Although shared words for units of measurement—typically body parts such as "hand" and "foot"—dated back to ancient times, the lengths of these units differed by local custom. By the 17th and 18th centuries, each European city had its own standard for length measures. Many places called this standard an "ell," although the spelling of the word varied. When this Museum opened in 1964, the curators collected original objects and reproductions to show how the mathematics of European daily life had been transported into American business and trade. One particular treasure is a pedometer made by Jacob Ramminger in Stuttgart, Germany, around 1600.
As national states unified formerly decentralized localities and as trade between different areas of Europe increased, governments made efforts to define national standards. The English lengths for the inch, foot, and yard were perhaps most prominent around the world, and they were utilized in the American colonies. In both the Articles of Confederation and the U.S. Constitution, the federal government reserved for itself the power to fix national weights and measures. Shortly thereafter, in the 1790s, scientists working for the French government developed the metric system, in which one meter represented one ten-millionth of the distance between the North Pole and the Equator. Although copies of metric standards were brought to the United States, Americans maintained a complicated relationship with the system of measurement. For instance, John Quincy Adams investigated the system in 1821; Charles Davies evaluated it again in 1867. Both men recommended that adoption of metric measurements be delayed since English units were so well established in American commerce.
In addition to examples of yard and meter standards from the 19th and 20th centuries and other efforts to promote the metric system, the collection has one of the rules Scottish Astronomer Royal Charles Piazzi Smyth distributed in an unsuccessful effort to prove that the system of measurement used by ancient Egyptians to build the pyramids correlated with the modern English system. There are also several rulers brought by the nation of Japan to the 1876 World's Fair to demonstrate its ability to adopt European units. Finally, this page contains some rules made by the notable American manufacturers Stanley and Lufkin and some rulers used in schools.
This plaster cast is a full-sized replica of the Arundel metrological marble at the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford. The original relief was probably made around 460–430 BCE in western Asia Minor or Greece. It illustrates traditional units of measurement based on the human body, including a fathom (the width of the outstretched arms) and an ell (the distance from the elbow to the fingertip). In this example, the fathom is 6 feet, 9-57/64 inches long in modern English units, and the ell is 20-15/32 inches. It is very faint in this replica, but a human foot is shown above the figure's right arm. Seven of these feet are equal to one fathom on the relief. The Smithsonian received the replica in 1961. Earlier cataloguing suggests the British firm of Archer, Cowley & Co. made the replica.
This pedometer consists of four discs in a wooden case that is carved with running foliage. The outermost disc is made of silvered metal, evenly divided into single units, and numbered by tens from zero to 100. A brass pointer is attached to the inner edge of this disc. The second disc is brass. Along its outer edge, it is evenly divided into units of 250, and numbered by thousands from 1,000 to 12,000. The disc is marked: Numeri Milienarior[u]m Pasuvm Iac Ram D Scriba Inuentor (/) Numeri Miliariorum Germaniorum Cumunium. The inner edge of this disc is evenly divided into quarter-units and numbered by ones from 1 to 12. The third disc is silvered metal and marked with a floral pattern. A hand or pointer extends from the disc. The fourth disc is also patterned and has an ornate hand. A wing nut holds all of the discs together.
A metal plate screwed to the back of the instrument has two belt clips. The wearer would also tie the pedometer around his leg through a metal eye extending from the bottom of the instrument. The pedometer was then supposed to jiggle with each step, moving the counters one unit. The outer scale on the second disc thus counted the number of steps or paces taken, and the inner scale counted the number of German miles accumulating.
Jacob Ramminger, alias "the Scribe," made mathematical instruments in Stuttgart, in the southern German state of Baden-Württemberg, in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. The only other instrument known to have survived from his workshop is a 1594 surveying compass owned by the British Museum. In 1601 his shop issued a collection of manuscript maps, Seehburch, darinnen alle Seeh und Weyher in dem löplichen Hertzogthumb Würtemberg, now owned by the Würtemberg Library (Cod.hist.fol.261) and viewable online at http://digital.wlb-stuttgart.de/purl/bsz337692629.
