Octant

Description:

Octant with an ebony frame, reinforced brass index arm, and ivory name plate. The ivory scale is graduated every 20 minutes from -3° to +109°, and read by vernier with tangent screw to single minutes of arc. The inscription reads "W. DESILVA* LIVERPOOL."

The original wooden box (now lost) had a trade label that read "William Desilva, 78 Regent Road opposite the Bramley-Moore Hotel, Liverpool." Desilva was in business from 1851 to 1881, offering optical and nautical instruments.

The Smithsonian bought this octant in 1903 from Elias Heidenheimer (1833-1926), a German Jew who emigrated to the United in 1859, and worked as jeweler and pawnbroker in Washington, D.C. and Alexandria, Va.

Date Made: mid 19th century

Maker: Desilva, William

Location: Currently not on view

Place Made: United Kingdom: England, Liverpool, Liverpool

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

Exhibition:

Exhibition Location:

Data Source: National Museum of American History

Id Number: PH.220176Catalog Number: 220176Accession Number: 41038

Object Name: Octant

Physical Description: ebony (frame material)ivory (inlay material)brass (overall material)glass (overall material)Measurements: radius: 9 5/8 in; 24.4475 cmoverall: 12 in x 9 3/4 in x 3 3/8 in; 30.48 cm x 24.765 cm x 8.5725 cmoverall: 3 3/8 in x 9 7/8 in x 12 in; 8.5725 cm x 25.0825 cm x 30.48 cm

Guid: http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ng49ca746ad-b403-704b-e053-15f76fa0b4fa

Record Id: nmah_1197567

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