2 Scientific In: ',t~ument Society

Bulletin June No. 53 1997 Bulletin of the Scientific Instrument Society 0956-8271

For Table of Contents, see back cover

President Gerard Turner

Honorary Committee Howard Dawes, Chairman Stuart Talbot, Secreta~ John Didcock, Treasurer Willem Hackmann, Editor Jane lnsley, Ad~wtisin~ Mana~cer James Stratton, Meetings Secretary. Ron Bristow Gloria Clifton Mike Cowham Arthur Middleton Alan Morton Liba Taub Trevor Waterman

Membership and Administrative Matters The Executive Officer (Wing Cmdr. Geoffrey Bennett) 31 High Street Stanford in the Vale Faringdon Tel: 01367 710223 Oxon SN7 8LH Fax: 01367 718963 See inside back cot~r for information on membership

Editorial Matters Dr. Willem D. Hackmann Museum of the History of Science Old Ashmolean Building Tel: 01865 277282 (office) Broad Street Fax: 01865 277288 Oxford OX! 3AZ Tel: 01608 811110 (home) e-mail:[email protected]

Advertising Jane lnsley Science Museum South Kensington Tel: 0171-938 8110 London SW7 2DD Fax: 0171-938 8118 e-mail: [email protected]

Organization of Meetings Mr James Stratton 101 New Bond Street Tel: 0171-629 6602 London WIY 0AS Fax: 0171-629 8876

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The Scientific Instrument Society 1997 Editorial

What Happened to the WeddinR Cake? This Bulletin has two papers on makers possibility, in particular to our own outside London: Jenny Wetton's third intrepid explorer of everything in.~ru- This issue contains the usual mix of part on 'Scientific Instrument Making in mental, Paolo Brenni. papers. I am pleased to have been able Manchester 1870-1940' deals with Flat- Undoubtedly the most dramatic instru- to continue the Ix)licy of publishing the ters and Garnet Limited who specialized in microscopical apparatus for educa- merit described in this issue is the Third Society's 'Annual Invitation Lecture'. Earl of Rosse's 72-inch reflecting tele- John Leopold's 1996 lecture on 'Mechan- tional uses, and Fowler & Company scope at Bin" in Co. Offaly in Ireland. ical Globes of Circa 1500 -16~' was much who made circular calculators. Her concluding part will appear in the next Charles Mollan traces the back~ound of enjoyed; the Bulletin can now offer a this Leviathan which has recently been permanent record of his talk. Alas as Bulletin. Alison Morrison-Low assesses the conditions which allowed English magnificently restored by the Seventh space will only permit a few of the Earl. Incidentally, Mary, Countess of illustrationsshown in the lecture it was provincial makers to flourish in some Rosse, the Third Earl's wife, was a decided to reproduce a generic example locations and not in others during the hundred years leading up to the Great pioneer phot(~rapher. Her photographs of each of the four types discussed. of were essential Figures have not been referred to in the Exhibition in 1851 in her 'Spirit of Place' - the telescope in its restoration. The pioneering days of b(dy of the paper as it should be clear a quotation from Virgil's Aeneid. Her where they fit to anybody reading the paper demonstrates how far our subject photography, in particular of astronom- text. What is so delightful about these has advanced over the last twenty years. ical photography, link the great telesc¢~e at Birr Castle with this issue's 'Cover annual invitation lectures is that they Thanks to the more recent scholarship Story' about Warren De la Rue's astro- contain the patina of years of experience certainly as far as Great Britain is nomical cameras and his attempts to map and scholarship of the invited lecturers.I concerned we can start to go beyond the moon by means of the new medium am now looking forward to Allan the big picture dominated by the story of of photography. This story in turn is to Chapman's lecture this year on 'Gresham the trade in London and apply the more commemorate the exhibition at Oxford College and 17th Century Scientific minute brushstrokes concerned with the on 'Cameras: the Technok)gy of Photo- Instruments'. Quite a few years ago trade in the provinces, in the end we will graphic Imaging' which open~ on 20 now Allan made wooden replicas of have a more balanced view of the May (see 'Current and Future Events'). several of the contemporary astron(n~n- instrument making trade in this country. ical/navigational instruments such as the As usual the producti(m of this Bulletin cross staff, and he has shown by his Gloria Clifton and Brian Gee in a brief runs parallel with other events, both Dividing the Circle that he is familiar l~th 'Further Note' on Newman in this issue professional and private. One event that provides another example that a topic is with the documentary history and the has caused a slight delay was my practical aspects of these devices. never fully exhausted, or as Brian Gee brother's wedding during the weekend wrote perceptively in his essay 'John of 7-8 June (actually, the wedding took ! have urged in thesepages for members Newman: A Second Look', bk~raphical place on Friday but the festivitiescon- to come forward and report on collec- research always seems to raise more tinued over that Saturday and Sunday as questions about the subject, no matter tions of which they have detailed knowl- the married couple had to fly baclc to edge. Profes~)r Dorikens has now taken how meticulous the investigation has Singapore on that Monday). You can up this call with his 'Three 19th Century been. A minor confusion in the literature imagine that there was little time for instrument Makers at the University of was whether the elder John Newman had editorial work over that weekend, but Ghent'. The makers are in succession J. a middle name. Gloria Clifton and Brian that is not the point of this story. In the Bernaert. J. Vanhese and Theodore Schu- Gee in their brief 'Further Note' prove pause between the wedding dinner and bart - the first two worked for the Ghent that our man must not be confused with the evening's dance, and just before the professor of physics Joseph Plateau another Newman (who turns out to be a customary speeches were about to begin ! (1801-1883), who became well-known James) who sold a camera lucida at 24 asked my brother in a loud whisper: for several lecture-demonstration de- Soho Square in London, and that the 'Pssst! Where's the wedding cake?' '.-- l vices, and the latter worked for his elder John Newman definitely had no left it in the baker's this morning!', he successor J. Boulvin (1855-1920). This middle name (only his s(m was called replied. At this stage in the production of paper is an interesting case study about John Frederick). Their note ends with an the Bulletin I always start to worry, about the intimate relationship built up be- important caution concerning 'official' what I may have left out and about tween the University of Ghent's Physics company histories. They should be corrections not followed thn~ugh 'To err Teaching Laboratory (established in 1850) treated with care! is human', but ! have to admit that and the Belgian instrument making sometimes i am all too human! You will trade. It became the practice in Belgium The SIS's visit to Rome was obviously a not find book reviews or a 'Market Place' - for commercial makers also to be given great success. Criticism has been voiced these are held over to the next issue, in university appointments to make and that the Bulletin publishes too full an fact, the next 'Market Place' is coming repair instruments for the science account of some of these excursions. ! from America. However, I would not be courses. The nature of university physics cannot agree. It may well be too much of doing my editorial duties if I did not make teaching changed everywhere in Europe a romantic notion to regard the Society's you aware of one biblil~graphy and one by the time of the First World War. annual visits as explorations in unchar- index pertinent to instrumental history. Physics teaching cabinets di~ppeared tered territories (l cannot really visuali~ to be replaced by modern style labora- Howard Dawes as Dr Livingstone), but Classified Bibliography on the History tories serviced by university workshops the factual reports of all that has been of Scientific Instruments with one or more technicians, and seen must be u~ful to those who could professors became involved in both m)t make these trips. The informatkm can G. L'E. Turner and DJ. Brvden's A teaching and research. These changes be filed away for a future occaskm when Classified Bibli~graphy on the "Hi.~t,,~ # occurred in Ghent in the early 1920s. the reader may want to plan a visit to any Scientific Instruments (Oxford, 19~7) has The handiwork of these technicians one of the locations relxnted on. For recently appeared, it is based on the became anonymous. Only after 1945 Stuart Talbot, the tour of Rome was 'a Scientific Instrument Commi.~sion's An- would scientists again start to acknowl- dream come to life'. A fulsome 'thank nual Bibliographies of books, pamphlets, edge their technicians in scientific papers. you' to all those who made this visit a catalogues and articles on the studies of

Bulletin of the Scientific Instrument Society No. 53 (1997) historic scientific instruments, which Bulletin Index include the publication(s) submitted for were compiled by G.L'E. Turner hx,m the award, but also a curriculum vitae 1983 to 1995. The 119 paged soft-covered Geoffrey Bennett, the Society's Executive and (if available) a list of the applicant's I~)k is issued by the Scientific Instru- Officer, has recently completed the draft publications. The deadline for submis- index of the Bulletin from No. 1to No. 50. ment Commi~sitm (SIC), classified and sion is 30 September 1997. Pr~h can This very. useful index will be available to also be submitted for honouring the work edited by D.J. Bryden. It is distributed by the members later this year. the Museum of the History of Science at of other outstanding scholars. The prize Oxford at a cost of £5 per copy. Cheques Paul Bunge Prize ]998 winner will be decided by the advisory should be made payable to the Museum council of the Hans R. Jenemann Founda- tion. The prize will be awarded on the of the history of Science. The money will The German Chemical Society is inviting occasion of the ANALYTICA 1998 con- be used to fund the future compilations applications fur the 1998 Paul Bunge gress in Munich (21-24 April 1998). For of the Annual SIC Bibli,graphies. This Prize of the Hans R. Jenemann Founda- further information, contact the German will be undertaken bv Tony Simcock, tion, which is administered by the Gesell~haft Deut~her Chemiker and Chemical Society, Public Relations De- Museum of the History. Librarian of the the Deut~he Bunsen-Gesellmhafi for partment, P.P. Box 900440, D-60444 of Science to whtnn news of exhibitions Physikalische Chemie. The prize of Frankfurt am Main, telephone IX) 49 69 and their catalogues, as well as offprints, 10,000DM is for outstanding publications 7917-325; fax on 00 49 60 7917-322; e-mail studies, photographs and references on any of the fields of the history of [email protected]. This information can also be should be sent for inclusi(m in the SIC scientific instruments in German, Eng- found at the intemet address http:// Bibliographies. lish, or French. Applications should www.gdch.de