References: Jane Insley, "Pedometer," in Instruments of Science: An Historical Encyclopedia, ed. Robert Bud and Deborah Jean Warner (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998), 440–441; Adler Planetarium, Webster Signature Database, http://historydb.adlerplanetarium.org/signatures/; The British Museum, "Survey Instrument/Compass/Calendar/Calculator," reg. no. 1896,0808.01, http://www.britishmuseum.org/research/search_the_collection_database.aspx; E. Zinner, Deutsche und Niederländische astronomische instrumente des 11. Bis 18. Jahrhunderts, 2nd ed. (Munich, 1967), 478.
Laurits Christian Eichner (1894–1967) was a Danish engineer who married an American, Sarah Craven, and settled in Bloomfield, N.J., in 1925. During the Depression, he began marketing his skills as a metal craftsman, eventually branching out from bronze bowls and pewter tableware to replicas of historical scientific instruments and modern precision instruments, such as interferometers, astrophotometers, and telescopes. In the 1950s the Smithsonian hired him to restore and reproduce instruments and machines in preparation for the opening of the Museum of History and Technology (now the National Museum of American History).
Eichner's workshop made this octagonal wooden rule from an original at the Adler Planetarium in Chicago. The larger end is marked: LCE (/) 1964. An ivory handle around the larger end has black geometric markings. Ivory plates on each side of the rule show the length of the ell, a traditional "arm's length" measurement, in eight German cities. (One plate is broken.) Each side also has rounded notches marking off divisions for each length of ell.
This small brass rule has two linear scales, one labeled "4" that is divided to quarter-units and numbered by ones from 30 to zero, and one labeled "3" that is divided to quarter-units and numbered by ones from 22 to zero. The units are 0.5 cm (7/32") and 0.7 cm (9/32") long, respectively. A brass peg is in the center of the rule, and a small round hole is on the right edge. These suggest the rule was designed to attach to other rules, although no such rules were received with the instrument.
While the scales are in a 4:3 proportion to each other, the pre-metric units of measurement represented by either scale are not known. The length of the divided portion (15.6 cm or 6-3/16") is almost exactly half the length of the average fuss (31.4 cm or 12.36"), a traditional "foot" measure used in German-speaking areas of Central Europe.
The top edge of the rule is marked: Antonius Braun Invenit et Fecit 1722. Anton Braun (1685–1728), a native of Swabia in southwest Germany, made instruments in Prague by 1720 and in Vienna by 1724. In 1727 he built a pinwheel calculator during a competition to become chief instrument maker for Holy Roman Emperor Karl VI.
References: Herbert Arthur Klein, The Science of Measurement: A Historical Survey (reprint; New York: Dover, 1988), 63; Russ Rowlett, How Many? A Dictionary of Units of Measurement, July 11, 2005, http://www.unc.edu/~rowlett/units/index.html; Adler Planetarium, Webster Signature Database, http://historydb.adlerplanetarium.org/signatures/.
This European triangular wooden length measure is crudely carved on all three sides with letters, suns, a girl, fish, and geometric figures. One side reads: MD 1727. Another side reads: P q R S T V W X | Z. Each side has seven wooden pegs, roughly evenly spaced at approximately 7.5 cm. The side with the partial alphabet has two additional pegs (one missing) at the ends of the rule. The Smithsonian acquired this object in 1960.
This octagonal wooden rule has a handle and a measuring part that is broken off at the end. Both parts are crudely but prolifically carved with Xs, triangles, curves, and diamonds. One face is carved with a number: 1756. Another face is notched with measuring marks. These are placed 4, 6.3, 10.8, 19.4, 26, and 53.5 cm from the base of the handle. Compare to MA.318246, MA.318247, and MA.318248.
