube in place, this is a compound monocular with circular stage and sub-stage mirror. With the tube removed, it is a simple microscope.
Description
With the brass tube in place, this is a compound monocular with circular stage and sub-stage mirror. With the tube removed, it is a simple microscope. The form was introduced by George Adams, Jr., of London, in the late-eighteenth century, and remained popular for several decades. Examples by various English makers have been recorded. This example has a wooden box, and several ivory sliders. The “R. Huntley / 52 High Holborn / LONDON” inscription is that of Robert Huntley, an instrument maker in business from 1811-1840. A paper label inside the box reads “WILLIAM HARRIS & CO. / MANUFACTURERS . . . / cleaned & adjusted, Jan. 9, 1838.”
This microscope belonged to Augustus Alvey Adee (1802-1844), a Yale graduate who served a surgeon in the U.S. Navy.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1811-1835
maker
Huntley, Robert
ID Number
MG.M-09778
catalog number
M-9778
accession number
100338
catalog number
100338.01

Sutton Type Quadrant

This brass Sutton-type horary quadrant has two brass sights on the top of the quadrant along one radius. The plumb-bob and string which belong at the vertex are missing.
Description
This brass Sutton-type horary quadrant has two brass sights on the top of the quadrant along one radius. The plumb-bob and string which belong at the vertex are missing. The quadrant is designed for a latitude of 54.5 degrees; a table for the six stars (Ala Peg, Arctur[us], Cor Leo, Oc[cidental] Ta[urus], Cor Vult, Canicul[a]) charted on this quadrant is engraved underneath the latitude near the vertex. Next is a double-wide calendar arch, named by month. The quadrant also contains a declination arc marked from 0 to 23 8/12, an hour arc from 6 to 12 and an azimuth arc from 10 to 90 to 130 (from 90, the arc is also marked down and to the left from 90 to 10), an ecliptic arc marked by zodiac symbol, a horizon arc marked from 0 to 43 by 10, a second hour arc (with a dogleg along the left edge) from 12 to 1 to 5 to 7 to 8 and from 8 to 6 to 1 to 12, logarithmic (?) scales from 1 to 9 and from 1 to 20, circumference from 0 to 90 by half-degree, and a third hour scale from 12 to 6 returning in the other direction to 1.
The reverse of the quadrant bears a planisphere disc which once turned over scales from 1 to 12 X 2 by 1/8 hour. There is a fleur de lis at the 12 near the vertex. The disc is calibrated by month name and contains pictoral representations of six constellations (two bears for Ursa Minor and Ursa Major, etc.). There is a leather and cardboard case for this quadrant stored separately.
Henry Sutton (d. 1665) was a well-known instrument maker who made both wood and brass quadrants among other objects.
References:
Gloria Clifton, Directory of British Scientific Instrument Makers, p. 270.
E. G. R. Taylor, The Mathematical Practitioners of Tudor and Stuart England, p. 220.
Maurice Daumas, Scientific Instruments of the 17th and 18th Centuries.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1657
maker
Henry Sutton
ID Number
MA.320152
catalog number
320152
accession number
241222

Monocular

This is a silver monocular is engraved, on the one draw tube, “Dollond / Strand / London.” The objective lens is achromatic and about 1.25 inches diameter. Closed, the instrument measures 3.25 inches.Currently not on view
Description
This is a silver monocular is engraved, on the one draw tube, “Dollond / Strand / London.” The objective lens is achromatic and about 1.25 inches diameter. Closed, the instrument measures 3.25 inches.
Location
Currently not on view
maker
Dollond
ID Number
PH.326934
catalog number
326934
accession number
248841

Howlett Protractor Signed by Elliott Bros.

In 1837, Samuel Burt Howlett (1794–1874), chief draftsman to the Board of Ordnance in Great Britain, described a semicircular protractor for use in plotting surveys.
Description
In 1837, Samuel Burt Howlett (1794–1874), chief draftsman to the Board of Ordnance in Great Britain, described a semicircular protractor for use in plotting surveys. The instrument overcame perceived shortcomings with utilizing circular protractors or theodolites in rustic field conditions. He indicated his design had already been available for purchase for a few years. Indeed, by 1847, treatises and textbooks on surveying, military engineering, and mathematical instruments widely discussed the "Howlett Protractor."
This example is in the standard semicircular form and is made of brass. The protractor measures 23 cm by 11 cm. It is graduated to half-degrees and marked by tens from 0° to 180° and from 180° to 360°, both in the clockwise direction. There are notches on the interior of the protractor at 0, 90, and 180 degrees. There is an arm fastened to the origin point. The arm bears a vernier scale marked by fives from 15 to 25, then from 5 to 15. There is a thumb-screw on the vernier; two more thumb-screws with pointer tips are on the base of the protractor and are for securing the protractor to a surveying or engineering drawing.
The base of the protractor bears a maker's mark: Elliott Bros. (/) LONDON. Frederick and Charles Elliott gave this name to their firm in 1854, after four years of partnership with their father, the instrument maker William Elliott. However, they did not start using this form of signature on their products until 1873. This object thus dates between 1873 and 1916, when the firm changed its signature to "Elliott Bros (London) Ltd" and focused on electrical devices rather than drawing instruments. The protractor is stored in its original wooden case, which is lined with blue velvet. Two brass hooks secure the lid. "Not R. Blu" is written in blue pencil on the bottom of the case.
References: Samuel B. Howlett, "A New Method of Plotting a Survey," Papers on Subjects Connected with the Duties of the Corps of Royal Engineers 1 (1837): 65–67; Howlett Papers, Additional Manuscripts 871–884, Durham University Library, Archives and Special Collections, Durham, England; Basil Jackson, A Treatise on Military Surveying, 3rd ed. (London, 1847), 55–61; Gloria Clifton, “An Introduction to the History of Elliott Brothers up to 1900,” Bulletin of the Scientific Instrument Society 36 (1993): 2–7; H. R. Bristow, “Elliott, Instrument Makers of London. Products, Customers and Development in the 19th Century,” Bulletin of the Scientific Instrument Society 36 (1993): 8–11; H. R. Bristow, "Lewisham to Oxford: The Elliott Archive and Instrument Collection," Bulletin of the Scientific Instrument Society 109 (2011): 14–15; James Stewart, "On the Use of the Semicircular Protractor, with a Description of an Improved Form of that Instrument," Transactions and Proceedings of the New Zealand Institute 3 (1870): 316–318.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1873-1916
maker
Elliott Bros.
ID Number
MA.314902
accession number
212171
catalog number
314902