Cover Story

Warren De ia Rue and Lunar r~)type of the sun in 1845, while the it was well illuminated by reflected light Photography daguerrts~types of the moon taken by from the earth and the accuracy (or William Cranach Bond and J.A. Whipple veracity,) of the photographs could be i'hotographing the phefl4m~na of nature ... with the 15-inch equatorial refractor at m its very principle carries with it all compared against existing lunar maps. extinction ~)f individua] btas. t Harvard Observator); attracted much Astronomers debated which was the best interest both when displayed at the Great type of telescope to use for astronomical Exhibition of 1851 and at the meeting of It did not take very long after the photography: the refl'actor or reflector? appearance of the first photographs in the Royal Astrtmomical Society. De la Rue argued correctly that the 183q for astronomers to appreciate the reflector was optically the more effective u~fuiness of this technique in their The daguerreotype had certain inherent instrument k~r this work. A major astronomical d~,ervations. One of the difficulties: the deveh,ping process rely- problem was that the telescope with its earliest proponents in Great Britain was ing on mercury vafx~ur was foul, the camera had to be kept in step with the Warren IX, la Rue, a gentleman of image was rattier delicate and required motion of the moon during the 15 independent means, manufacturer and long exposure times, and most prt~le- seconds taken by the exposure. In the inventor. In 1840 he was inspired bv the matical of all, each image was unique beginning his reflector had no driving engineer and astronomer James Nas~nvth and could not be replicated. These mechanism so that during the exfa,sure to order two 13-inch speculum mirrors, limitations were largely overcome by his assistant had to move the telescope in figured them optically with an improved the wet colh~ion process invented by time with the m(am's motion - a very ~ersion of the astronomer William Las- Frederick Scott Archer in the year of the delicate operation. He had difficulty ~ell's i~flb,hing machine, and dtsigned a Great Exhibition. Collodion, a varnish of finding helpers for this thankless task so Newtonian reflecting telescope of ten- gun-cotton dissolved in ether and alco- that he had to give up lunar photography foot ftN:al length which was completed in hol, was combined with potassium until he had constructed a proper 1840. An unusual feature for a reflector of iodide and carefully spread on a glass driving-clock to his telescope. This he this size was that it was equatorially plate, which was then sensitized with a achieved in 18% when he moved his 13- mountt~.t. Almost fn~m the start De la sih'er salt. The wet plate was immedi- inch reflector from his hou~ in London Rue intended to combine his instrument ately placed into the camera holder, to his private obsen, atory at Cranford. with the new technology of photography. exposed, and then de~ eloped while still Several wet collodion photographs have He was a skilled draughtsman; his first wet. This produced a negative image on sun, fred of the telescope at Cranford. astronomical contribution, a drawing of the glass plate, and from these many The steel engraving on this cover is Saturn, was published by the Royal pt~,itive prints could be made. De la Rue prohably taken from such an image. A.~tronomical Society in 18~). By this trained him~4f in this process, in 1853 he The massive driving-clock can be clearly' date the I~,tential value of photography produced his fi~t collodion photograph seen on the right-hand side near the to the study of celestial btdit..s had been of the m~K)n, using his 13-inch reflecting telescope's counter balance. well e~tabli'shed in tht~,rv if not vet fulh,' tele,,,cope. He was not the first to do so as in practice. Indeed, its" um had been he claimed in 18:9, but he certainly Encouraged by his success De la Rue suggt.,stecl as early as 183q by Francois became the most influential of the early, pn~uced [x~th commercial single and Arago, and there is extant a faint pioneers of celestial phoh,graphy. 2 ster~)scopic views of the moon. The daguerrts,type of the moon taken by three-dimensional images in particular Daguerre. H. Fizeau and L. Foucault of The m(am was an obvious choice for this caught the public's imagination. At least Paris made the first successful daguer- experiment in astnmomical photography: one series of albumen prints was pub-

Bulletin of the Scientific Instrument Society, No. 5.3 (1997) IllE MOON.

Fig.2 Warren De la Rue~ astronomical camera for securmy~ across the ttrp of the tube of his 13-inch reflectin¢ telescope. Metal body with dark slide for plates 100 x 100 ram. Museum of the History of Science, inv. no. 73,104.

IIINIIIIIRXltlIll ill >~llilt Ilktk ~. iltlh, It+ lii :ill I II!:'ill;il ~'l'l.l{,I I' liy Ilal;l;tx Lit. I..I Jill, t:sq t K~;

Fig.l No.7 in a series of twelve albumen prints of the moon with the caption: 'Phoh~graphed by. Smith, Beck & Beck, from an Ori~inal Negative ~ Warren De La Rue, Esq. F.R.S.'. Originals in the Museum of the Fig.3 Similar astronomical camera but unth dark slide for plates 45 x 45 mm and flap-shutter. History of Science. Museum of the History, of Science, inv. no. 73,104.

supporters was the Third Earl of Rosse who allowed Phillips to use his 36-inch and the great 72-inch reflechng telescopes at Birr Castle for trial observations. The image in the 72-inch was found to be too bright to make out fine detail, nor was this telescope equatorial, and the obser- ving position was too uncomfortable for drawing. Phillips found that a 6.2~inch refractor was more than adequate for this task, and it was with this instrument that he took his first wet collodion mo~n photographs.

De hi Rue's pioneering work m celestial photography in particular made the British Association for the Advancement of Science aware of the potential of this visual technoll~tp/. For instance, lunar pta)tography would make it possible to settle such questions as whether lunar features were of volcanic origin and whether the surface was still active or not. A new committee for mapping lunar features was set up in 1864. Among its eleven regular members were Fig.4 Wet collodion dark slide carrierfor attaching to the viewing tube of Warren De hi Rue's the Third Earl of Rosse, Sir John 13-inch reflectinl~ telescope. For glass plates 65 x 76 ram. Museum of the History of Science, Herschel, Phillips and De hi Rue. By inv. no. 81,355. 1869 2,099 ob~'ts had been catalogued and four areas totalling 100 square degrees near the centre of the visible lished by Smith, Beck and Beck (Fig. 1) in Association for the Advancement of lunar hemisphere had been critically about 1860. In the meantime, a Lunar Science in 1852 on the advice of the surveyed, mapped, and published. 3 De Committee for Mapping the Features of Oxford geologist and amateur astrono- hi Rue's moon photograplxs played a the Moon had been set up by the British mer John Phillips. One of the chief vital role in this work.

Bulletin ot the Scientific Instrument Society No. 53 (1997) 3 in 1875 De la Rue's telescope was a simple worsen I~x with ground gla,~ 2. I~t~r Hutchins, 'Prt~n~or John Phillips at (~thm:l, 18~74; Catalyst for the Uruvmity transferred to the new Obserx'atorv of focusing screen to the viewing tube of his telescope by means of its king brass ( ')l~ervat, wy', Jane Willis Kirkaldy Junior Prize the Lniversilx' of Oxhwd. it was decom- (htfta, d University, 1992. in fact, the first barrel (Fig. 4). His photographic image E.,Ny, mt.,,,sioned m the iq.'~, and transferredto lunar photograph using the wee collodion the Mu~um of the History of Science of the moon was only about ! !/10 inch metht~l was exhibited by John Phillips on 18 ahmg with its accessories, t~luding the (28 ram) in diameter: in the Mu,~um's July 1853 at lhe Hull meeting ol the B~ driving-clock, three astron~nnical cam- current ,,~'~'ial exhibition are al~ two of A.~iatkm ~r the Advanct.ment ot Science eras and two dark slide careers with De la Rue's wet collodion lunar images (see Hu~hins, p. 20). focusing screens. Two of these cameras on gla~ plates made with such cameras. and tree of the dark slide carriersfor wet ha the Museum's store are the pieces of 3. IBM.,p. 31. colk~li~m phot~raphy are on ~ow in this famous telesct~pedismantled in the 10.~k.'.IS'ill it like Humpty Dumpty ever the special exhibition Cameras: the Tech- 4. Warren De la Rue, 'Re~wt ota the Present be put together again? noh:¢y d Photographic imagine at the Stale of Celestial Photography in England', Mu.~,um of the History of Science trom Report of the 29th Meellng of Ihe British 20 May until 13 .~ember I~7. The Association for the Adpancement of Sea,ace, cameras (Figs 2 and 3) are sen' simple Nott~ and Reference~ i&e,q, pp. 131-153. devices. ]'he larger versitm was ~or plates 100 x lift ram, and the smaller one ftw 5. Scratched in the glass o/Ihe [i~ image is plates 45 x 45 ram. i~,th have rack-and- I. P,'arrtmDe I,! Rue. 'Presidential Address the dale 27 March 1863. The second image is pinkm h~.L,qng, and have brackets so to BritL,,h A.,~t~-tata~n ftw the Advancement o4 set in a magic lanlem dicE,, it was expoe~l on that they could be mounted across the Scvence. f,ecta~n A'. ger~,rt of the 42rid M,~ing ~. 11 August 1865 in the presence ol the Rrztt~h A,.~wtata,n ~br the Ad~ncentent of top of the tele~-t~e, in fact, tree of these Htw4t o( Utrecht. Both these wet collodion &u'nce. 1872, p. II, qta~ted b)' Holly Rt~4w'r- cameras can iust be seen in that pt~ition photographs were made in De la Rue's nwl, 'Images t~ the Sun: Warnen De la Rue, Cranford observatory. in the cos er illustration. This was his George Biddell Ai~" and Celestial Photogra- preferred method. He ai~ employed phy', Bntt~v Iourmllfor the I'listo~. t~ Stl~#ce, 26 another technique in which he attached {I~'~3L pp. 137-169 WillcmH~knunn

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Bulletin ~ It~ Scientific Instrument Society No. 53 (l~f) ') The Annual Invitation Lecture Mechanical Globes Circa 1500-1650 J.H. Leopold