This square, tapering wooden rule has a brass tip around the narrow end. Three sides are finely carved with fruit and vines, possibly oranges and pineapples. The fourth side is marked with inlaid brass dots: ANNO IIV DB 1757 NAVW. Inlaid brass bars provide measuring marks that are 1, 3.8, 6, 10.2, 18.7, 26, and 53 cm from the wide end. The spacing of the marks is similar to those on 318246. The overall length of the rule is 70 cm (27-1/2"), which is close to the usual length for a Flemish ell (68.6 cm, 27").
Reference: Herbert Arthur Klein, The Science of Measurement: A Historical Survey (New York: Simon & Schuster, 1974), 57.
This European brass rule consists of twelve segments, ten that are 10.5 cm (4-1/4") long and two that are 9.6 cm (3-3/4") long. The segments are riveted together end to end to form a rule about 104 cm (41") long. On one side the rule has scales for Paris and London inches, numbered by ones from 1 to 36. The other side has scales for Venice and Vienna inches, numbered by ones from 1 to 36. On each of the four scales, the first inch is divided to 1/12" and the rest are divided to 1/2".
According to the rule, the Paris inch was 1-3/32" long, the London inch was 1", the Venice inch was 1-1/8", and the Vienna inch was 1-1/32". These lengths are within range of the pre-metric system national standards reported by contemporary arithmetic textbooks and modern historians.
References: Charles Hutton, A Philosophical and Mathematical Dictionary, new ed. (London, 1815), ii:35–36; Philip E. Stanley, A Source Book for Rule Collectors (Mendham, N.J.: Astragal Press, 2003), 242–252.
This wooden rectangular rule consists of a carved handle resembling a finial and a tapered, ruled part. The handle is made from a separate piece of wood and attached to the ruled part with a peg. There is an inlaid piece of mother of pearl (1.6 cm X 1.5 cm) on one side. The ruled part is about 71.5 cm long, slightly longer than the average Dutch el (68–70 cm), a traditional "arm's-length" measure.
The rule is marked with grooves (each approximately 1 mm wide) on 2 sides. On the side with the museum mark, the grooves are 3.7, 5.3, 10.3, 20.9, 38.2, and 55.3 cm from the base of the handle (or 68.8, 66.2, 61.2, 50.6, 33.3, and 16.2 cm from the tip). On the side with the mother of pearl piece, the grooves are 27.5, 32.4, 52.5, and 62.6 cm from the base of the handle (or 44.0, 3.1, 19.0, and 9.0 cm from the tip). The mother of pearl inlay is 22.3 cm from the base of the handle (49.2 cm from the tip). Compare to MA.318247, MA.318248, and MA.325404.
Reference: Russ Rowlett, How Many? A Dictionary of Units of Measurement, July 11, 2005, http://www.unc.edu/~rowlett/units/index.html.
This wooden rectangular rule consists of a fluted handle with a carved head at the end and a tapered, ruled part. The rule is cracked between two nails below the handle on the side with the head's face. On the side with the back of the head, the rule is marked with straight lines that are 27.5, 38.5, 42.0, 49.7, 53.2, 56.9, 60.8, 64.5, and 68.1 cm from the base of the handle (or, 44.5, 33.5, 30.0, 22.3, 18.8, 15.1, 11.2, 7.5, and 3.9 cm from the tip of the rule). The mark at 49.7 cm is an asterisk rather than a plain line.
The Dutch el is a traditional "arm's length" measure commonly used before The Netherlands adopted the metric system in 1820. The el was 68–70 cm on average, but this example is slightly longer at 72 cm, excluding the handle. Compare to MA.318246, MA.318248, and MA.325404.
This layered, curved wooden rule has a twisted handle with an ivory crown at the end. A piece of whalebone (2.4 X 1.5 cm) is carved with two horizontal lines and an "X" and is fastened to the rule just below the handle. The measuring part of the rule is 52 cm (20-1/2") long, considerably shorter than the average Dutch el (68–72 cm), a traditional "arm's length" measure used before The Netherlands adopted the metric system in 1820. Also unlike Dutch els such as MA.318246, MA.318247, and MA.325404, there are no grooves marking off distances. Instead, horizontal rows of three nails are placed 5, 9.2, 17.8, and 35 cm from the base of the handle. A diagonal row of four nails is adjacent to the last horizontal row. One layer of wood has been removed from the tip of the rule.