Microscope

This is a compound monocular with side pillar, focusing screw and sub-stage mirror that fits into and flips up from a rectangular wooden chest that also holds extra lenses, slides and other accessories.
Description
This is a compound monocular with side pillar, focusing screw and sub-stage mirror that fits into and flips up from a rectangular wooden chest that also holds extra lenses, slides and other accessories. The “NAIRNE INVT ET FECIT LONDON” inscription on the stage refers to Edward Nairne, a prolific optician and instrument maker who began in business around 1750, who introduced this type of chest microscope around 1760, and began trading as Nairne & Blunt in 1773.
Ref: Directions how to use the Compound Microscope, as Made and Sold by Edward Nairne, at the Golden Spectacles fronting the North-Gate of the Royal-Exchange, London.
Description and Use of the Compound Microscope, As made and sold by Edward Nairne, At No. 20 in Cornhill, Opposite the Royal Exchange, London.
D. J. Warner, “Edward Nairne: Scientist and Instrument Maker,” Rittenhouse 12 (1998): 65-93.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1760-1773
maker
Nairne, Edward
ID Number
MG.M-12345
accession number
282176
catalog number
M-12345

Four-Sided Gauger's Slide Rule by Cook

This is a twelve-inch, four-sided boxwood slide rule used in England for measuring and taxing barrels of liquid. Each of the four slides has a brass guide at one end, and the various special points on the rules are marked with inset brass pegs.
Description
This is a twelve-inch, four-sided boxwood slide rule used in England for measuring and taxing barrels of liquid. Each of the four slides has a brass guide at one end, and the various special points on the rules are marked with inset brass pegs. On one side, the base has a D scale, logarithmically divided from 1 to 3.2 and from 3.2 to 10. Point 18.789 is marked G, the circular gauge point, for determining the mean diameter of a barrel. Point 46.3 is marked MS, for the side of a square vessel that contains a solid bushel per inch of depth, and point 52.32 is marked MR, for the side of a square vessel that contains a malt bushel per inch of depth. The slide has two identical B scales, logarithmically divided from 1 to 10. Point 277.42 is marked G for the imperial gallon.
On the second side, the base has logarithmic scales that run from 1 to 8 and from 8 to 100. It is labeled SEGT ST (Segments Standing) at the top left and SS at the bottom right. The slide has two identical C scales, logarithmically divided from 1 to 9. This side was used to estimate the volume of a barrel that was standing vertically and partially filled. The back of the slide lists gauge points, divisors, and factors for circles for malt and for gall (another substance used in making alcoholic beverages) in circular and square containers.
On the third side, the base has an A scale, logarithmically divided from 1 to 10, and an MD (Malt Depth) scale that runs logarithmically in the opposite direction from somewhat less than 3 to 20. Point 2219 is marked B, for the number of cubic inches in a bushel under the imperial system of measurement, and point 277.42 is marked G, for the imperial gallon. The slide has two identical C scales, logarithmically divided from 1 to 9. The back of the slide has a scale of inches, a scale labeled SPH[EROI]D, and a scale labeled 2D VAR[IETY]. These scales are for determining the diameters of two different shapes of barrels. Underneath the slide is marked: COOK. MAKER TO THE HONBLE BOARD OF EXCISE. LATE WELLINGTON CROWN COURT SOHO LONDON NO 2950.
On the fourth side, the base has logarithmic scales that run from 0 to 4 and from 4 to 100. It is labeled SEGT LY (Segments Lying) at the top left and SL at the bottom right. The slide has two identical B scales, logarithmically divided from 1 to 9. Underneath the slide, points 3.9 and 99 are connected by a line marked with H.
The use of the Imperial system of units dates this slide rule to after 1824. It is of the style developed by Thomas Everard in 1683 and, at 12 inches, represents one of the two standard "pocket" sizes (the other was 9"). Laban Cook(e) succeeded Alexander Wellington (d. 1825) as a Maker to the English Board of Excise and remained in business until 1834. Compare to the older rule for gauging and ullage (the amount a container is lacking to be full), 319510.
References: D. Baxandall, Catalogue of the Collections in the Science Museum: Mathematics I. Calculating Machines and Instruments (London, 1926), 42; Colin Barnes, "The Customs and Excise Gauging Slide Rule," Journal of the Oughtred Society 4, no. 2 (1995): 53–57; Peter M. Hopp, Slide Rules: Their History, Models, and Makers (Mendham, N.J.: Astragal Press, 1999), 72, 245; Gloria Clifton, Dictionary of British Scientific Instrument Makers (London: National Maritime Museum, 1995), 64.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1825-1834
maker
Cook, Laban
ID Number
1980.0588.04
catalog number
1980.0588.04
accession number
1980.0588