,~ ~ - -.i~-Wllll':'~': -;'ql Wv] siderial days). This period is called the tropical year; the calender year is a clo~e approximation of it. Constructing a mechanical gld~e p(v~ ma~)r problems fiw a chwkmaker, and only the best of them ventured on this path. The task of pn~iucing the various peri(~s with sufficient accuracy is made even more complicated by the fact that not all the motions take place in the ~me plane: the globe revoh'es in the plane of the equator, whereas the sun moves on the ecliptic. Moreover, the best globes" repn~3uce the slight uneveness of the sun's motion on the ecliptic, cau.,~-,d by the eliptic orbit of the earth (or, in ptolemaic terms, by the eccentricity of the sun's orbit around the earth). In addition most mechanical gh~',~ have a 24-hour dial at the north pole; its hand should at all times point at the sun, but since the hand moves in the plane of the oet~uator it actually folh)ws the projection the sun's m~)tion on the equator, causing a second irregularity. These two irregularities, cau.,~d bv the excentrici~, of the sun and by pr~cting the ecliptic Fig.l Ch~k in the shaW of a sl,h,'re, u,ith motion on the equator, together consti- Fig.2 M,',hanical armilhar~.,phen'. sIKned ~,me astrom,mh'al markings: German, 3rd tute the Equation of rime. quarter of th," lOth centu~. Mm~, Pohti with a mark ascribed t,, leha, I d,' la Garde: Pez:oli. Mihm. There are four groups of mechanical Bl,,is c. 15.~/. Much ,!fill," stand was restored celestial gh~es, ranging from fairly sim- in the 19th .'ntu .ry, Courtes.u of the Trustees qf tit," British Mum'urn, lain,ton. A mechanical gh~' is a gh~"~, which ple instruments to highly .,~,phisticated revolves automatically thnmgh clock- and mechanically complex machines. work. L~ring the period under di~us- gearing, which is positioned in the sion mechanical gh~.,s are invariably The first group compri.,~es a .,~,ries of ~uthem (lower) i~wtion of the armillarv celestial ont.'s: the motions of the firma- small spherical clocks, engraved with sphere. With this arrangement thert, can ment were obvious to everyone and ~,me of the lines and indications of a be no great accuracy in reading the interesting to reprt.-~ent, whereas any celestial globe, but having no real [~sitions of sun or m(~n, and it is motion of the earth was still much pretensions at representing the motions therefl~re perhaps not surprising that in disputed, and mechanic,ion of a terres- of the heavens. A small number of such the surviving machim.'s of this type the trial gh~e does not make its indications clocks survive, apparently all German, gearing to pn~tuce the motions is fairly any clearer. and dating from the .~ond half of the crude: the precision is not better than .~, 16th century.' They art, to be regarded days fl~r the tropical year and 295 days simply' as novelty chwks, and play no hw the lunation. It should be no,eel, Celestial globes are instruments that part in the present context. however, that our infiwmation on this represent the stellar firmament on a type of globe is ~'antv becau~, the~, sphere, with the ob.~rver considered to The .,~cond group is fi)rmed bv a type of extremely delicate instruments an' rare be at the centre of the globe. Half of the mechanical armillary sphere "which ap- and the" sur~'iving ones art" by now gl(~e is sunk in a horizontal ring, which pears to have been pn~iuced almost almost all incomplete: only two cL~mplete represents the observer's horizon: the exclusively by Frt,nch makers, though a .,,pecimens su,vive:, and another two I~wtion of the globe above the horizon few may'have been made in northern retain the astronomical gearing'; a parti- corresponds to that part of the sky which Italy. The earliest instruments of this type cularly complicated ore', which may have is visible to the ob~.~erver. Mechanical date probably from the second quarter of had better gearing, has h~t nearly all its celestial gh~x~s complete the astronomical the 16th centu~', and they ~.em to have wheelwork.' Of .~,veral other5 o'nlv the indications by supplying the motions of been made untii about l~10. They exist in armilla~" sphere survi~e~; one of tht~, the universe.'The prime motion is that of many sizt.'s, the surviving armillaries carries the arms of l)ol~.• .~ixtu.,, V (I'oI'~, the globe it~lf; it should make one having diameters va~,ing between ah)ut 158:~-qO).' revolution in a siderial day. Most mechan- 3 and 30 cm. In these instruments an ical glot~s additionally have a sun and armillarv sphere, which usually has a sometimes a m(..)n. Since the orbits of sun number of star-pointers and maybe morn [he third group of mechanical ceh~tial and m(~m, as pn~,cted on a gh~e, nearly like an openwork gk~',.', revolv~..'saround gh~ art, gh~.'~ which have a sun land coincide, it is practically impossible to a small fixed terrestrial globe containing .~)metimes a m¢~m) with ~hat may [~, pr(~uce both motions simultaneously the clockwork. A small hall reprt.,senting termed ,'xh'rnal drive: in th¢.'~, ln.,,tru- with any great precision. For this rea,,~)n the sun, and ~metimes another one fiw ments the images .,,lide or roll along a the best globes have a sun only; ideally it the m(~)n, movt.'s between globe and ridge on the ecliptic of the globe, being should make a revolution in respect to the sphere. The halls sit on curved stalks propelled by steel rings that encircle the gl(~e in 365.2422 solar days (or 366.2422 connecting them to the astronomical globe from ~le to pole. The advantage of

Bulletin of the .~k'ientific Instrument ~ciety No. 5.1 (19q7) this construction is that it becomes (1526-1570) and dating from 1500." 1"he relativeh easy to place the heavenly performance of this globe was not very h~dies ill their p~saions; the di.~|dval~- gl,~| (it had an error of more than a da;¢ rage is that the steel rings, which per year) but it had a simple ,,~flutum h~r represent no clear astronomical circles, the internal drive: Heiden fixed the are distracting as well as ugly. The movement to the gh~'~, and made the construction had a forerunner in the whole as~'mblv revolve, by causing the gk~e of the great clock in .':;trasbourg driving pinion to roll along a stationary Minste¢', and first ~'curs in a mechanical wheel. The I~)-globe di~s not survive, armillarv sphere dated 1572, made by but much about Heiden's gk~t~ can be h~iah Habrecht, one of the makers of the k.amed frnm another one, dated 1570. great ck~k." This slightly larger globe (diameter 8.g cm) is a highly complicated instru- L'ndoubtedlv the m**st sl~x'tacular gk~,s ment, since it has not only an internally wah externalh driven sun and m,~n are driven sun, but al.,~ a m~n (externallY; th~e pr~luct~d by two Augsburg clock- driven in the manner of the French makers. (.k~rg Roll and Iohann Reinhold: armillari¢~) for which Heiden attempted in this partne~h~p Reinhold appears to to reproduce the Copernican mt~el, with have been the ch~'kmaker, while Roll two epicycles. ~ mamh t~k care of the commercial side of the business. Six globes and a few In 1574 the Landgraf commissioned his fragments by this partnership survive; workmen to pn~luce an accurate free- they combine the mechanical celestial standing gh~' with internally driven sun. gh(be wah a small non-mechanical ]'hat his mind turned to su~'h an instru- terrestrial one." In spite of the relativeh' ment is not suprising, h~r in his astronom- large size of these instruments (diameter Fig.3 Ahvhamcal c,'h'stml,x'lol,c, t'u Ioha.. ical work he was accustomed to making about 20 cm) the astronomical geanng Remhohf amt Gcon¢ Roll, Au,~cst,urq 1584. u~ of a large non-mechanical gk~'~,. He pr~|uces rather disappointing results: a External drive.for sun and m~m. Kun~this- u.,~,cl this as a calculating device: instead tropical year of .~5 days and a hmation tor~sche~ l~v|ll~'llttl, Vll'lltla. of laborioush' calculating the ¢~served of 2".5 days. The .,,amt~ is achieved by a stellar positi~ms he simply plotted his globe of 1(;-1~, al~ with external drive, by made at the court of Kas,,~q under the t~,.~,rvations on the gk~'~e and measured a later member of the Habrex'ht tamil,~', the angular distances. Obvinusly it was Isaac Ill ttabrtxht of Strasbourg." dirt~:tion of Landgraf Wilhelm IV of Hessen-Kassel (1534-15q2, ruled from crucial to the accuracy of the results thai Many of the previous globes art, wonder- 1,~7), an enthusiastic and highly compe- the gh~'~• h, perfectly' spherical, and ~ tul and impre-,sive instruments, but it is tent amateur astronomer, who instituted Wilhelm had commissioned his instru- among the globes of the fourth group, what can be regarded as the first modem ment makers to make him a gk~, of the thc,~" that have an mternallu driven sun, astronomical observatory in the castle at highest quality. They had pn~luced a that one find, the really outstanding Kassel in c. 1%0. great copper gh~'~, ('diameter 72 cm); it e~amples. Th~.'~e are glo~.'s in which the was made in the years 1%!-~3 and is indoed an alm~st perfo:t sphere, r run move-:.; in a .,,lot along the ecliptic, Landgraf Wilhelm the Wi~, (as he seem to without vt.,,ible drive. An internal drive have already been known during his The Landgrave's first free-standing me- tor the sun Fx~. ~,pecial problems for the Idetime) commissioned two planet- chanical globe of 1574 is fairly small ch~:ks, both surmounted by globes; one clockmaker: if the movement is to ix, (diameter 13.7 cm); it is now incomplete stationary within the globe, and no of these ck~ks remained h~s own (globe and has lost its movement)" The .,.,cond ,,p~x-ial pro~ isions art- made, the moving dating from 1%1-02)", the other was one, dating from 1575, is much larger made for his cousin, Duke August ! of run will etto.tlvelv cut the glol-n, in half in (diameter 33.2 cm); it survives almost the cour,,e of a sear A number of Saxony (globe dating frnm 1566-67). '~ untouched.'" The 1575-globe forms an mgemou,, .,~dutions'to this problem have I~th globes have internally driven suns. intert.~ting combination of Baldewein's been dev~,,ed: rye ,,hall return to this a That of the Kassel clo~:k (diameter and Heiden's constructions. Like the 23.6 cm) pr~luces a tropical year of %5 number ot ttme",, Heiden globes it has a movement days, improved to :k'~5~ days in the globe \hxhanical globes wflh internal drive fur revolving with the globe, and exlm~s of the Dresden clock (diameter 2q cm). the basic weakness of this arrangement: it the ,,un appear to derive from the ]he~, ck,'ks were pr~iuced by a team of tradmon of the great planet~k~,ks: ckx'ks works well for a small globe, but in a workmen headed by the Landgraf's chief large one the moving mass btx'omes ~.vhich hat e a multitude of dials to show instrument-maker F]berhard Baldewein of the po,,ition ot run, mt,m and planets. uncomfortably large. ]he accuracy of Marburg (mentioned 155t4, died 15~3); in these gkfl'~,s was considerably better'than l'lanet-clt~:ks hate an early history, and order to achieve the internal drive he u.,~-~l the A,,trarlum of (;iovan'ni de Dondi, Heiden's: the 1575-globe prt~luces a year epicyclic gearing with four wheels, a of 36~.2527 days timshed in I .~q, ~t.t the pattern for a long fairly complicated but elegant ~,lutinn. hme tiotvexer, the medieval planet- Likt; all the subsequent Kas~,l glnb~ the lhe small globe of 1574 was presented to dt~.ks had no globe~: the first reference motions of the~, instruments include the Emperor Maximilian I!. It sub~xluently to a celestial globe in connection with a full equation of time (usually achieved descended to his ~m and successor, planet-clock is in 152q" Iwo early through unexenlv divided wlleels): they Emwmr Rudolf II, who commissioned planet-ch~-k,, surxive: an undated one appear to be the earliest mechanical his clockmaker Gerhard Emm¢~er (the tvhich was partly con~erted in Paris in instruments to have equation of time. man who had previously worked with 15571 , and a ckn-k made in ]uhingen by Philip Imser but who now lived in the mathematician I'hilip Im~.r and th'e lhe Landgraf may have taken the idea of Vienna) in pnMuce something similar ch~,kmaker (.;erhard Emmoser during an intemalh' driven sun from a small but more decorative. The result was a the ~ears 1~=~4-';~.: I~th tht~, clocks glory, recently acquired by his cousin of spectacularly beautiful small silver globe have mechanical globes of the ~implest Saxo,w. It was a small" free-standing (diameter 13.8 cm) supported by a I'ega- type, svithout sun. 1he first planet-ckx'ks globe "(diameter 7.3 cm) by the Nurem- sus, dated 1579.-" It is clearly inspired by to have a sun moving on the globe were berg mathematician Christian Heyden the Kassel construction but Emm~r