This round wooden yardstick is divided into 16 scales numbered from right to left that divide the foot into various numbers of parts. The scales include: 8 (units of 1 1/2" or 3.8 cm), 9 (1 5/16" or 3.3 cm), 10 (1 3/16" or 3.0 cm), 11 (1 1/16" or 2.7 cm), 12 (1" or 2.6 cm), 13 (11/12" or 2.3 cm), 14 (7/8" or 2.1 cm), 15 (13/16' or 2.0 cm), 16 (3/4" or 1.9 cm), 17 (11/16" or 1.7 cm), 18 (21/32' or 1.6 cm), 19 (5/8" or 1.6 cm), 20 (5/8' or 1.5 cm), 21 (9/16" or 1.5 cm), 22 (17/32" or 1.4 cm), and 23 (1/2" or 1.3 cm) parts per foot. The number of subdivisions per foot is indicated at the right end of each scale, but these marks are badly worn.
The left end of the rule is marked: PSP (/) April 25th (/) 1822. The right end is marked: PSP (/) 1822.
The National Museum of History and Technology, now the National Museum of American History, acquired this calculating stick, probably between 1962 and 1965, for its Growth of the United States exhibition, which opened in 1967 and closed in 1982. See also 1987.0107.05.
Reference: William S. Walker, "A Living Exhibition: The Smithsonian, Folklife, and the Making of the Modern Museum" (Ph.D. diss., Brandeis University, 2007).
This brass yard standard and matrix are stored in a mahogany case with brass handles on either end and brass hooks to secure the lid, one of which no longer closes. The yard standard has extensions on either side which make it 104 cm (41") long. The yard fits into a matrix, which is divided into tenths, with the first division also divided into tenths. The yard and matrix each weigh 13 lbs., 4 oz. The case also contains 4 mahogany wedges and 3 mahogany rectangles, each less than 7 cm long. A scriber and square were originally in the case.
This yard standard is one of those distributed by the Treasury Department to the states after Congress set standard measures on June 14, 1833. Sets of weights were distributed to the states by 1838. Metric length standards were distributed to the states and to customhouses into the 1860s. The Bureau of Standards transferred this object to the Smithsonian in 1929.
Reference: Rexmond C. Cochrane, Measures for Progress (Washington, D.C.: National Bureau of Standards, 1966), p. 27-28.
This wooden rectangular rule is reported to be a Persian drah, or pic, a unit of length measure used in surveying and architecture. According to Russ Rowlett, the pic (or pik) was a traditional unit of distance in the Eastern Mediterranean and Near East. An "arm" unit, like the ell, the pic varied considerably. A typical value was about 28 inches (71 centimeters). This example is divided on one side in pencil and on the other with carved notches. The divisions on the pencil side are at: 3.0, 6.3, 9.6, 12.7, 25.3, 28.3, 31.6, 37.8, 50.3, 53.4, 56.6, 59.8, and 62.7 cm. The divisions on the notched side are at: 12.5, 15.7, 18.8, 21.8, 25.0, 37.9, 41.0, 44.2, 47.1, 50.2, 56.2, 59.2, and 62.3 cm.
The pencil side is marked at the right end: teheran (/) dept of State. In 1892, the U.S. Department of State transferred this object to the Smithsonian.
Reference: Russ Rowlett, How Many? A Dictionary of Units of Measurement, July 11, 2005, http://www.unc.edu/~rowlett/units/index.html.
This wooden rectangular rule is reported to be a Persian drah, or pic, and said to have been used for measuring dry goods. It is divided on two sides by roughly cut arrows and vertical lines. One side has Persian characters inside circles at both ends. On that side, the divisions are at: 4.5, 8.8*, 13.2, 17.4*, 21.5, 25.9, 30.0, 34.3*, 38.5, 42.7, 47.1, 51.2*, 55.5, 59.7*, and 64.1 cm. Divisions with an * are marked with an arrow rather than a line on the rule. These divisions are spaced apart 1 centimeter further than the divisions on another Persian drah, 1979.0991.01. On the other side, all of the divisions are vertical lines, at: 11.7, 23.0, 34.2, 45.5, and 57.0 cm.