Patent Model for Cylindrical Slide Rule Invented by George Fuller

This is the U.S. patent model for a cylindrical slide rule invented by George Fuller (1829–1907), a British civil engineer and professor of engineering at Queen's College, Belfast. Fuller received patents in Great Britain (no. 1044) in 1878 and in the United States in 1879. W.
Description
This is the U.S. patent model for a cylindrical slide rule invented by George Fuller (1829–1907), a British civil engineer and professor of engineering at Queen's College, Belfast. Fuller received patents in Great Britain (no. 1044) in 1878 and in the United States in 1879. W. F. Stanley of London manufactured the rule from 1879 until 1975, and it was marketed in the United States by Keuffel & Esser, Dietzgen, and other dealers.
The model has a wooden handle and shaft, with a wooden cylinder that slides up and down the shaft. A paper covered with scales fits around the cylinder. The lower edge of the cylinder has a scale of equal parts. The remainder bears a spiral scale divided logarithmically. A rectangular clear plastic pointer has broken from its attachment on the handle and is tucked into a red ribbon tied around the cylinder. A paper patent tag is marked: No. 291.246; 1879 (/) G. Fuller. (/) Calculators. (/) Patented Sept 2. (/) 1879. A printed description from the patent application of April 16, 1878, is glued to the back of the tag. The tag is attached to the handle with a red ribbon.
L. Leland Locke, a New York mathematics teacher and historian of mathematics, collected this patent model and intended it for the Museums of the Peaceful Arts in New York City. When that institution encountered financial difficulties in 1940, Locke gave a collection of objects, including this model, to the Smithsonian Institution.
For production models of this instrument, see 313751, 316575, and 1998.0046.01.
References: George Fuller, "Improvement in Calculators" (U.S. Patent 219,246 issued September 2, 1879); The Report of the President of Queen's College, Belfast, for the Year Ending October, 1876 (Dublin, 1877), 9, 29–30, 107–110; James J. Fenton, "Fuller's Calculating Slide-Rule," Transactions and Proceedings of the Royal Society of Victoria 22 (1886): 57–61; Dieter von Jezierski, Slide Rules: A Journey Through Three Centuries, trans. Rodger Shepherd (Mendham, N.J.: Astragal Press, 2000), 42–43.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1878
patentee
Fuller, George
maker
Fuller, George
ID Number
MA.311958
accession number
155183
catalog number
311958

