Measuring & Mapping
Where, how far, and how much? People have invented an astonishing array of devices to answer seemingly simple questions like these. Measuring and mapping objects in the Museum's collections include the instruments of the famous—Thomas Jefferson's thermometer and a pocket compass used by Meriwether Lewis and William Clark on their expedition across the American West. A timing device was part of the pioneering motion studies of Eadweard Muybridge in the late 1800s. Time measurement is represented in clocks from simple sundials to precise chronometers for mapping, surveying, and finding longitude. Everyday objects tell part of the story, too, from tape measures and electrical meters to more than 300 scales to measure food and drink. Maps of many kinds fill out the collections, from railroad surveys to star charts.
"Measuring & Mapping - Overview" showing 1180 items.
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Condy Octant
- Description
- An octant measures angles by bringing two images together—that of the sun, for instance, and the horizon—and was used primarily to determine latitude at sea. The form was described by John Hadley in London in 1731 and still in use in the early twentieth century.
- This example is marked "B. CONDY PHILADELPHIA 1778," the signature being that of Benjamin Condy (d. 1798). It was made during the American Revolution, and there are faint markings on the scale that may read "equality" and "justice." It has a mahogany frame and index arm, and ivory inset. The boxwood scale is graduated every 20 minutes from -5° to +95° and read by ivory vernier to single minutes of arc. There is also a back sight and a back horizon mirror for measuring angles greater than 90°. The radius is 17.75 inches.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- Date made
- 1778
- business owner
- Condy, Benjamin
- maker
- Condy, Benjamin
- ID Number
- 1992.0312.01
- catalog number
- 1992.0312.01
- accession number
- 1992.0312
- catalog number
- 92.312.1
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Julia Child's Pyrex Measuring Cup
- Description
- To determine volume, weight, temperature, and time, cooks use measuring cups and spoons (for liquids and dry ingredients), thermometers of all sorts for the oven, freezer, or deep-fat fryer; for chocolate, dough, meat, candy, and jelly; scales for liquids and solids; salometers or hydrometers to test the density of a salt or sugar solution; and timers. The well-known cookbook author and television cooking show star Julia Child had a number of the most commonly used American kitchen measuring devices in her kitchen. Now in the collections of the National Museum of American History, Julia's Pyrex glass one- and two- cup measures, are marked in both English measurements (1 cup; 8 oz.) and in metric (250 ml).
- user
- Child, Julia
- maker
- Corning Glass Works
- ID Number
- 2001.0253.0284
- catalog number
- 2001.0253.0284
- accession number
- 2001.0253
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Draper Recording Thermometer
- Description
- Daniel Draper, director of the meteorological observatory in Central Park, established the Draper Manufacturing Co. in the mid-1880s and began producing self-recording meteorological instruments. This example is marked "DRAPER'S SELF-RECORDING THERMOMETER 152 FRONT ST. N.Y. CITY PATENTED 1887." It is a bimetallic instrument with a flat chart (missing) that revolves once a week. The Lick Observatory donated it to the Smithsonian in 1960.
- Ref: D. Draper, "Recording Thermometer," U.S. Patent 369,170 (1887).
- D. Draper, "Recording Thermometer," U.S. Patent 369,171 (1887).
- date made
- ca 1887
- maker
- Draper Manufacturing Co.
- ID Number
- PH*316942
- catalog number
- 316942
- accession number
- 229396
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Astronomical Spectroscope
- Description
- This is a spectroscope, designed to be used with a telescope to study the light of the sun. It was made in Dublin in 1877 by the famous instrument maker Howard Grubb (1844–1931). It was used with the 9 ½ inch Alvan Clark & Sons refractor in the Observatory of Princeton University.
- When the College of New Jersey at Princeton hired the astronomer Charles A. Young in 1877, they also gave him funds to equip the new John C. Green student observatory. One of his first purchases was this instrument. It was custom-made, and Young helped refine the design. (Grubb's company later advertised that this was the first such spectroscope that they had sold.) The most unusual feature of this instrument is the use of a complicated system of multiple prisms to disperse the light and produce a highly detailed view of the solar spectrum.
- In use, the spectroscope was mounted at the eyepiece end of the telescope and light from the sun would be directed through it. As the light passed from one prism into the next, it would be increasing dispersed, or spread out. To make the instrument more compact, the beam of light was directed first through the upper portion of the prisms and then back through the bottom part. Depending on how it was configured, the light could thus be passed through either 2, 4, 6 or 8 prisms. A particular area of the solar spectrum could be viewed by turning a small chain that moved each prism by the same amount. Because of the large number of optical surfaces involved, the light loss in this instrument was almost certainly in the 90 percent range. This was an advantage when viewing the Sun, but it reduced the usefulness of this instrument for other purposes, such as measuring the spectra of stars. The success of this instrument in making precise measurements of the solar spectrum (and thus revealing information about the composition of the sun and its atmosphere) led to its wider adoption as an important astronomical tool.
- Date made
- 1877
- user
- Young, Charles A.