In 1892 the U.S. Department of State transferred this object to the Smithsonian.
This white ceramic rule is stored in a wooden case lined with red felt, surrounded by wooden shapes to hold it in place and underneath a piece of plywood. The interior of the rule has two scales. The first is in red ink, divided to twentieths of a British inch, and numbered by ones from 0 to 25. A small scale dividing one inch into hundredths is to the left of this scale, and an extra 1/10" is at the right of the scale. The second scale is in black ink, divided to twentieths of a "pyramid inch," and numbered by ones from 0 to 25.
The scale is marked: SCALE OF BRITISH INCHES, (/) For residual error, at Temperature 68° F., see note on case. (/) SCALE OF 25 PYRAMID INCHES, OR 1 PYRAMID CUBIT. (/) at Temp. 68° F., = one ten-millionth of the earth's semi-axis of Rotation; with a Residual error, see note on case. The upper right corner of the scale is marked in red: B. & P. SCALE, No. 2. (/) May, 1867. The lower right corner of the scale is marked in black: MADE & DIVIDED BY (/) L. CASELLA. (/) 23. HATTON GARDEN, LONDON.
Two thermometers are screwed into the case on either side of the scale. The first is divided by single degrees Fahrenheit and numbered by tens from 20 to 140. The second is divided by two degrees Fahrenheit and numbered by tens from 10 to 150. Three-fourths of its tube has been missing since it arrived at the Museum in 1987. Both thermometers are marked: J. M. BRYSON (/) OPTICIAN (/) EDINBURGH. James Mackay Bryson (1824–1894), whose firm was known for making thermometers, came from a family of Edinburgh instrument makers and scientists.
A handwritten note on Royal Observatory of Edinburgh stationery is pasted inside the lid of the case. It reads, "1872 (/) The 'British Inches' of this scale, in Red divisional (/) lines, have been found by a preliminary Microscopic comp- (/) -arison to be true, for their whole 25 inch sum of (/) length, to within half the thickness of one of the division lines, (/) at the temperature of 68* Fah. The expansion for an in- (/) -crease of 1*F. on the whole 25 inches in length, = (/) = 0.00004 of an inch, nearly. (/)The above red British Inches are those in (/) terms of which the Earth has been measured in modern (/) times. The black Inches on the lower part of (/) the scale, are the Ancient Inches of the Great (/) Pyramid; in terms of which Inches, both the chief (/) measures of that Monument, and the modern (/) measures of the Earth, come out in round and (/) even numbers of fives and tens. They are, each (/) of them 0.001 of an inch longer than the British Inch. (/) P.S. (/) Ast. R. for Scotd."
Charles Piazzi Smyth (1819–1900) was Astronomer Royal of Scotland from 1846 to 1888. He did significant scientific work, including pioneering high-altitude observing and solar astronomy, but he was also obsessed with pyramidal numerology. From January to April, 1865, he and his wife, Jessica, made careful measurements of every surface of the Great Pyramid at Giza. He concluded that the pyramid was constructed using a measurement system he called "pyramid inches," which were each one ten-millionth of the earth's semi-axis of rotation. Since the pyramid inch was so close in length to the British inch, Smyth recommended that Great Britain retain the imperial system of weights and measures rather than adopt the metric system.
To visually demonstrate the agreement between the systems of measurement, Piazzi Smyth commissioned London instrument maker Louis Pascal Casella (1812–1897) to make rules like this one when Smyth published an account of his research in 1867. Since there is a discrepancy between the date on this rule and the note in the lid, the example owned by National Museums Scotland (online ID 000-190-004-745-C, catalog number T.1962.108) may be older than this instrument. By 1876 the Science Museum in London was also exhibiting a Casella scale of British and pyramid inches, donated by Piazzi Smyth. Library staff at Augustana College in Rock Island, Ill., were unable to determine how this object ended up at the college. Casella did not advertise the rule in his 1871 catalog.
