Octant

Description:

Octant with a rosewood frame, flat brass index arm, and ivory name plate. The ivory scale is graduated every 20 minutes from -5° to +95° and read by vernier to single minutes of arc. The "Andw Newell Maker Boston" inscription refers to Andrew Newell (1751-1798), a mathematical instrument maker in Boston. Inside the box is the trade card of David Baker, proprietor of a nautical instrument shop in New Bedford during the second quarter of the nineteenth century.

Date Made: ca 1800

Maker: Newell, Andrew

Location: Currently not on view

Place Made: United States: Massachusetts, Boston

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

Exhibition:

Exhibition Location:

Data Source: National Museum of American History

Id Number: 1991.0140.01.01Catalog Number: 1991.0140.01.01Accession Number: 1991.0140

Object Name: octant

Measurements: overall: 7.94 cm x 38.7 cm x 33 cm; 3 1/8 in x 15 1/4 in x 13 in

Guid: http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ng49ca746aa-4b09-704b-e053-15f76fa0b4fa

Record Id: nmah_1187897

Our collection database is a work in progress. We may update this record based on further research and review. Learn more about our approach to sharing our collection online.

If you would like to know how you can use content on this page, see the Smithsonian's Terms of Use. If you need to request an image for publication or other use, please visit Rights and Reproductions.