Casella Scale of British and Pyramid Inches

This white ceramic rule is stored in a wooden case lined with red felt, surrounded by wooden shapes to hold it in place and underneath a piece of plywood. The interior of the rule has two scales.
Description
This white ceramic rule is stored in a wooden case lined with red felt, surrounded by wooden shapes to hold it in place and underneath a piece of plywood. The interior of the rule has two scales. The first is in red ink, divided to twentieths of a British inch, and numbered by ones from 0 to 25. A small scale dividing one inch into hundredths is to the left of this scale, and an extra 1/10" is at the right of the scale. The second scale is in black ink, divided to twentieths of a "pyramid inch," and numbered by ones from 0 to 25.
The scale is marked: SCALE OF BRITISH INCHES, (/) For residual error, at Temperature 68° F., see note on case. (/) SCALE OF 25 PYRAMID INCHES, OR 1 PYRAMID CUBIT. (/) at Temp. 68° F., = one ten-millionth of the earth's semi-axis of Rotation; with a Residual error, see note on case. The upper right corner of the scale is marked in red: B. & P. SCALE, No. 2. (/) May, 1867. The lower right corner of the scale is marked in black: MADE & DIVIDED BY (/) L. CASELLA. (/) 23. HATTON GARDEN, LONDON.
Two thermometers are screwed into the case on either side of the scale. The first is divided by single degrees Fahrenheit and numbered by tens from 20 to 140. The second is divided by two degrees Fahrenheit and numbered by tens from 10 to 150. Three-fourths of its tube has been missing since it arrived at the Museum in 1987. Both thermometers are marked: J. M. BRYSON (/) OPTICIAN (/) EDINBURGH. James Mackay Bryson (1824–1894), whose firm was known for making thermometers, came from a family of Edinburgh instrument makers and scientists.
A handwritten note on Royal Observatory of Edinburgh stationery is pasted inside the lid of the case. It reads, "1872 (/) The 'British Inches' of this scale, in Red divisional (/) lines, have been found by a preliminary Microscopic comp- (/) -arison to be true, for their whole 25 inch sum of (/) length, to within half the thickness of one of the division lines, (/) at the temperature of 68* Fah. The expansion for an in- (/) -crease of 1*F. on the whole 25 inches in length, = (/) = 0.00004 of an inch, nearly. (/)The above red British Inches are those in (/) terms of which the Earth has been measured in modern (/) times. The black Inches on the lower part of (/) the scale, are the Ancient Inches of the Great (/) Pyramid; in terms of which Inches, both the chief (/) measures of that Monument, and the modern (/) measures of the Earth, come out in round and (/) even numbers of fives and tens. They are, each (/) of them 0.001 of an inch longer than the British Inch. (/) P.S. (/) Ast. R. for Scotd."
Charles Piazzi Smyth (1819–1900) was Astronomer Royal of Scotland from 1846 to 1888. He did significant scientific work, including pioneering high-altitude observing and solar astronomy, but he was also obsessed with pyramidal numerology. From January to April, 1865, he and his wife, Jessica, made careful measurements of every surface of the Great Pyramid at Giza. He concluded that the pyramid was constructed using a measurement system he called "pyramid inches," which were each one ten-millionth of the earth's semi-axis of rotation. Since the pyramid inch was so close in length to the British inch, Smyth recommended that Great Britain retain the imperial system of weights and measures rather than adopt the metric system.
To visually demonstrate the agreement between the systems of measurement, Piazzi Smyth commissioned London instrument maker Louis Pascal Casella (1812–1897) to make rules like this one when Smyth published an account of his research in 1867. Since there is a discrepancy between the date on this rule and the note in the lid, the example owned by National Museums Scotland (online ID 000-190-004-745-C, catalog number T.1962.108) may be older than this instrument. By 1876 the Science Museum in London was also exhibiting a Casella scale of British and pyramid inches, donated by Piazzi Smyth. Library staff at Augustana College in Rock Island, Ill., were unable to determine how this object ended up at the college. Casella did not advertise the rule in his 1871 catalog.
References: Charles Piazzi Smyth, Life and Work at the Great Pyramid, 3 vol. (Edinburgh, 1867); L. Casella, An Illustrated Catalogue of Surveying, Philosophical, Optical, Photographic, and Standard Meteorological Instruments (London, 1871); Science and Art Department of the Committee of Council on Education, Catalogue of the Special Loan Collection of Scientific Apparatus at the South Kensington Museum, 2nd ed. (London, 1876), 42; H. A. Brück and M. T. Brück, The Peripatetic Astronomer: The Life of Charles Piazzi Smyth (Bristol, Eng.: Adam Hilger, 1988), 95–134; T. N. Clarke, A. D. Morrison-Low, and A. D. C. Simpson, Brass & Glass: Scientific Instrument Making Workshops in Scotland (Edinburgh, 1989), 112–117; National Museums Scotland, Online Collections Database, http://nms.scran.ac.uk/; "People: L. Casella," Waywiser, Harvard University Department of the History of Science, http://dssmhi1.fas.harvard.edu/emuseumdev/code/eMuseum.asp?lang=EN; accession file.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1867–1872
maker
Casella, Louis Paschal
ID Number
1987.0196.01
accession number
1987.0196
catalog number
1987.0196.01

Otis King's Pocket Calculator Model L Cylindrical Slide Rule

This six-inch cylindrical slide rule consists of a chromium-plated holder, a metal cylinder that slides into the holder, and a black metal tube that fits around and slides up and down on the cylinder.
Description
This six-inch cylindrical slide rule consists of a chromium-plated holder, a metal cylinder that slides into the holder, and a black metal tube that fits around and slides up and down on the cylinder. The telescoping rule is ten inches long when extended and equivalent to a rectangular slide rule 66 feet in length. Two short white lines on the tube and a black mark on the chrome cap at the end of the cylinder serve as the indicator. A paper spiral logarithmic scale is attached to the top half of the holder. A second, linear and logarithmic, paper scale is attached to the cylinder. The logarithmic scales are used to multiply and divide, and the linear scale is used to find logarithms.
At the top of the cylinder is printed: PATENT No 183723. At the bottom of the cylinder is printed: OTIS KING'S POCKET CALCULATOR; SCALE No 430. The top of the scale on the holder is printed: SCALE No 429; COPYRIGHT. The bottom is printed: OTIS KING'S PATENT No 183723. The end of the holder is engraved: MADE IN (/) Y9481 (/) ENGLAND.
Otis Carter Formby King invented this form of slide rule in 1921, and Carbic Limited of London, England, manufactured it until 1972. The serial number, Y9481, suggests a date about 1965–1969 for this example. A collector of computing devices donated it to the Smithsonian.
See also 1987.0788.01 and 1989.3049.02. For documentation, see 1981.0922.10 and 1981.0922.11.
References: Peter M. Hopp, Slide Rules: Their History, Models, and Makers (Mendham, N.J.: Astragal Press, 1999), 274, 281; Otis Carter Formby King, "Calculating Apparatus," (U.S. Patent 1,645,009 issued October 11, 1927); Richard F. Lyon, "Dating of the Otis King: An Alternative Theory Developed Through Use of the Internet," Journal of the Oughtred Society 7, no. 1 (1998): 33–38; Dick Lyon, "Otis King's Patent Calculator," http://www.svpal.org/~dickel/OK/OtisKing.html.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1965-1968
maker
Carbic Limited
ID Number
1981.0922.09
catalog number
1981.0922.09
accession number
1981.0922

