This is a small brass instrument, 1¾ inches diameter. The silvered face is marked “R. & J. BECK’S / FARMER’S / BAROMETER / 31 Cornhill / LONDON / 582.” The scale around the circumference of the face reads from 25 to 31 inches of mercury, in fifths of an inch. The back is marked “Signal Service / U.S. Army, / No. 17.” There is also a dark leather case. The U.S. Weather Bureau transferred it to the Smithsonian in 1954.
This was probably made after 1870, when the Signal Service was given charge of the national weather service.
R. & J. Beck was in business, as such, from 1865 to 1895, making and selling microscopes and other optical instruments. Although they sold aneroids, it is unlikely that they made them.
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