Sextant

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

Place Sold: United States: Pennsylvania, Philadelphia

See more items in: Medicine and Science: Physical Sciences, Navigation, Measuring & Mapping

Exhibition:

Exhibition Location:

Data Source: National Museum of American History

Id Number: 1989.0010.01Catalog Number: 1989.0010.01Accession Number: 1989.0010

Object Name: sextant

Physical Description: brass (overall material)glass (overall material)ebony (overall material)Measurements: radius: 7 in; 17.78 cmoverall in case: 5 1/4 in x 11 in x 10 1/2 in; 13.335 cm x 27.94 cm x 26.67 cm

Guid: http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ng49ca746a8-fc02-704b-e053-15f76fa0b4fa

Record Id: nmah_1057583

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