Microscope

Compound binocular with interocular adjustment, coarse and fine focus, trunnion, triple nosepiece, circular mechanical stage, sub-stage diaphragm, sub-stage mirror, and wooden box with extra lenses.
Description
Compound binocular with interocular adjustment, coarse and fine focus, trunnion, triple nosepiece, circular mechanical stage, sub-stage diaphragm, sub-stage mirror, and wooden box with extra lenses. The inscription on the curved base reads “HENRY CROUCH / LONDON / 1209.”
Henry Crouch and his brother William were in business in London by 1864, offering relatively inexpensive microscopes, and noting that they were “From Smith, Beck & Beck.” Henry Crouch was working on his own by 1869. James W. Queen & Co., of Philadelphia, was selling Crouch microscopes by 1870. Crouch spent several months in the United States in 1876, displaying his wares at the Centennial Exhibition, and meeting American microscopists.
Richard Halsted Ward, physician and professor at the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, showed an instrument of this sort at an American microscope meeting in 1869. James Milton Flint—a surgeon with the U.S. Navy who had been detailed to the United States National Museum in 1881, to take care of its newly established Section of Materia Medica—showed another at an exhibition in 1891.
Ref: “Price List of Microscopes Manufactured by Henry Crouch, of London,” American Journal of Microscopy 2 (1877).
“Report on the Microscopes and Microscopical Apparatus, Exhibited at the Meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, At Salem, Mass., August, 1869,” Proceedings of the American Association for the Advancement of Science 18 (1869): 303-306, on 306.
James M. Flint, “Apparatus for the Exhibition of Microscopic Objects,” Proceedings of the American Society of Microscopists 13 (1891): 54-58.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1869
maker
Crouch, Henry
ID Number
2009.0116.09
catalog number
2009.0116.09
accession number
2009.0116

Horizontal Sundial by I. Nemes (John Nemes)

This cylindrical instrument consists of a brass base to which a paper compass rose is attached. The compass has eight points, with a fleur de lis at North. The compass is divided by degrees from zero to 90 in each of its quadrants. It includes a metal needle and glass cover.
Description
This cylindrical instrument consists of a brass base to which a paper compass rose is attached. The compass has eight points, with a fleur de lis at North. The compass is divided by degrees from zero to 90 in each of its quadrants. It includes a metal needle and glass cover. The removable brass hour circle with folding gnomon fit above this. The circle is calibrated from III to XII to VIII. Each hour is divided into fourths. The gnomon is scalloped on two edges. The circular brass lid also has a paper compass rose atached to the inside. The compass roses are identical, with both marked: I. NEMES Fecit.
Nemes was a brazier known for selling sundials, in business from 1725 to 1753.
Compare 1986.0599.01.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1724-1753
maker
Nemes, John
ID Number
1987.0707.03
catalog number
1987.0707.03
accession number
1987.0707
catalog number
330838

Rectangular Protractor Sold by McAllister & Co.