h Bulletin of the Scientific Instrument .~w.'iety No. 53 (1997) improved the design by leaving the In 15~6-7 and i~)4 Btirgi made two nru~re movement stati~mary, having only the trips to Prague, and dunng the last visit drive for the sun move with the globe. he was appointed Imperial Ch~'kmaker. l'he accuracy of the sun is, however, less He remained Court Clockmaker in than that in the Kas~l gka'x~s. Kas~el, but his new apl~intment meant that from 1605 he tc~k up residence in At this time Landgraf Wilhelm was Prague, although he seems to have paid without a good instrument maker: over regular visits to Kas~l. We know that the past years the versatile Baldewein had BiJrgi became acquainted with Keph,r turned more and more to other activities while in Prague, but little is known about (he became chief architect to Wilhelm's any instruments he made there, l'he brother, Landgraf Ludwig in Marburg, dispersal of the collections of Rudolf II where several of Baldewein's buildings after his death in 1612 and the capture of still stand). But in 1579 Landgraf Wilhelm Prague by the Swedish in 1648 undoubt- found a new instrument maker: a young edly caused the h~s of many works of Swiss clockmaker named Jost Bfirgi art. The only surviving glof~e of BiJrgi's (1552-1632). Bfirgi appears to have Prague period is a very small one learned the trade in Nuremberg (there is (diameter 5.6 cm) which forms part of rea~m to believe that he was trained in the famous crystal ck~ck of 1622-23:~, a the workshop that had worked for quite extraordinary instrument which is a Christian Heiden) and was clearly al- veritable compedium of all that could be ready exceptionally proficient at his irade done in horology: precisitm timekeeping when he came to Kassel. He soon proved Fig.4 M~chanical celestial ~lobe, by. It~t Biirgi, Kas~l 1594. Internal drn¢ fi,r the (remontoir clock with cross-beat t.~cape- to be something of a genius, for in the ment and seconds dial) and astnmomical course of the next ten years he became not sun. Schu~izeri~hes Landesmu~um, Z~ir- ich. indications (accurate lunar dial and glt~e cmly a brillant mathematician who co- with internally driven sun). For its invented logarithms, but also an astron- diminutive size the accuracy of the globe omer whom Kepler regarded with re- another remarkable machine: a large is very g¢~d: it produces a year of spect. mechanical armillary sphere with sun 365.2727 days. and m,~m (diameter 28.5 cm), built on Among the earliest works that Biirgi top of an existing clock." The delicate The crystal ck~ck must have been tree of produced in Kassel are four mechanical instrument survives in a sadly incom- Biirgi's last works: he was already 70 gk~aes, all made before c. 1585; these four plete state, but enough is left to recon- years old when he made it. In 1631 he have very nearly the same diameter struct the drive for the sun, which retired to Kassel, and died there in the (about 22.9 ram), and they were clearly pn~uced a year of extraordinary accu- next year. made in pairs. Like Emm(~er before him racy: 365.2421 days. Biirgi realised the fundamental flaw in Jost BL~rgi is one of the few makers who Baldewein's design, and he produced During the years 1,%~0 and 1591 Burgi made instruments of such excellence that aomething quite individual to replace it. made two more globes, each combined they allow us to draw cimclusions ahout He mounted the movement stationary with a planetary. Both are now lost and the scientific achievements that lie behind inside the gk~e and thus was forced to few details are certain; we do know, them. His gk4x=s present two instances of cut a slot along the ecliptic in order to however, that in 1592 line of them was this. drive the sun; he solved the problem of given to Eml:x-'ror Rudolf li, and that the 'cutting the globe in half' by interrupting Landgraf sent BiJrgi to Prague to present The first instance has already been the slot in three places and making the it. The Emperor, a di,sceming collector touched upon: it concerns the length of connections between movement and sun with an eye for g(a~d workmanship, was the tropical year. The surviving records detachable, so that they can jump over clearly impressed by the clockmaker and show that the Ka~sel observatory did the 'bridges'. The result is a very delicate seems to have allowed him to inspect work to establish the length of this pem~l, arrangement, and it is doubtful whether some of the clocks in the Imperial but we have no direct evidence as to the a les~r clockmaker could have made it Kunstkammer. results. Burgi's mechanical armillarv function reliably. sphere of c.15~5 produced a year of 365.2421 days, and exactly the same result Btirgi's four early gk~aes are technically On his return to Kassel BLirgi k~und that is achieved by his table ciock of 1590-91 .-~' similar to each other, and all produce a his patron had unexpectedly died. Wil- The two machines produce this result by year of 365~,4 days. The first pair has helm's son, Landgraf Moritz, did not quite different constructions involving simple hour-striking (Baldewein's globes share his father's interest in astronomy, different wheel-counts; this makes it had no striking trains)~'; the second pair and during the next few years BiJrgi will unlikely that the accuracy of the result is more lavishly decorated and has have found that there was little demand was simply a fluke. We may conclude, quarter- and full-hour striking, the latter for his services. During these years he therefl,re, that the Ka.,~el L~e'rx'atorv had adjustable to the 6-, 12- or 24-hour made the last of his free-standing gk~'~-.s, established the length of the tropicai ),ear system?° All four have another of Burgi's the small globe of 1594 (diameter with great accuracy. inventions: a perpetual calendar (auto- 14.2 cm)Y It shows a number of simila- matically adjusting for leap-years). This rities to Emmoser's gk~Je of 1579, which The other instance invoh'es the second is achieved by making the calender-ring, Bi.irgi must have seen when in Prague. In gk~e in Kas,sel. This gk~e is unique in the horizon of the gkg'~,s, revolve in the 1594-globe Bfirgi abandoned his among Btirgi's instruments in that it was 365~,t days, while a special drive makes construction with detachable connections never completely finished, probably be- the indicator gradually move with the for the sun; instead he attached the cause a fundamental em,r was made in ring by ~,i day per year; on the leap-days astronomical gearing to the inside of the the t~graving of the horiz~m. It survives the indicator dn~as back to its original globe and so avoided the problem, as to this day with incomplete engraving position, thus indicating 28 February Emmoser had d¢me. in additkm the 1594- and without gilding, and it seems likely twice in succ~sion. globe has newly calculated gearing, therefore that at the time it remained in which produces a year of 365.2.357 days: the maker's workshop. The engraving of Probably in about 1585 Biirgi made surprisingly good for so small a globe. the globe includes a number of stars not

Bulletin of the Scientific Instrument Society. No. 53 (1997) 7 'i#~ Hermitage Mu.~eum, St.Petersburg). The 0 =" " + ~ -~"--~~" i" globes in L(md~m and Naples lack their bases.

~" ~'~, "~,%~"~:~,"/' I " National Mamime Museum. Greenwich. • Am)ther earh' 17th c~nturv globe with extemal

~.~..-'~"r~.tl~,-,+~,~,i~ ~I Darmstadt (unsigned).

.E ~ '~ ~:~.~.-:" ~-.,L~I tirol quoted by A.(;Umbel, Peter Henh'm, der • ~r'~ .... '~I~ ' l:rtbl,h'r der "~sch,'nMIren (Halle, 1q24).

, ...... i the planet-clock of Regiom~ntanus, but there - ~ i is m) ch'ar evidence. :~" t ~x : .,, II. Bibliotheque St. Genevibve, Paris. ~# 12. Techni.~hes Mm~Jm, Vienna. 14. Mathemati~h-Physikali~her 5akin, Dres- den. Fig.o i),)rlr.ut (,t I,,,t Ihir~,'Z. .',,',' )l,,/c 2 7 15. Formerly Mathematisch-Phwikali~her Salon, Dresden; destroyed 1~4~ Only photo- Bibliography graphs sunive. A general introduction to mechanical Ih ,Mu.~'um Der Schatz des Deut.~hen Of llg "~ .~h',ham,',d ,u.ulh~ru .phcrc. con globes is: H.von l~,rtele. Globes and dt~s, Vienna. .tPI. h'd ,')t top ,)t ,ul t'l*.tul,£ t,ll'lcH(~'~. ~l,h,'rc~ (l,m,,,mne, l'aOl ). More technical 17. Hes~i.~'hes Landesmuseum, Ka.~l. 17:,' ./,here t'U I,~.t Bur.c: k,~.,'l c. 1,;85 Intornlation in: lt.C.kmg. Gc, m'd t(, the |8 Kun.sthiston~'h~.,s Museum, Vienna. \,,r,h-L~ .~,fl,..','t ~fi~M~ol.I St,lrs IBrl,•tol, I'0781. which al.,~ li~ts m~t of the earlier hteratum. Since then the Iq Private collection- t,re..ent Ol+ the other ka~,~,el globes. ka.,,~el globe~ ha~e been analysed:. 20 ,Mathematisch-I)hvsikali~her Salon, Dres- ~uggt-,tmg that Burgs kept the glol~' l.ll.l+eolxdd..4strouonh'n .";term', GcrM:- den. and Ht.,S~,lscht~ i~andesmuseum, Ka.,~sel. .rod u,,~xt It to mark his osvn stellar lmz,t~'nP PCdtlelnt IV umt .~'ln," stt'tl .~'ll~t ~.e al~ next note. t)|~'~'r~ ,IIlOIts L llt'X~'q.~,'tt'1.1 tOllhPrlldtlCqlS h';(v,~c.,tc)) G/oh', [|u/i'm, ]qSh)..~0 ol lhl- =~, ,~IXt'tl bx kel, h'r who relah's .,,|',eclal ~,tudv on the Frcnch m¢s:hanical 21. Mu..@e National des Tt~hniqu,L.,s - CNAM. I'arL•. and It~sisches Landesmuseum. Kassel. lh,ll llurgl It~ horn he dc~rl~'+, ,l.,, 'a ~ err amlillarlt'~ z;xist.~ Only the Pans gk~., is .,,ignecl, the others can ,b;tllr.lle ob,,erxer ol lhc llxed ~,lar<) in Notes and References be identmed be~'au~, of their clear slmilanties. \iIhl~OU, " l he ,,e~ond k,i~,,elgk@,e dt~'~ l .~-,eral -pherlcal ch~.k- of th~, txl',e 22. Nordl~,ka .Mum'el Sh~kholm [he in..,tru- ment is un~,igned (or perhaps has lost the iII,h,~xt ,h,,~ ,m cxtt,l-.t.lr m the tip ot the sill%Ill' ~|tl~'tll~l )or the lhston of N-write, h'It toot ot .~ll[lltt+.+tl~ this -.trongl x t~tord Mu~'o I'NJ~ I'ezzoli Milan kurL,,tge- ~,ignature) hut can be .,,ahqv ascribed to Burgi •..tl+z~.~c~.t +, that tilt' gltq~' +s a,. llurgi • ,illt.] ttt't[~'mtl,~'um t~'rhn .';late lh,rm~tage Mt,- ~'~au~, of ~,imilarities to tl~e four gk~"~. lh,lt It hold,, ,I rCxord ol ,,oIUe 4)! hi- .-tellar ,,eum .~t I'eter•bur~ An earl~ fllu~.tratton in 23 ~hwelzeri~-I~,~ [.and¢.~mu~.um, Zurich o[",,,+.'rx.l|lOll-. III~.iI.|~.|I11~. the ~,~.qtlon ol s+! thx+lher de ~t.m wn" K,','cz.i ,l ,u,~'ra¢c~ ou (formerly collection J.Fremer~lorf, Lucerne) .JC~.'ll'th'll Jl£ ,,l~'tHt't tic .l~lOll~h'llr k;ro/ht'!r df ~'r:':c,c d~on 171'0: ~s.ond edition 17231 24 kun~,thl~,tori~hes Mw,.um, Vienna. ]-he design of this ck~,'k is pn)hably ba~'(:l on the kel,h'r - ~ord• ~-ho~ that Burgl ~t,z', a pl \\ h..t planet-gh~ of 15~)-~)1. lC-,l~\ ted ,l',lt~)l'tott'~z'r as ~.%cll a~, a -ulx'r~ 2 I'nxate ,olkxt~on ~n~arktx| Blolt+'i, Hes- Ill•tltltllellt llLIkt'T ,llld that 1+4 clcarlx ho~ -~t~'-, t al~,ie,,mu,~,um ka.,,~'l (by lean Na/e 25 ]'his chwk is ch,'flv known for its clal'~+- the ,l,,,km,zkcr h:m,q'h ~,mto.| to N., and tl'w ~,iNer,,nuth kon.iehcr Is onl rale and accurah, hlnar indicalion• (lh,~i~:h('~ l,mdt~,mtl,,eum, ka•,,el) ,,',U.'lUt~'r~xt Ihl- l- ,tcmon,,tr,ltt\t b~ Bntt-h \lu,¢um ~bx h,han de la t;arde the cLz[x+t,lh" l'ortr,ut ~ hzch he n~tcndtxl Bh,=-~ and ~ nlxer~lD, t)| |h~, lagelonlan Lni- 2b I viler IO .Mae,,lhn. ~ March l~)~ (M.Cas- t,, u,,t" tot the l, rmtt\i dc~:rll~tlOn ot hl~. Xt'~lt~ I%rakots lUn>l~l~l.%.|l par ed., I,II,,I,l,', k,Th'r t,'~lttl,ll'lt¢ ~,'t'rk¢' ttt,lngtdattotl tn,,trltl~)t'nt " lhI• ",ho~ • ~oI.I ~, lMunith, l"qtl no 17l|): ,,ee al~) I.K*~ 4 kun-tht-torx-,:he-. Mu-.t'um \~mna tbx l;~'r,t.;t ,,urrt,undt\t bx -.cel~,'-, rc[?rc-,~'lltln~, ph'r, ,:b,tr0u.,Ul,W I,ar~ ,,I,l~,,z IIr.nlkturt, INN), lherrv de l

