Mercury Barometer

Description:

Nicolas Fortin, a prominent instrument maker in Paris in the early nineteenth century, introduced a mercury barometer with a glass and leather cistern so designed that the barometer could be safely moved from one place to another. James Green began making Fortin-type barometers for the Smithsonian in the 1850s, though with a slightly different design to the cistern. This example marked “JAS GREEN N.Y. 1870” was made between 1849 when Green moved to New York, and 1879 when he took his nephew into partnership and began trading as J. & H.J. Green.

Ref: “Directions for Meteorological Observations,” in Smithsonian Miscellaneous Collections 19 (1860): 54-62.

"Green's Standard Barometer," in Henry J. Green, Meteorological and Scientific Instruments (Brooklyn, 1900), pp. 4-6.

C.F. Marvin, (Washington, D.C., 1894).

Date Made: 1849-1879

Maker: Green, James

Location: Currently not on view

Place Made: United States: New York, New York City

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

Exhibition:

Exhibition Location:

Credit Line: U.S. Naval Observatory

Data Source: National Museum of American History

Id Number: PH.328880Catalog Number: 328880Accession Number: 277916

Object Name: barometer, mercury

Measurements: overall: 40 1/4 in; 102.235 cmoverall: 40 in x 1 7/8 in; 101.6 cm x 4.7625 cm

Guid: http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ng49ca746aa-4698-704b-e053-15f76fa0b4fa

Record Id: nmah_1187988

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