References: Charles Piazzi Smyth, Life and Work at the Great Pyramid, 3 vol. (Edinburgh, 1867); L. Casella, An Illustrated Catalogue of Surveying, Philosophical, Optical, Photographic, and Standard Meteorological Instruments (London, 1871); Science and Art Department of the Committee of Council on Education, Catalogue of the Special Loan Collection of Scientific Apparatus at the South Kensington Museum, 2nd ed. (London, 1876), 42; H. A. Brück and M. T. Brück, The Peripatetic Astronomer: The Life of Charles Piazzi Smyth (Bristol, Eng.: Adam Hilger, 1988), 95–134; T. N. Clarke, A. D. Morrison-Low, and A. D. C. Simpson, Brass & Glass: Scientific Instrument Making Workshops in Scotland (Edinburgh, 1989), 112–117; National Museums Scotland, Online Collections Database, http://nms.scran.ac.uk/; "People: L. Casella," Waywiser, Harvard University Department of the History of Science, http://dssmhi1.fas.harvard.edu/emuseumdev/code/eMuseum.asp?lang=EN; accession file.
This metal rule unfolds to a length of 14-7/8" (38 cm). One side is divided into ten units of 1-1/2" (3.7 cm). The units are subdivided into 20 parts. The hinge is shaped like a protractor. It is divided unevenly into five units marked with Japanese characters that have not been translated. From the right, the divisions are at approximately 10°, 30°, 60°, 90°, and 135°.
The other side has a scale 30.3 cm long that is divided into ten sun, a traditional Japanese unit of length that is 1/10 of a shaku, a "foot" measure. Each unit is 1-3/16" and is subdivided into 20 parts.
The Japanese Empire Department of Education displayed this rule at the 1876 Centennial Exhibition in Philadelphia. It then was held by the Museum of the U.S. Bureau of Education before transfer to the Smithsonian in 1910. For more information, see MA.261298 and MA.261313.
This heavy brass ruler is divided to millimeters along one edge. The other edge is divided into ten units of 1-3/16" (3 cm). Each unit is thus roughly equivalent to the sun, a traditional Japanese unit of length that is 1/10 of a shaku. Two of the units are subdivided into 50 parts; the other eight are subdivided into 20 parts. Neither of the scales are sequentially numbered. Instead, the units of each scale are marked with a small "0," with an additional three zeroes above the "0" at the center of the scale of equal parts.
The Japanese Empire Department of Education displayed this rule at the 1876 Centennial Exhibition in Philadelphia. It then was held by the Museum of the U.S. Bureau of Education before transfer to the Smithsonian in 1910. For more information, see MA.261298 and MA.261313.
This 60 cm brass ruler is divided to millimeters along one edge. The scale is not numbered. The other edge is divided into 20 units of 1-3/16" (3 cm). Each unit is thus roughly equivalent to the sun, a traditional Japanese unit of length that is 1/10 of a shaku, a "foot" measure. Four of the units are subdivided into 50 parts; the other 16 are subdivided into 20 parts. Each unit is marked with a small "0." The fifth and fifteenth units have a row of three zeroes above the "0." The tenth unit has a zero, a row of three zeroes, and another zero.
The Japanese Empire Department of Education displayed this rule at the 1876 Centennial Exhibition in Philadelphia. It then was held by the Museum of the U.S. Bureau of Education before transfer to the Smithsonian in 1910. For more information, see MA.261298 and MA.261313.
This 18 cm brass ruler is divided to millimeters along one edge. An oval (0) is stamped over the dividing line for the fifth, tenth, and fifteenth units. The other edge is divided into six units of 1-3/16" (3 cm). Each unit is thus roughly equivalent to the sun, a traditional Japanese unit of length that is 1/10 of a shaku, a "foot" measure. The units are subdivided into 50 parts. Each unit is marked with a small "0." The fifth units has a row of three zeroes above the "0."