This ivory rectangular protractor is three times larger in area than many surviving ivory rectangular protractors from the nineteenth century, which tend to be short and narrow enough to fit in a pocket.
Description
This ivory rectangular protractor is three times larger in area than many surviving ivory rectangular protractors from the nineteenth century, which tend to be short and narrow enough to fit in a pocket. (See MA.335349, MA.321754, and MA.321014.) Catalogs of the time period advertise foot-long rectangular protractors comparable to this one, but at approximately $12 each, they were 3 to 8 times as expensive as 6-inch versions. Thus, surveyors probably did not purchase and use the large protractors as often.
This protractor is graduated to half-degrees and marked by tens from 10 to 170 in both the clockwise and counterclockwise directions. The interior of the protractor contains a maker's mark: LONDON MADE. FOR MCALLISTER & CO. PHILADELPHIA. The front of the protractor also contains a diagonal scale; a scale of chords which is divided by half-degrees and marked by tens from 10 to 90; and scales for dividing 1 inch into 10, 20, and 30 parts. These scales were used to create drawings in which 1 inch represented 1, 2, and 3 feet, respectively.
A chain scale is on the bottom edge of the protractor, facing outwards (i.e., appearing upside-down as one looks at the front of the protractor). The scale is graduated to half-units and marked by ones from 1 to 44 and from 44 to 1. The numbers from 44 to 1 are called an "offset." Ten units on the scale total 1/4" in length. A surveyor's chain was 66 feet long and contained 100 links. Thus, this chain scale represented 4 links to each inch. The number 40 (described as a "line of 40" or a "scale of 40" in trade catalogs) is marked at the midpoint of the protractor, in between the chain scale and the scale dividing 1 inch into 30 parts. The markings are worn off the protractor in a few places.
The back of the protractor bears scales for dividing the inch into 80, 60, 55, 50, 45, 40, 35, and 30 parts. There are also scales for 1/8, 1/4, 3/8, 1/2, 5/8, 3/4, 7/8, and 1 inch to the foot. The protractor is stored in a black and red leather and cardboard case that is badly worn.
William Young McAllister (1812–1896) was a third-generation optician and dealer of mathematical instruments in Philadelphia. His firm was known as McAllister & Co. between 1836 and 1853. From 1830 to 1836, he partnered with his father, John McAllister Jr., and between 1853 and 1865 he partnered with his brother, Thomas, who subsequently worked as an optician in New York City. This protractor is slightly different from the 12-inch ivory protractor described in McAllister's 1867 catalog: this object is 1/4" wider; there are eleven scales of equal parts instead of ten; there are eight scales of feet and inches instead of twelve; there is one scale of chords instead of two; and there is a chain scale. John C. Armstrong of Washington, D.C., donated the protractor to the Smithsonian in 1933.
References: William Ford Stanley, Mathematical Drawing and Measuring Instruments 6th ed. (London: E. & F. N. Spon, 1888), 227–230; Catalogue of Keuffel & Esser, 33rd ed. (New York, 1909), 176; "McAllister Family Business Timeline," The John A. McAllister Collection, Library Company of Philadelphia, http://www.librarycompany.org/mcallister/pdf/McAllister%20family%20business%20timeline.pdf; A Priced and Illustrated Catalogue of Mathematical Instruments . . . Sold Wholesale and Retail by William Y. McAllister (Philadelphia, 1867), 25; Peggy A. Kidwell, "James Prentice's Rectangular Protractor," Rittenhouse 1, no. 3 (1987): 61–63.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1836-1853
maker
McAllister, William Young
ID Number
MA.310743
accession number
127352
catalog number
310743

Spectroscope

This is a direct-vision spectroscope with a seven-part prism. The three sections (collimator, prism train and telescope) screw together to form an instrument 18 inches long overall. The “John Browning / London” inscription refers to John Browning (ca.
Description
This is a direct-vision spectroscope with a seven-part prism. The three sections (collimator, prism train and telescope) screw together to form an instrument 18 inches long overall. The “John Browning / London” inscription refers to John Browning (ca. 1831-1925), the first important English spectroscope maker. The “Alex. R. Newman” inscription on the top of the mahogany box has not been identified. The “1173” incised on the inside of the box may be a serial number.
Browning introduced the seven prism form in 1869. A reliable text published in 1872 stated that this instrument “commends itself by the excellence of its performance, the facility of its use, the smallness of its dimension, the purity of colour, and its low price.”
Ref: John Browning, How to Work with the Spectroscope (London / New York, 1878).
H. Schellen, Spectrum Analysis in its Application to Terrestrial Substances, and the Physical Constitution of the Heavenly Bodies (London, 1872), p. 119.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1865-1900
maker
Browning, John
ID Number
PH.327561
catalog number
327561
accession number
317962

Microscope

This is a simple, rugged and inexpensive white plastic instrument marked “Patent Applied For.” It uses prisms to fold the light path, and so can be small and portable.
Description
This is a simple, rugged and inexpensive white plastic instrument marked “Patent Applied For.” It uses prisms to fold the light path, and so can be small and portable. The cardboard box is marked “The Open University McArthur Microscope.” There are two glass slides.
John McArthur (1901-1996) was a British physician who, while working in the tropics, identified the Anopheles mosquito that was causing malaria, and then promoted ways to control its spread. McArthur noted that the microscope was conceived “for rural tropical medical work, but with schools in view, and the sudden demand for 8,000 microscopes by the Open University has pressed this design forward.” It won the Design Council Award and a Duke of Edinburgh prize (both in 1972). Fortune (1972) deemed it one of the best designs of the year.
Ref: J. McArthur, “The McArthur Microscope—Open University Model,” Transactions of the Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene 65 (1972): 438.
“Dr. John McArthur,” The New Scientist (Nov. 22, 1979): 312-314.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1970
ID Number
1982.0336.02
accession number
1982.0336
catalog number
1982.0336.02

Spectroscope

Brass spectroscope with six glass prisms, and an “A. Hilger London” inscription. Adam Hilger (1839-1897) was a precision instrument maker from Darmstadt who moved to London around 1870, and who established his own shop around 1875. The “J.B.
Description
Brass spectroscope with six glass prisms, and an “A. Hilger London” inscription. Adam Hilger (1839-1897) was a precision instrument maker from Darmstadt who moved to London around 1870, and who established his own shop around 1875. The “J.B. Stearns 1875” inscription probably refers to Joseph Barker Stearns (1831-1895), inventor of the duplex system of telegraphy, and probably the man who gave this instrument to Smith College. Located in Northampton, Mass. and opened in 1875, Smith College promised women students lectures and laboratories equal to those offered elsewhere to men.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1875
maker
Hilger, Adam
ID Number
1980.0098.01
catalog number
1980.0098.01
accession number
1980.0098