- maker
- Grubb, Howard
- ID Number
- PH*328885
- accession number
- 277637
- catalog number
- 328885
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Gravity Pendulum
- Description
- The pine box holding this pendulum is marked "To Prof. T. C. Mendenhall Columbus, Ohio U.S.A." and "D Pendulum box June 18th 1882 Phy Laby Tokio." The reference is to Thomas C. Mendenhall, an American physicist who taught at the Imperial University in Tokyo in the years 1878-1881, used gravity pendulums at Tokyo and atop Mount Fuji, and calculated the mean density of the earth. Mendenhall probably used this pendulum in Japan, but he did not mention it in his published papers. Returning to the United States in 1881, Mendenhall taught physics at the Ohio State University, in Columbus. He was named superintendent of the U.S. Coast & Geodetic Survey in 1889.
- Ref: Victor Lenzen and Robert Multhauf, "Development of Gravity Pendulums in the 19th Century," United States National Museum Bulletin 240 (1965): 301-348.
- Henry Crew, "Thomas Corwin Mendenhall," National Academy of Sciences Biographical Memoirs 16 (1934): 331-351.
- T. C. Mendenhall, "Determination of the Acceleration due to the Force of Gravity, at Tokio, Japan," American Journal of Science 20 (1880): 124-132.
- T. C. Mendenhall, "On a Determination of the Force of Gravity at the Summit of Fujiyama, Japan," American Journal of Science 21 (1881): 99-103.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- ID Number
- PH*330511
- catalog number
- 330511
- accession number
- 295269
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Sextant
- Description
- This unsigned sextant belonged to Oberlin College, and may date from the time of the founding of that school in 1833. The frame is brass. The silvered scale is graduated every 15 minutes from -5° to +160° and read by vernier with tangent screw and swinging magnifier to single minutes of arc. One trade card in the box is that of Thomas Hemsley (either father or son) who were in business in London throughout the first half of the 19th century, offering a wide variety of instruments and other items for navigational use.
- Ref: Gloria Clifton, Directory of British Scientific Instrument Makers 1550-1851 (London, 1995), p. 132.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 19th century
- ID Number
- 1980.0075.02
- accession number
- 1980.0075
- catalog number
- 1980.0075.02
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Hagger Theodolite
- Description
- This theodolite belonged to Smith College, but was made well before that school was established. The "Hagger Maker Baltimore" signature refers to Benjamin K. Hagger, an instrument maker who worked in Baltimore during the period 1816–1824, and who later went into partnership with his eldest son. The horizontal circle and vertical arc are silvered, graduated every 30 minutes, and read by verniers to single minutes.
- maker
- Hagger, Benjamin K.
- ID Number
- 1980.0098.03
- accession number
- 1980.0098
- catalog number
- 1980.0098.03
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Breed Dry Card Compass
- Description
- This compass has a wooden bowl and a paper card with an ornate American eagle with a ribbon in its mouth reading "E PLURIBUS UNUM" at north. This card was probably made for William Davenport. It was later used by his successor, William Helffricht. The overlaid signature reads "AARON BREED BOSTON" and "166 BROAD ST. COR. OF PURCHASE ST." This refers to Aaron Breed (1791-1861), a nautical instrument maker and dealer in Boston, who established an instrument shop at 166 Broad Street around 1840.
- Ref: "Aaron Breed," in Annals of the Massachusetts Charitable Mechanics Association (1861): 41.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- maker
- Breed, Aaron
- ID Number
- 1980.0179.01
- catalog number
- 1980.0179.01
- accession number
- 1980.0179
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
B. Pike & Son Transit
- Description
- The "B. Pike & Son. New York. Warranted" signature identifies the shop in which this instrument was sold, but not necessarily where it was made, or by whom. It was used between 1831 and 1841, when Benjamin Pike worked with his son Benjamin Jr., and again between 1843 and 1850, when Benjamin Pike worked with his son Daniel. The word "Warranted" represents the Pikes' guarantee of quality. In design and production, however, this instrument is less successful than those made by men who specialized in instruments of this sort.
- As in William J. Young's original surveyor's transit, the horizontal circle here is inside the compass face. The circle, however, is graduated every 30 minutes of arc, and read by vernier to single seconds. The vertical circle is graduated every 1 degree, and read by vernier to 4 minutes.
- maker
- B. Pike & Son
- ID Number
- 1980.0254.01
- accession number
- 1980.0254
- catalog number
- 1980.0254.01
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Frodsham Sextant
- Description
- This sextant has a brass frame. The silvered scale is graduated every 10 minutes from -5° to +145° and read by vernier with tangent screw and swinging magnifier to single minutes of arc. The inscriptions read "Frodsham, Liverpool" and "2602." It came from Vassar College, and may have been used by the professor of astronomy, Maria Mitchell.
- Ref: Gloria Clifton, Directory of British Scientific Instrument Makers 1550-1851 (London, 1995), p. 106.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- ca 1865
- maker
- Charles Frodsham
- ID Number
- 1980.0318.03
- catalog number
- 1980.0318.03
- accession number
- 1980.0318
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
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