The Japanese Empire Department of Education displayed this rule at the 1876 Centennial Exhibition in Philadelphia. It then was held by the Museum of the U.S. Bureau of Education before transfer to the Smithsonian in 1910. For more information, see MA.261298 and MA.261313.
An iron caliper with only one bar is nailed to one end of this bamboo rule. The caliper extends back about 3". The ruler is divided into 17 units of 1-3/16" (3 cm), and the units are subdivided into tenths. Each unit is roughly equivalent to one sun, a traditional Japanese unit of length that is 1/10 of a shaku, a "foot" measure. Bulls-eyes mark every five units. A red and white sticker on the caliper is marked: 10th (/) No 222.
The Japanese Empire Department of Education displayed this rule at the 1876 Centennial Exhibition in Philadelphia. It then was held by the Museum of the U.S. Bureau of Education until it was transferred to the Smithsonian in 1910. For more information, see MA.261298 and MA.261313.
The Japanese Empire Department of Education displayed this oversized wooden ruler at the 1876 World's Fair, the Centennial Exhibition in Philadelphia. The left and right sides are evenly divided into nine units of 2-7/16" or 6.2 cm. These units are subdivided into tenths and numbered on the right by tens from 0 to 90. A sliding piece, or vernier, in the center of the rule has nine units of 0.55 cm on the left side and nine units of 0.65 cm on the right. The vernier is numbered in ascending order on the left and in descending order on the right. An eyehook is attached to the top of the instrument for hanging in a classroom.
A red and white label on the bottom front is marked: No. 46 (/) M. The object arrived with another label marked: Dai NihonTeikoku Monbusho (Japanese Empire Department of Education). Since the intervals on the rule are evenly divided rather than logarithmic, it seems likely that this rule was used for measuring and not for calculating.
After the exhibition, John Eaton, the U.S. Commissioner of Education, arranged for the transfer of Japan's entire exhibit to the Bureau of Education (then part of the Department of the Interior) for a planned museum. The museum closed in 1906 due to high maintenance costs, and much of the collection was transferred to the Smithsonian in 1910.
Other educational mathematical objects exhibited by Japan in 1876 include MA.261301, MA.261302, MA.261305, MA.261306, and MA.261313.
References: Japan. Department of Education, An Outline History of Japanese Education: Prepared for the Philadelphia International Exhibition, 1876 (New York: D. Appleton, 1876), 121–122, 191–202; U.S. Centennial Commission, International Exhibition, 1876. Reports and Awards, ed. Francis A. Walker (Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1880), viii:143, 335; U.S. Bureau of Education, Annual Report of the Commissioner (1876), ccxi–ccxii.
A rectangular paulownia wood case has a red and white sticker on the right end marked: 45 (/) M. Inside the case are seven bamboo rulers, six that are just over 12" (about 31 cm) long and one that is 2-1/4" (15.5 cm). The first rule is either ebonized or coated with blackboard paint. The front is marked in Japanese: Made by Kokoudo Fujishima. The scales along both edges are identical, divided to fifths of a unit and numbered by twos from 2 to 96. Each unit is 1/8" (3 mm), and the scales are both labeled: 1/8. The back of the rule is stamped: 7.
The second rule is marked in Japanese: Made by Fujishima. It is also marked: 4 500. The scales along both edges are identical, 30 cm long, divided to tenths of a unit, and numbered by twenties from 2[0] to 1340. The scales thus correspond to dividing the meter into 4,500 parts. The back of the rule is stamped in red: METRE. It is also stamped: 1 (/) 4500.
The third rule has a scale labeled "1000 FEET" along one edge. It is divided to fives and numbered in both directions by hundreds from 0 to 1,000. Each increment of 100 units is 1-3/16" (3.05 cm) long. The other edge is divided by ones and numbered in both directions by tens from 0 to 250. This scale is labeled: 250 FEET. The scales are 12" (30.5 cm) long. The back of the rule is marked: Fujishima.