Routledge's Engineer Linear Slide Rule

This is a two-foot, two-fold boxwood rule with a brass hinge and endpieces. Half of one side is a slide rule with A and D scales on the base and B and C scales on the slide.
Description
This is a two-foot, two-fold boxwood rule with a brass hinge and endpieces. Half of one side is a slide rule with A and D scales on the base and B and C scales on the slide. As with MA.306697.01, the C scale is the same as the A and B scales (the square of the D scale), instead of the same as the D scale, as on modern Mannheim slide rules. Below the D scale is marked: SQUARE CYLINDER GLOBE (3 times) ROUTLEDGE'S ENGINEER.
The first three marks form headings for the tables on the other half of this side when the instrument is folded. The tables give conversion factors from the volumes of geometric solids to units of volume, in both the "old" and imperial systems; conversion factors from the volumes of geometric solids to the weights in pounds of various substances; the areas of polygons from 5 to 12 sides; the gauge points of a circle; and gauge points for pumping engines, to find the diameters of steam cylinders that will work pumps of specified diameter at 7 pounds per square inch.
The other side has a scale of 24 inches along one edge, divided to sixteenths of an inch for 9 inches and to eighths of an inch for the rest of the scale. There are also scales for making scale drawings that are 1, 3/4, 1/2, and 1/4 inches to the foot. This side is marked: T. ASTON THE ORIGINAL MAKER WARRANTED. One outside edge has scales for 10 and 12 parts to the inch; the other outside edge divides one foot into 100 parts.
This form of slide rule was invented by Joshua Routledge, a seller of iron goods, in 1808 or 1809. He discussed it in the 1813 (4th) edition of Instructions for the Engineer's Improved Sliding Rule. According to Gloria Clifton, there were two rule makers named Thomas Aston, presumably a father and son, who were in business at various addresses in Birmingham, England, from 1818 to 1862. The references to pre-imperial system units of measure suggest the rule might have been made shortly after the imperial system was adopted in 1824. This instrument was found in the home of Grace Speer, granddaughter of Alfred Speer (1823–1910), an inventor and wine merchant in Passaic, N.J.
References: John V. Knott, "Joshua Routledge 177[3]–1829," Journal of the Oughtred Society 4, no. 2 (1995): 25; Philip E. Stanley, "Carpenters' and Engineers' Slide Rules: Routledges' Rule," Chronicle of the Early American Industries Association 37, no. 2 (1984): 25–27; Gloria Clifton, Directory of British Scientific Instrument Makers (London: National Maritime Museum, 1995), 11–12; accession file.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1824-1862
maker
Aston, T.
ID Number
1981.0934.01
catalog number
1981.0934.01
accession number
1981.0934

Capt. Field's Improved Hinged Parallel Rule Signed Henry Hughes & Son

This 21" German silver hinged parallel rule has two small knobs for positioning the instrument. Brass round pieces cover the screws securing the two hinges. An indentation is on both blades at the center of the rule, with a line marking the center.
Description
This 21" German silver hinged parallel rule has two small knobs for positioning the instrument. Brass round pieces cover the screws securing the two hinges. An indentation is on both blades at the center of the rule, with a line marking the center. The edges of the top blade are marked as a rectangular protractor, and the edges of the bottom blade are marked for nautical compass points.
The center of the top blade is marked: U. S. C. & G. S. NO. 331. The right end of the top blade is marked: CAPT. FIELD'S IMPD. The right end of the lower blade is marked: H. HUGHES & SON LTD. LONDON. The left end has the firm's "HUSUN" logo, with a sun above the letters and waves below the letters.
Capt. William Andrew Field (about 1796–1871) of Britain added a protractor and compass scales to hinged parallel rules in 1854. This made it easier for ship navigators to move the rule without losing track of the ship's course. Henry Hughes & Son made marine and aeronautical navigational instruments in London from 1828 to 1947 and incorporated in 1903. According to the accession file, the U.S. Coast & Geodetic Survey acquired this rule on August 21, 1919, and last issued it on September 5, 1922. Compare to MA.309662 and MA.309663.
References: "Field's Parallel Rule," The Nautical Magazine and Naval Chronicle 23, no. 5 (May 1854): 280; Peggy A. Kidwell, "American Parallel Rules: Invention on the Fringes of Industry," Rittenhouse 10, no. 39 (1996): 90–96; National Maritime Museum, "Captain Field's Improved Parallel Rule," Object ID NAV0602, http://collections.rmg.co.uk/collections/objects/42814.html; Science Museum Group, "Henry Hughes and Son Limited," Collections Online – People, http://collectionsonline.nmsi.ac.uk/detail.php?type=related&kv=58792&t=people.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1919
ID Number
MA.309661
catalog number
309661
accession number
106954

Dip Circle

This Kew pattern dip circle dates from the early decades of the twentieth century. The inscription reads "Dover, Charlton Kent, Circle 158." A paper note in the wooden carrying case states that the U.S.
Description
This Kew pattern dip circle dates from the early decades of the twentieth century. The inscription reads "Dover, Charlton Kent, Circle 158." A paper note in the wooden carrying case states that the U.S. Navy lent it for observations during the second International Polar Year which ran from September 1932 to September 1933. The loan may have been to the Carnegie Institution of Washington which, fifty years later, donated it to the Smithsonian.
Location
Currently not on view
maker
Dover
ID Number
1983.0039.03
accession number
1983.0039
catalog number
1983.0039.03