~ ~ .'~-venht~" lrL-~run'wnt .%.xR't~, .'~o .~), t I ~LI,') Three 19th Century Instrument Makers at the University of Ghent, Belgium M. Dorikens and L. Dorikens-Vanpraet

The University of Ghent in Belgium was pipette onto the small circular plate. With founded in 1817. Before 1850 the task of a some care (and difficulty) one can make professor was teaching, nothing ei~. the oil form a perfect sphere. When the Except for a few notable cases, research rod with the plate is rotated, several as we understand it today did not exist. observations can be made, the most Only in the second half of the 19th important ones being: century did research become part of the task of the professors, although most of the sphere flattens at the poles them had no assistants to perform the experiments. In fact, they did their the oil forms a toms in the equator, tree experiments at home. Therefore, most of from the rod the instruments that date from before 1900 and which are now kept in the at continued rotation this torus splits up Museum for the History of Sciences in into smaller and larger spheres, rotating Ghent served educational purposes. They around theirown axis. were imported from the surrounding countries or were made by the local Although here the rotation movement is instrument makers, often opticians or circular, the analogy with the planets clock-makers. In the mid-lgth century Fig.l "Appareilde Plateau' for the study of seems evident. J. Plateau however many instrument makers and/or retai- the behaviour of liquids n~# subjected to writes: ~ 'on se tromperait ~trangement si lers were plying their trade in Belgium) gravity. Made by J.Bernaert (not signed). I'on voulait tirer de rues experiences Some of these commercial operators also quelque induction A I'egard de laits worked for the universities, and were astronomiqnes' (one would greatly err if appointed as 'Conservateur du cabinet ism: 28, electro-dynamics: 141, optics: one deduced from my experiments any de X' or as 'Pr~parateur du Cours de X' 232)? facts about astnmomy). where X can stand for physics, chemistry, medicine, etc. Besides their fixed salary, The task of the 'Pr~'1~arateur'was to help This seemingly simple experiment is they received payment from the uni- the professor realize his experiments. In rather difficult to execute. The tempera- versity for each instrument they made many cases the person in question held ture and therefore the density of the or repaired. Many of these invoices and more than one post and was both water-alcohol mixture is never absolutely delivery notes are in the archives of the 'C(mservateur' and 'Pr~parateur', some- homogeneous; thus some spots in the Museum. The 'Conservateurs' and 'Pr6- times even for more than one 'Cours'. mixture have the exact same density as parateurs' had a fundamental influence The salary was then cumulative. the oil, some don't. A minor disturbance on the survival of the instruments. (for example touching the side of the In the history of the Physics Laboratory, recipient with a hand) and the experi- The task of the 'Conservateur' was to the first name we could trace was Jacques ment goes awry. The Museum also maintain and keep in working order the Bernaert who was its 'Conservateur' and possesses 6 original drawings of the instruments that were purcha:,~l. ('Cabi- 'Preparateur' until 1850 when he died. ~ different phases of this experiment, net' of course stands for a collection of Bernaert also had a trade label, 'Bernaert, dating from 1842 said to be by J. instruments). From the registers of the Constructeur d'lnstruments de I'Univer- Plateau. '° One could, however, suppose Physics Laboratory at the University we sit#, rue du B~lier 8, Gand' (see ref.'). that they. were made by Bernaert, for two have proof that the instruments were reasons: neatly numbered, and kept in cabinets In one of his letters (1842) to Adolphe with numbered shelves, until they had to Qu~telet (1796-1874), Joseph Plateau they are neat mathematical drawings, but the perspective is not expect; it is highly be u,-~d. writes: ~ '1 am still interested in the unprobable that J¢~ph Plateau wha~ had an problem of the oil sphere, and Bernaert artistic background would have made that The well-known professor Joseph Plateau is making two new instruments for me'. mistake, (1801-1883): (who, among other feats, The Mu~um for the History. of Sciences invented the 'phenakisti~ope', precursor in Ghent has one of these on display? It in 1842 )t~ph Plateau was already klsing of the animation film, and did many (Fig.l) consists of a nearly cubic, aqua- his eyesight (see below and relY). experiments on surface tension and the rium-like construction in steel and glass, behaviour of liquids not subgocted to with sides of 26 cm, with an inlet on top If these drawings were made by J. gravity) considerably enlarged the collec- and an outlet with a tap at the hottom. It Plateau, they must have been some of tion of instruments in the 'cabinet'. Each is traversed from top to tx,ttom with a the very last"things he put on paper. summer he undertook a trip abroad, in metal rod, which has a crank at the top, 1837 he received an extra grant for a visit so that it can be rotated. At the centre of In the regL,~tersof the Physics Laboratory to London, from where he returned with the rod in the tank, there is a small metal of the University 'I we find invoic~ ~m 'five cases of merchandise '~ (otherwise circular plate of 4 cm diameter. The Bernaert addressed to Plateau. In an unspecified). He also went to Paris and to handle of the crank is of w¢~d. The invoice of 1844, listing Z~ items pur- Germany. In 1842 the rel~rt on the whole stands on 4 short legs. cha.~-'d that year by the laboratory from situation of the University mentkms: 'le Bernaert, is mentiom~d 'un secondva~ A cabinet de physique rep~md de mani6re The experiment goes as follows: a parois planes en verre pour I'exl~rience complete A I'etat actuel de ia science'? In mixture of water and alcohol is poured sur lea liquides soustraits A I'action de la 1879 the 'Cabinet de physique' contained into the tank. Then an amount of oil pesanteur' (A seomd receptacle with flat 805 instruments (mechanics: 177, acous- having exactly the same densi .ty as the gla~ walls, for the expenment about tics: 72, heat: 75, electricity: 80, magnet- liquid is carefully inmduced with a liquids not subjected to the action of