The fourth rule is marked in Japanese: Made by Fujishima. It is also marked: 250. The scales along both edges are identical, 12-1/16" (30.7 cm) long, divided to single units, and numbered by tens from 0 to 250. The back of the rule is stamped in red: FOOT. It is also stamped: 1 (/) 250. It is also stamped: C-1.
The fifth rule is marked in Japanese: Made by Fujishima. It is also marked: 200. The scales along both edges are identical, 12" (30.5 cm) long, divided to single units, and numbered by tens from 0 to 200. The back of the rule is stamped in red: FOOT. It is also stamped: 1 (/) 200. It is also stamped: 5. Handwriting in Japanese on the back of the rule has not been translated.
The sixth rule has scales for 3/8" to the foot and 3/4" to the foot along one edge. The other edge has scales for 1-1/2" to the foot and 3" to the foot. The back of the rule is stamped in red: FOOT. It is also stamped: C-1.
The scales on the seventh and shortest rule are 1-13/16" (4.6 cm) long and numbered by ones from 0 to 3. The scale along one edge is divided to quarter-units, and the scale on the other edge is divided to twelfths of a unit. The rule is marked on the back: 1/20. It is also stamped in red: 1.
These rules were likely used in engineering and architectural drawing. Compare to MA.261284, MA.261285, MA.261286, and MA.261287. The rules were exhibited by the Japanese Empire Department of Education at the 1876 Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia. They then were displayed by the Museum of the U.S. Bureau of Education until 1906 and transferred to the Smithsonian National Museum in 1910. For more information, see MA.261298 and MA.261313.
Seven bamboo rulers, five that are just over 12" (about 31 cm) long and two that are 2-1/4" (15.5 cm), are in a rectangular paulownia wood case. Labels have been torn away from inside the case lid and the right end of the case.
The first and second rules are identical. They have a groove along one edge. The other edge has a scale 30.3 cm long that is divided into ten sun, a traditional Japanese unit of length that is 1/10 of a shaku, a "foot" measure. Each unit is 1-3/16" (3 cm) long. The first seven units are subdivided into 20 parts, the eighth into 40 parts, the ninth into 50 parts, and the tenth into 100 parts. The center of each unit is marked with a dot. The center of the rule has five horizontal and two vertical dots that form a "T."
The third rule is marked in Japanese: Made by Fujishima. It is also marked: 32. It has scales for 3/8" to the foot and 3/4" to the foot along both edges. The back is marked: FOOT. It is also marked: 1/32. It is also stamped in red: 1.
The fourth rule is ebonized. The front is marked in Japanese: Made by Fujishima. The scales along both edges are identical, divided to fifths of a unit and numbered by fives from 5 to 140. Each increment of five units is 13/32" (1.1 cm) long, and the scales are both labeled: 1/12. The back of the rule is stamped: 1 (/) 12. It is also stamped: 6.
The fifth rule has two scales of inches, divided to 1/16" on one edge and to 1/12" on the other. Both scales are numbered by ones from 1 to 12. The back is stamped in red: INCH. It is also marked: 1 (/) 16. It is also marked: 1 (/) 12. It is also marked: 3.
The sixth and seventh rules have scales that are 1-5/16" long. Both rules are divided along both edges into eight units that are subdivided into tenths. On the sixth rule, the scales are numbered by tens from 0 to 80. The back is marked: 1/500. It is also stamped in red: 9. The scales on the seventh rule are numbered by ones from 0 to 8. The back is marked: 1/40. It is also stamped in red: 2.
These rules were likely used in engineering and architectural drawing. Compare to MA.261283, MA.261285, MA.261286, and MA.261287. The rules were exhibited by the Japanese Empire Department of Education at the 1876 Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia. They then were displayed by the Museum of the U.S. Bureau of Education until 1906 and transferred to the Smithsonian National Museum in 1910. For more information, see MA.261298 and MA.261313.
Location
Currently not on view
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