This graphometer is one of several objects from the Bureau of Education that the U. S. Department of Interior transferred to the Smithsonian Institution in 1910. Active during the period 1876-1885, the Bureau of Education had organized exhibits for national and international exhibitions, and collected educational materials from around the world for display in its museum in Washington, D.C. The graphometer is of nickel-plated brass. Its semicircle arc is graduated every 30 minutes, and read by vernier scales at either end of the alidade to single minutes. The "Ed LUTZ Paris" inscription is that of Edouard Lutz, an optical and mathematical instrument maker who worked in Paris in the second half of the 19th century.
Our collection database is a work in progress. We may update this record based on further research and review. Learn more about our approach to sharing our collection online.
If you would like to know how you can use content on this page, see the Smithsonian's Terms of Use. If you need to request an image for publication or other use, please visit Rights and Reproductions.