Bulletin of the Scientific Instrument Sock~ No. 53 (1¢~Y7) / \~: . )¥ - . • T

Fig.2 Three.flames in thin into u,ire for the study ,~ laminar systems. Made hi ].Ber- naert (not sicned~. grayly') - price 90 Belgian francs, in the 'journal' of the laboratory this same Fig.3 Electric arc I~¢,ht as featured in u~trument is registered on 5 July 1844 Bernaert~ trade label. as being made by Vanhese and Bernaert, Fig.4 Drivm¢ mechanism for tu~a Plateau and costing 156" Belgian francs, a huge disks, s(~ned "Vanhese ~ Gand'. sum for that time. The difference in price Though the Museum for the History of may be due to the above-mentioned Sciences of the Ghent University pos- drawings. sesses a very large collection of instru- minister. '7 His annual income was sub- ments used by J. Plateau which were stantially higher than Bernaert's, who transmitted from Joseph Plateau directly earned 800 florins a year in the last Later the instrument was produced to his successor, and then to the next months, whilst I. Vanhese immediately commercially. It can, for example, be professor, etc., the signature of Bernaert is started with 1000. found in "Notice sur les instruments de not found on any of these, though he precision construits par J. Salleron', 1864': certainly made several of them. Among It is curious to see that in the whole and in the 1899 catak~ue of Ph Pellin, the instruments in the Museum, possibly correspondence concerning the death of price 250 French francs. '' In both it is made by Bernaert, is an electric arc light Bernaert and the nomination of J. called 'Appareil de Plateau'. It is also of rather special construction. '~ The Vanhese in the archives of the University frequently mentioned in 19th century electrodes (Fig.3) are of heavy copper, these two 'Pr~parateurs' are always handbooks for physics. '~ carbon-tipped. They are in a spherical referred to as 'le Sieur Bernaert' and 'le glass globe (about 32 cm diam.). This is Sieur J. Vanhese', without any mention of Only a few of the other instruments in mounted in wooden gimbals on a their (full) first names. the above-mentioned invoice of 1844, are horizontal axis around which it can be extant, since most of them were glass- rotated. By means of this rotation the The signature 'Vanhese ,~ Gand' is found ware, or small parts for other instru- relative distance of the electrodes is on some of the instruments used by J. ments, etc. However, the invoice also adjusted. The electric contacts are on the Plateau for his experiments: mentions 26 frames of different shapes in left- and right-hand sides on the rotation thin iron wire (price 39 Belgian francs), to axis. On the side is an inlet which leads A driving mechanism to make two Plateau- perform the famous Plateau-experiments one to suppose that it was an arc light disks rotate (Fig.4).'" In walnut and brass. about laminar systems, using soap suds under low pressure. Overall height: Height 39 cm, ba~ 23 x 23 cm A crank of 'liquide glycerique'. The MtJseum has 71 cm, width 52 cm. Walnut, glass, bra~, makes two identical wheels (diameter 15.5 cm) turn with the same speed. The 86 of these '~, some in gt~xt shape, and copper, carbon. The fact that exactly such movement of each is transmitted to two others not. They are not signed, but are an instrument, in this unusual shape, is featured in Bernaert's trade label (see pulleys (diameter 3 cm) at the top, on which probably the ones made by Bemaert discs can be mounted. A small difference in ref.') suggests that this could have been (Fig.2t. speed can be introduced by adiusting two made by Bernaert. tiny pulley mechanisms. In other invoicl~ addre~.,~d to J~,eph in 18r-,0 Bemaert died, and in his place J. For the mathematical experiments of J. Plateau, we ~, that Bernaert repaired the Vanhese was appointed 'Preparateur du Plateau concerning the locus, it was big Van Marum electrical machine, which Cours de physique' and 'Conservateur is in the Museum (Janua~' 1845), and neces~ry, to make two black discs rotate du Cabinet de physique'. Before that date around the same axis with different made 'a pneumatic machine following J. Vanhese was an optician in Ghent, and the plans of MDonnv' (L~cember IH45). speeds (in the same or in opposite in that capacity he had already made directions as was the case). In each disc This may be one ~if the old vacuum several instruments for Jt~eph Plateau. pumps which are in the Mu.,.~=um, but were translucent parts of certain mathe- He made at least part of the 'Appareii de matical curves (a straight line, a circle, a lacking a signature it is impo,xsible to Plateau' as mentioned above. His work parabola, etc.), and the light falling determine which one. In 1846 Bemaert must have impressed two professors, J. sent an invoice 'for making an instru- through the two discs gave the pattern Plateau and his successor H. Vai~rius of the locus 'as if suspended in the air' as ment to freeze water in vacuum, fldiow- (1820-1897), for they both warmly re- ing the plans of M.l~,nny'. J. Plateau put it. These experiments were commended his nomination to the later developed into the 'anorthoscope' l0 Bulletin of the Scient/f-~ Instrument Stx:iety No. 5.t (1907) ![i

Fig.6 lhe ~J~,,nature c~ Sdmbart ~,tz the Nobili-rheometer (astatic gah~anometer).

Sacr~ (see ref.') in Brussels, one of the members of a family of fairly well-known Belgian instrument makers. He also purchased, among other things, a conical mirror and a 'camera iucida' 0838) from E Braga, an optician in Ghent." Fig.5 Wooden board with whitened surface and steel strip in the.form of a spiral, signed In 1866 a German, named Theodore "Vanhese il Gand'. Schubart (Marburg 1835 - Ghent 1899) was appointed 'Conservateur du Cabinet where a distorted figure (equivalent of de physique', and ~)m 1887 onward he one of the mathematical curves) is also became 'Pr~parateur du Cours de rotated in one direction, and a disc with physique', and from 1895, on top of all slits in the other direction at a suitable that 'Pr(~parateur du Cours d'~iectricit~'. speed, when one can see the undistorted In this last capacity he worked for figure (equivalent of the locus). Professor J. Boulvin (185%1920 - famed for his experiments with steam engines). As 'Pri~arateur du Cours de physique', J. Plateau first thought up the anortho- Th. Schubart also worked for Joseph scope in 1829, but presented it to the Plateau until the latter died in 1883. Belgian Academy of Sciences only in 1836; this instrument must date from J. Plateau went slowly blind" in the around that period, it became commer- period 1841-43, but continued to publish cially available in France from 1836 results from his researches until 1881. It is onward (Maison Susse/t Paris). known that his son F~lix (1841-1911) and his son-in-law Gustave van der Mens- Eight w(nxlen boards of varying sizes brugghe (1835-1911), also professors at (approx. 25 x 25 cm), with a whitened the University, did many of his experi- surface, on which bent strips, 2 cm wide, mentsy but Bemaert, J. Vanhese and Th. Fig.7 Back of the asiatic mirror gahwn- in steel or brass, and some silver-plated, are Schubart will probably have been the ometer, probabhl by ElliottBro~., London, but [:x~sitioned in different configurations (half si~pwd by Schubart. circle,circle, paralx,la, .spiral, S-shape, etc.) ones who set up the instruments and did (1842))* Only (me of these (the one with the the actual manipulations. J. Plateau never spiral) (Fig.5) is signed 'Vanhese/I Gand'. mentions this in his papers, although he An obituary column in a newspaper:' does mention the names of the colleagues Three others are identicallyfinished, while writes about him: '... les nombreux four other are less freely crafted and are who helped him with the observations. probably copies made by someone else.The instruments et appareils sortis de ses experiments performed with these boards ateliers ont port~ au loin son nora et le Th. Schubart's name can be found on nora gantois. Appr~ci~ dans tous Its pays are described by Joseph Plateau.~ He noted several instruments in the collections of that a beam of sunlight 'peut ~'e forobe de et dipl6m~ aux grandes expositions de marcher en ligne courbe' (can be forced to the Museum for the History of Sciences Bruxelles et d'Anvers, Monsieur Schu- of the University of Ghent. His signature march along a curve) by multiple reflec- bart, qui est d'ail[eurs l'auteur de tions. More importantly, he noted that a takes many forms and styles. For some of plusieurs inventions importantes etait beam of sunlight which had slid along a the instruments it is" doubtful that parfaitement connu/t l'Ptranger,particu- bent strip of polished steel was completely Schubart made them himself, because lierement en France ..... C'etait d'ail]eurs polarise(~ m the plane of the successive they are absolutely identical with com- un homme modeste, doux et aimable. Le reflections. He determined the length of mercial ones. In these cases he must have strip necessary to obtain this effect, and Rot l'avait nomm~ chevalier de son acted as a retailer, purchased instruments ordre.' compared the results obtained with steel abroad, and had his name engraved and with silver. (It is indeed a fact that the upon them. Yet, he surely was an able reflectance and its dependence on wave- The following instruments, bearing Schu- length is very different for steel and for craftsman. At the 1881 'Exposition inter- silver3 ~) This case shows that the role of the nationale d'electricit~ de Paris', he ex- bart's signature, are in the collections of instrument makers at the University was all hibited no less than 13 instruments in the Museum in Ghent important, for they were in a position to different sectionsz' and won a gold medal develop original instruments for novel ways for one of them. He also exhibited and A N(~ili-rheometer signed "Th. Schubart of studying a phenomenon, i.e. polarisation, won 'diplomas' in exhibitions in Brussels Gand'. 2. Astatic galvanometer (Fig.h) with for which there was great interest in the and Antwerp. In his obituary~* we find double needle; the bottom needle moves in 18,10s. 'M. Schubart s'est toujours distingucS par a coil, the top one over a circular scale, divided into two quadrants of 90° in 5" son habilet@ comme constructeur et son It seems that J. Vanhese was a good intervab.Brass, in cylindricalgh~ housing, adresse comme exl~rimentateur. Son overall height 28 cm, diameter 16 cm. Lm instrument maker, yet J. Plateau had talent comme ingdnieur-m6canicien lui some instruments made (1829) by Ed. three levellingsctz~s. The double needles avait valu une rtSputation europdenne...'. hang from a silkthread. Eddy currentsin a

Bulletin of the Sc~ntific Instrument Society No. 5,'~ (1997) II +, ++ +I, B+I +LS+ - "+°"° ] Fig.lO l)etail o( Schubart'.. si~lmture on I thc" ?il(+e Of tilt" t/IronoPtll'tt'r. Fig.t',l Detail o¢ >~ hht,,lrt , ,l~lhlll~r¢ Of! tilt' Fig.12 Current mterruph~r ./or induction astatic mirror ,k'alp,it!ometcr. coil. sis, ned I~. .Schut,arf.

7

Fig.ll I),'t,~;] ,,~ the .<,h'm,ht. a;Id th,' l~'lldulum ill tilt" c/Ironometer

.,~ale dividecl into 00 The engraving of the. numbers and the signature on the face art" clumsy (Fig q and 10) The very simple hot neatly hnish~| mechanical movement with winding kt', is not signt~.t Two .~,ts tA and Bl of two paralh, l solenoids can be i: mdel.~.,ndently energized from contacts on the left of the came. De-actixating met of Fig.q Chromwzeter si~,,ned by Sctmhart. i .,,olenoids B starts the |xmdulum (which swings an iron bar over the coils) and l~+th red copl~er plate aid in dampening the hands Actixating the met of m+lenoids A moxement ot the needh,,, This galvano- stop+~ the lir~t of the hands, re-actix ating the meter is a smaller xerslon of another one in other (B) stops the pendulum and thus the the Mu,*'um signed 'Ruhmkorff a Paris '>. mecond hand (Fig.H). l'h+th interval limes can then be read. ()n the h,lt of the came is a which ha,, a larger coil and is thus surfed for Fig.13 Spark nlea~un'r s(s,,Iwd by Schubart, ",mailer currents (therm~,leetric currentsl. mt~hank-al switch to bh~.k the pendulum In the rrgiMer of 1892 of the l'hvsics .featurm~ tu~, rings each l~'arin~ six different ]'ht' copper plates and the ~.'ale~ ol b~+th metal s<'~nlents, galx anometer-, art, ab~olutel~, Mentical. and Laboratory this chronometer is calh~,d a the s=gnature on the small rht't,meter is in '~'conds ticker' and is mention~d as ht, ing the ,,amr characters as 'Ruhmkorff' on the part of an inclined plane s,t-up by "Mon- larger one and lUst a+ pt.rlevlly engraxed sieur St<(,xart'~4 (not extant), l-his in+~trument mounted in the ~t-up." One of the coils bear~ tekhuhart's name, hut he prt~ahl,,' on the rotor shows signs of having been purcha~'d the mmement and adapted it replaced and (rather clumsily) wound by ..\n a,,tahc mirror galxanometer alter Wil- for the purlm~,e. ham rh,m~..,n tFig~ 7 and M;)"' ~igno+l "Th hand. ~'huhart (;and' A ~,ilk hbrt, ~upD,rt~ a •,hort needle and a ~mall mirror at the centre A similar but smaller chronometer, also A spark measurer with micrometer (Fig.13) ol a ~ertRal cod A cu~tx| bar. adlustable in signed 'Th. Schubart Gand' is built into signed 'l'h, Schuhart Gand'.+" Dimensions in height ~,, a permanent magnet, to compen- an Atwt~d fall machine. ~ (.)f this last cm: height 2g x broad 10 x long 17, on a •~tt' for the t,arth'~ magnetlt held ()verall instrument only the (beautiful!) walnut circular 10 cm diameter stand. Brass, with hmght -32 era. round box. diamt.ter II cm stand, 2~) cm high, is extant; most of the glass isolators. These instruments were u.~,d tha tript~.| +~th thret, lext'lhng ~rt'ws lh~x moving parts art. missing. to measure high tensions, making use of the and tr;p~.t m bras,, rhe zero Of the mirror length of the spark. This length depends can Ix, adlu~,led ~flh a worm-wheel ar- however on many factors: hwm and condi- rangrment ]lap, lnqrun~enl =s xerv ~t'auti- A current Interrupter |or an induction coil.~" tion of the electn~es, ioni~titm of the air, tull~ made., ~th a circular bexelh'd gla,,s The met-up (Fig.12) consists of a walnut etc. In this particular instrument, each ~mer on the box l'hls galxanomctt,r 1~, b~ard 23 x 31 cm, on which there is a .,,mall ek'ctn',de bears a nng with 6 different metals ab..~,lutelx Ldenhcal. ,ncluding the d,men- electric motor, a resistor with sliding contact on the circumference. These metals are: AI, and a glass container (diameter 8 cm) in •,;t,n~,. w,th a galxant,meter by [(lliot Bro" Zn, Cd, Fe, Bi and Sn. The two rinks are in which ,,ome mercury is .',till pre~,nt When l.ond,,n' . in l-t'vh.r', Mu,,eum in llaarlem perpendicular planes and can be rotated so mo t~4-3, nox~ no 7hq)': the motor runs, it makes a contact move up as to bring any metal to fact, any other. The and down in and out of the mercury. There gap can be adjusted between 0 and 7 cm; the are two motor,,, with different thicknt.'ssesof A clmmometer, s=gned 'Fh. ~'hubart (;and' ~ale is simple and divided in mm, no the wlrt,; one is signed "Fh. Schuhart Gand'. vernier (On the horizontal ring, three metal tm the lace" lhe la~e =sol tin; the ca~, ~, 1-he~, little motors h~+k as If they were ss alnut. ~=th a dt,+r in thv back. [wo hand,,; segmen~ are mL~sing: Cd, Fe and Bi). The purchamed for the applicat|on, and then spark measurt, rs tree finds in catalogues*