Maclean Square Navigational Protractor

This clear Perspex (acrylic glass) square protractor is divided by single degrees and marked by tens in the clockwise direction from 010° to 350°. A red arrow points to the origin. The marks for 090°, 180°, and 270° are replaced by the compass points E, S, and W, respectively.
Description
This clear Perspex (acrylic glass) square protractor is divided by single degrees and marked by tens in the clockwise direction from 010° to 350°. A red arrow points to the origin. The marks for 090°, 180°, and 270° are replaced by the compass points E, S, and W, respectively. Diagonal lines to the four corners of the protractor are marked with the compass points NE, SE, SW, and NW. A pinhole is at the center of the protractor.
The interior of the protractor is marked with a grid. Tick marks (four per square) appear along the X and Y axes and around the outside edge of the grid. The top is labeled (in red): MACLEAN PROTRACTOR. Maker's marks are at the bottom: REGD. TRADE MK. AIRNAVA; J. D. MACLEAN ∙ Co. LONDON W.C.2. The protractor is stored in a tan cardboard case, which is printed with instructions for using the instrument. Marine and aviation navigators could employ it as a parallel rule, station pointer, and plotter. John Donald Maclean patented a rectangular protractor and parallel rule in the United States. No record of a trademark for "Airnava" was found in the United States or in Great Britain. This form of protractor is standard and is sometimes called a Douglas type of square protractor. Weems & Plath manufactures similar protractors in the 21st century.
Reference: Journal of Navigation 15, no. 4 (1962): front matter.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1950s-1960s
maker
J. D. Maclean Co.
ID Number
1987.0788.05
accession number
1987.0788
catalog number
1987.0788.05

Equinoctial Sundial by Peter Dollond

This brass universal equinoctial ring dial consists of a meridian ring, hour ring, rotating crosspiece or bridge, and sliding suspension ring/handle. The base of the suspension ring is marked with a vernier for the meridian ring that reads to 3 minutes of accuracy.
Description
This brass universal equinoctial ring dial consists of a meridian ring, hour ring, rotating crosspiece or bridge, and sliding suspension ring/handle. The base of the suspension ring is marked with a vernier for the meridian ring that reads to 3 minutes of accuracy. The meridian ring is calibrated on one side for northern and southern latitudes from 0 to 90 to 0 x 2 by single degree. The reverse contains an elongated nautical quadrant for solar altitude calibrated 90 to 0 by half-degree and from 0 to 90 by 10 degrees. The hour ring is calibrated from I to XII x 2 by I. The hour ring is also divided by minutes (20, 40, 60) underneath the hour marks and along the inside edge of the hour ring. The bridge contains a pinhole gnomon sliding over a calendar scale calibrated by month (in 3-letter abbreviations) and day. An engraved line on either side of the pinhole enables the user to line up the gnomon with the proper calendar day. The reverse of the bridge contains a declination scale from 20 to 0 to 20 by units of 0.5 and labeled with S.D. (south declination), AE (equinox?) and N.D. (north declination). The reverse of the bridge also contains a zodiacal sign scale divided into 30s. There is a fitted black or blue leather and wood case with green velvet lining for this instrument.
There were numerous instrument makers named Dollond, but Peter Dollond is known to have sold sundials in the late 1700s.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
late 1700s
maker
Dollond, Peter
ID Number
MA.326980
catalog number
326980
accession number
272472

Microscope

R. & J. Beck began in business as such in 1865, won an award at the Centennial Exhibition in 1876, and established an American branch in Philadelphia in 1877. This shop was opened by William H. Walmsley, the former head of the optical department of J. W. Queen & Co.
Description
R. & J. Beck began in business as such in 1865, won an award at the Centennial Exhibition in 1876, and established an American branch in Philadelphia in 1877. This shop was opened by William H. Walmsley, the former head of the optical department of J. W. Queen & Co. Williams, Brown & Earle was running it by 1891.
Beck explained in 1882 that “perfection without regard to cost” had long been their aim. But, with the recent popularization of microscopy, “there has arisen a demand for cheap instruments”—a demand “that has been mainly filled by literally worthless articles of French manufacture.” In this situation, Beck was offering several models that were “thoroughly well-made and reliable” and yet inexpensive.
This is an example of the Scholar’s Microscope that could be had for $25. It is a compound monocular with micrometer screw, circular stage, inclination joint, sub-stage mirror, and tri-leg base. The inscription on one leg reads “R. & J. BECK / LONDON / 11872.” That on another reads “W. H. WALMSLEY & CO. / PHILADELPHIA / SOLE AMERICAN AGENTS.”
Ref: R. & J. Beck, Illustrated Price List of Microscopes, Microscopic Apparatus and Other Optical Instruments (Philadelphia, 1882), preface.
R. & J. Beck, Illustrated Price List of Microscopes, Microscopic Apparatus and Other Optical Instruments (Philadelphia, 1883), p. 66.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1882-1891
maker
R. & J. Beck
ID Number
MG.M-09772
accession number
51116
catalog number
M-09772
51116.01

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