12 Bulletin of the Scientific Instrument Society No. 53 (1997) do not show these rings with different we know very little about who made 8. Inventory number MW 9410615. metals; these may he an addition devised instruments at the University of Ghent. Ghent at the University of itselffor a special University purpose. This particular instrument can be In 1923 the structure of the 9. Cited by Gustave Van der Men~rugghe used to measure high tension only after changed. From that time onward, teach- in his 'Nc~L'e sur J.A.E Plateau', Annumre de calibrati~m, because all tables of spark ing was in Dutch (instead of French) and I'Acadf,mie royce de Bel~ulue (Bruxelles, IH~I.). lengths are for electrodes of spherical shape. Jules Verschaffelt ~ became the main Also in: J. Plateau, 'Recherches exlx~mentales Maybe it was used for the investigation of physics professor and one of the dom- et th.~riques sur k,s figures d'oquilibre d'une the length of the electric discharge as a inating figures in the Science Faculty. The masse iiquide sans Pesanteur', Cosmos, 19 (i~d), p.~. function of the combination of metals on 'Cabinet de physique' disappeared, and each electrode. Another Fmssible application with it its 'Conservateur'. The labora- is to generate calibration spectra for t~,tical Wries became much larger, employing I0. Inventory number MW 94/0616. spectrometers, making use of the diffen~ metals. several 'assistants" and technicians. They no longer had a 'Pr#parateur', but !1. Now called 'Vakgroep Subatcmnaire en Stralingsfysica' (Department of Subatomic & A vertical galvanometer, type Zwick- instead a workshop with one or more Radiation Physks). Ernecke, for demonstration purposes, technicians. Some larger workshops were shared by several professors, or even by signed 'Th. Schubart, C_,,and' on the scale.¢ 12. Notice sur ies instruments de prdcision Dimensions in on: height 45 x bn~l 38 x the whole faculty. The technicians pro- amstruits par I. Salleran (Paris 1864), length 21.5 W~mden cabinet on 4 adjustable duced their work anonymously. None of et qua~ pattie, p.85. screws, with glass front and back (front the instruments they made is signed, removable). Large scale with zero in the neither are their names ever mentioned in 13. Ph. Pellin, successeur de Jules Duboscq, centre, and scales up to 35 on each side. A any paper. magnetic needle beanng a 23 cm long hand Instruments d'C~tique et de Pr~'/s/on. Paris, moves in an oblong vertical coil. The zero Fascicufe I-ll, no.226. position of the hand can be adjusted with a Only after, say, 1945 scientists began to handle in the back. Two bars limit the sporadically mention their mechanics in 14. See for example A. Ganot, Traitl de movement of the hand; their [~sition is the papers they puhlished, when they Ph~lque, vingti~ne ¢klition (Paris: Librairle adjustable, but always symmetrical to the came to recognize that good instruments Hachette, 1887), p.4~. zero. Three pairs of contacts are marked are essential to research and that respectively '2', '20' and '200'. instrument makers developing original 15. Inventory number MW 94/0607. instruments, or improving what is com- A model of the lever-escapenwnt of a ck~ck, mercially available, are an important part 16. Inventory number MW 95/0597. for demonstration purposes" signed of sound scientific work. 'Th.Schubart Gand'. With weight, and pendulum with adjustable length, in brass 17. Letterof J. Plateau to the MmLster (ARUG and wood. Dimensions in on: height 110 x Acknowledgements - 4.A2/4 box I0, 201). bn~l 30 x length 20 (including pendulum). Open movement with large gear wheel with The authors wish to thank Mrs Simon- 18. Inventory number MW 9410680. asymmetric cogs. Van der Meersch, Director of the Archives of the University, for her help. 19. Inventory number MW 94/0006. None of the instruments made by the They are grateful to Professor G. L'E. 'Prf~parateurs ' bears any serial number. Turner and Dr. R Brenni who provided 20. Bull. de l'Academie Retie de Bruxelles. vol. Many of them are unique pieces, made valuable mh)rmation. IX. no.7 (1842), p.l. especially for the University in Ghent. There are a few exceptions: Teyler's Notes and References 21. F.A. Jenkinsand H.E. White, Fundamentals Museum in Haarlem has a sine electro- 0f Opties (Mc.Graw-Hill Book Co., 19573, p.522. meter signed 'Th. Schubart', purchased in I. V. Rasquin: Dictionnaire des constructeurs 1880 as a Kohlrausch-type through EW. beiges d'instruments sc~ent~ques, Comit~ Na- 22. F. Braga was an optician in C.hent. St~'eral Funckler, Haarlem? 2 tional de h.~gique, d'Histoire et de Philosophie invl1~ces and delivery, notes are either m the des Sciences (Brussels, 1996). archives o~ the University or in those of the In the collection of the City of Antwerp *' 2. M. Dorikens, 'Her wetenschappelijk eH- Museum. The Physics Laboratory purchased there is a Holtz electrostatic generator goed van Joseph Plateau', to he published. anything made of gla~ through Braga. He also signed by Schubart. The Museum for seems to have been a retailer who imported 3. A.M. Simon-Van der Meersch, 'De acade- instruments from abroad. He also repaired the History of Sciences of Ghent has in its mische ]oopbaan van Prof. Dr. J~r~eph Plateau, collections an identically crafted machine some Instruments for Joseph Plateau's labora- Archives of the University t~ Ghent', in the tory, but there is no proof in the archives that which is unsigned (one glass disc miss, collectkm Uit her verleden pan de Unipers:teit, he actually made instrument~. See aLso ~.I. ing; ebonite starter-plate also missing). no.35 (193), ed. K. De Clerck, and the This instrument is probably also made by m~wes themn. 23. G. Vemest, 'Life,Eye Disease and Work of Th. Schubart; it is well made and 4. J.B.Nothomb, 'Etat de l'mstruction suptSr- Joseph Plateau', l~cumenta Ophtalraol~u-a. beautifully finished. An identical ma- ieure en Belgique', t. 1 p. CCC. 749, no.20 (19~}). in this paper G. Verriest chine is also featured in ref. 44. 5. Prot~ verbal de lecolement - 3 novembre proves that the blindness of Joseph Plateau 1879, (ARUG - 4A32/82) signed by Th. was NOT due to his k~oking into the sun for 20 The professors who employed the 'Pr6- Schubart (conservattmr) and H. Valerius (di- seconds, 14 years earlier (as many of hLs parateurs' unfortunately never men- recteur). biographers have claimed), but to the eye tioned their names in any papers d Lsease uveitis. 6. Nomination by the Minister of the Interior published about their work: a sign of Ch. Rogler nbr. 2642/34275 of 28 December 24. J.E. Verschaffelt,'Levenshericht over Gus- the times when the 'professor' was a 1950 (ARUG - 4.A2/4 box 10, 201). monument of learning and the instru- taaf van der Mensbrugghe', Annuaire de l'Acadi~nie ~le de Beleique, 1946 ment maker just an underling. 7. A.J.J.van de Veide, Jt~'ph Plateau 1801- 1883, briefwisseiing met Adolphe Qu~telet, Mededelmgen van de Koninklijke Vlaamse Acade- 25. Expositwn intertwti~mle d'~le~tricit~ (Paris Th. Schubart died in 1899, while still raie van Wetenschappen, I~ttenm ¢n SchoneKunst 1881), Catak~gue g~r~ral officiel, Paris, A. employed by the University. After him van Belg//~,'Klasse tier Wetenschappen', vol. X, Lahure, 1881. The authors thank Dr. Brenni we enter the 20th century. From then on no.8 (1948), p.29. for sopplymg a coW of the catalogue.

Bulletin of the Scientific Instrument Society No. 53 (1997) 13 26. In a letter dated 25 July 18qq, trom the 33. Inventory number MW 9310006. 41. invent(wy number MW 96/1660. 'ad~aleur u~' of the Univers/tv of Ghent, to the Minister (ARUG - 4A75/24)~ 34. S~'art's inclined plane s~-up is featunrd 42. G. L'E Turner, ThcPractweafSciem.¢(no~e in the catak~i~ueof Ducrel~. Ph~que Calf,tale 32). 27. La f/andrr/abo'a/¢, 29 July 1899. (Paris, P~6), p.20. 28. inventory number MW 94/0534. 35 Im'entorv number MW 94/0304. 43. K. Van Camp, 19 de F.euws¢ Wetemg.hav~. liike en Didacti~he lnstrumenten in bezit zwn de 29. Inventory.number MW 94/0533. Hemrich 36. inventory number MW 93/0057. 5tad Antu~erpen (Antwe~pen: EBES, 190,8), cat. Ruhmkodf was an instru- Daniel (180~1877) 37. Such small "~qf-~¢artmg' mo¢ors no.47. mere maker m Pans, lrom l&'~ to 1877. His were was Carpenher. manufactured by several firms. For example Science et se~ appiwatams, Tomepremier successor J. in the catak~ue 44 La one such m(~4or~ offered 1910 (Paris: Librairie Lanmsse, 1933), p.40. 30 inventory number MW 93/L~6 fournitures pour t(mt¢Apphcatum d'Electrictt~, o4 the Belgian retailer Poock & Hermann, rue de 31. ElliotBin'. London, from 1857. 45. Jules Emile Verschaffelt (1870-1955) was Fiandre 121, Brusseb. secretary t~ the 'C(mseils de Physique Soivay' 32. G. L'E. Turner, Nmctrrnth Century Scum- 38. inventory, number MW 93/0119. ~mn 1921 (3rd Conseil) to 1933 (7th Ctmseil). ttfic Instruments (Londtm and Berkeley:S~s~he- by Publicatons,UnBer~tv of Cal|fornia Pre~, 39 For example the 1912 catalogue o~ Max Authors" address: 198~), p.201 and G. L'E. 1"urner,The Practiceof gohl. Chemnitz, the 1902 catalogue of Ferdi- Museum for the History of Sciences ,Scwnc¢ m the 19th Century, Teaching and nand Emecke (Prem-iAsle No.18), the 1904 catak~gue ot Franz Hugershoff, Leipzig. of the Unit~rsity of Ghent Research Apparatus m the Te~l~r Museum Haar- Krij~slaan 281, S30, B-9000 Ghent (Teyler Museum, 1996)." lem 40. inventory number MW 9611297. Belgium

John Newman: A Further Note Gloria Clifton and Brian Gee The "observation made by Brian Gee in his his brother George, they were descnbed as i essay 'John Newman: A Second Look', the sons o4 Robert Newman of Windmill DliEC'rlON$ that biographical research always seems • ...... ,jli~lm_ _~.~ i Row, St Giles Camberwell.3 As he chimed THE CAMERA LUCIDA, to raise more questions about the sub~ct, in 1823 to have been employed by the no matter how metioA-a~ the original Royal Institution for 15 Years, it appears investigation, has once more been fully that his appointment came soon abet" he justified (Bulletin, No.51, December 1996 became a Freeman, but no address has p.22). In his discussion, Brian referred to been traced. The next piece of evidence "- .~-.p-, i~*.. b ...,* ma .b .q. ,, i. 6~,~ ~,.m the announcement by William Hyde dates from November 1812, when be took Wollaston in the Journal of Natural Philoso- his first apprentice, Robert Murray, who phy for June 1807, which advertised his remained in Newman's employn~nt, as patent for the camera iucida, and in- shown bv the Letter he wrote on New- form~ would-be purchasers that it could man's be~lf in 1843, quoted by Brian Gee be obtained from 'Mr Newman of 24 Soho (Bulletin No.51, December 1996 p.23), in Square'. It was assumed, not unreason- 1812 Newman was described as being 'of ably, that this referred to John Newman, Lisle Str~ Leicester Sqe Optician': The later of Lisle Street. However, on closer details of addresses show that the New- examination, this appears not to be the man of the camera lucida was James, not case. Holden's Trwnmal London and Country John: D~rectory for 1805-1807 lists James New- man, watercolour maker, at 24 Soho Fig.l Printed instructions for the Square, and Hoiden's Annual London and Further evidence confirms that the elder camera lucida issued by. Neurman Countru Dzrectorv for 1811 has James John Newman had no middle name, and and P. & G. Doihmd. Newman, colourman to artists, at the that it was only his son who was called same address, and he was still there in John Frederick. The register O4 baptisms PIgot and Co.'s Directing. of London and its for St Giles Cambenvell records that John be corrected, it is also a further reminder Subur~ for 1839. Given that the camera Newman (no middle name), son of Robert to be very wary of official company histories. lucida was intended primarily as an aid to and Mary, was christened on 27 June 1783.~ Both on becoming an apprentice, sketching, it is highly likely that one of Notes and References those granted the right to sell it should and at his freedom, refen'ed to above, he was described simply as John Newman. have bern a supplier of artists"materials. 1. National Maritime Museum, camera luci- Newman of Soho Square al~) appears on All contemporary trade directory entries which refer without doubt to the elder da in box with instructions, ref. no. the printed instructions for using the NAVO516, neg. no, ~-H camera ]ucida, alongside the better- Newman list him as John only. Finally, in known P. & G. Dollond of St Paul's 1858, when the firm's style in trade 2. Guildhall Library, lamdon: Makers o( Churchyard (Fig. I)) directories was John Newman & Son, Playing Cards Company, Court Minute patent No.647 ot 27 March fi)r improved B(~ok, MS 5963/5, ~nung 38 spectacles was in the names of John 3. Ibid., MS 5963/4 Iol. 84v. Where was John Newman at this time? Newman and John Frederick Newman. When he was admitted a Freeman of the The correspondence between Ne~retti and 4. Source quoted in note 1, Court 30 Makers' of Playing Cards Company on I Zambra and the Science Museum, referred November 1812, folios not numbered. January 1807, John Newman's address to by Brian Gee, was the source of this 5. James Newman is listed in G. Cliff(m, was ~iven as ll Windmill Row, Camber- confusion between father and s(m, which Directory ~ Briti~ Scientific Instrument Makers well." This was probably the parental was unfortunately perpetuated bv Gloria 1550-18~51"(1995)p.199, as James (ll). home, as when he had been bound Clifton in the Directo~ of Br~tish "Scient!fic apprentice on 1 October 1799, ahmg with 6. We are grateful to Dr Anita McCcnmellfor Instrument Makers (1995), and should now supplying this information.

14 Bulletin of the Scientific Instrument Sock~y No. 53 (1997) Scientific Instrument Making in Manchester 1870-1940 III: Flatters and Garner Limited, and Fowler & Company Jenny Wetton

Introduction 54 Cross Street, Openshaw. Soon after, In 1909, however, a serious rift developed Milnes Marshall obtained a post for him between Flatters and the other directors. Parts One and Two of this article covered looking after the Biological Station at St The Garnetts agreed to buy out his share the general development of the scientific Helier in Jersey. In 1895, he returned to and Flatters set up a busip~.~s with some instrument trade in Manchester and Manchester and set up a busine~ making other members of the staff under the featured histories of two companies. This lantern slides, microscope slides and name of Flatters, Milbourne and part covers the histories of Flatters and microscopic preparations at his home at McKechnie at the premises on Church Gamett Limited, specialists in the manu- 16 Church Road, Longsight. He also Road. Flatters continued to specialise in facture and supply of microscopical became a demonstrator in microscopy the microscopical- and lantern slide- apparatus for educational uses, and at the Municipal School of Technology, a making in which he was so skilled. He Fowler & Company, which specialised post he held for thirty-two years. also began to publish The Micmlqcist, a in the manufacture of circular calculators. quarterly journal which continued until By 1901, Flatters was having financial 1916. Flatters and Gamett Limited problems in his business. Garnett agreed to go into partnership with him and Flatters and Game~ Limited continued Abraham Flatters, one of the joint provided new capital. Charles Gamett's under its old name and, in 1913, moved founders of the company, was born in son, John B Garnett, a pharmaceutical to larger premises at 309 Oxford Road 1848 at West Stockwith, near Gains- chemist, also Ioined the firm. He had (Figs 1 and 2) still near the University. borough in Lincolnshire. His father was been born in 1877 in Manchester and also About a year later, the company devel- an agricultural lahourer and he was one went to Ackworth School. In 1892, he oped 'Mersoi', an immersion oil for use of a large family. Beginning work at a was apprenticed to Jewsbury and Brown, with high-power microscope objedives young age, Flatters came to Manchester chemists of Manchester, qualified as a which became very popular and sold and found employment at a dye works. pharmacist, and later worked for Grif- well for many years. This closed after a while and he worked fiths Hughes Limited, manufacturing as a railway lamplighter for many years, chemists. He became interestedin natural lighting oil lamps in the carriages. history and, in around 1897, attended As Quakers, the Garnetts may have been Flatters'classes in microscopy, becoming conscientious objectors during the First Charles Garnett, the other co-founder, proficient in using the instruments. John World War; some staff went into the was horn in 1843, the youngest son of a Garnett ran a chemist's shop at 46 forces and the company history refers to blacksmith and wheelwright living in Deansgate, displaying the microscope it as a difficult time. However, the firm Latchford, near Warrington. His mother and lantern slides made by Flatters at began a sight-testing department which died when he was young and his eldest Church Road. continued into the 19.r~qs. sisterhad to take over the task of Ica~king after the younger children.His father was In the next few years, Flatters was elected a In around 1919, the company began to a Quaker and Charles went to Ackworth Fellow of the Royal Microscopical Society manufacture and sell the mounting School, Yorkshire, in 1854 for two years. and wrote several books for students medium 'Euparal' under license from He then became apprenticed to a grocer including Meth~clsin MicroscopicalResearch the inventor, Professor Wilson, of Lou- in Warrington. As soon as he came of and VegetableHistolqcy. This was the first vain University in Belgium. 'Euparal' age, at twenty-one, he sailed to Australia work of its kind to include coloured had a low refractive index and specimens with a cousin. He then went to New photomicrographs to illustrate research mounted on slides with it could be seen Zealand where he soon found work. methods. In 1906, Henry Gamett, John's with much less distortion than with other During the ten years he spent there, he cousin, also a pharmaceutical chemist, mediums. It sold very well and was still became interested in natural history and loined the firm. He attended Newtown [x)pular in the 1950s despite competition made a collection of the ferns found on School in Waterford, Ireland, where his from synthetic mountants. The company South Island. In 1873, he returned to father was headmaster and developed a also developed 'Murrayite', a sealing Manchester and, establishing a restaurant love of natural history. He came to coml~und invented by Dr Hay Murray in Cateaton Street, soon prospered. Manchester while stillyoung and went to of the Liverpool Museum. Thins became a private Quaker school. He then studied very popular for sealing museum jars Flatters also developed an interest in pharmacy, becoming head chemist for and as a ringing cement for slides. natural history and, in 1886, attended a Vinolia Company once he was qualified, course of lectures on zoology given by and latera partner in a chemists in Witney, The firm also began work tm instru- Professor Milnes Marshall of Owens Oxfordshire. By 1906, Flattersand Garnett College. The new student began to ments, although bv default rather than Limited employed a staff of twelve, by design. An instrument maker - his specialize in botany and spent his including the two managing directors. name is unknown - who had done work evenings copying out the whole of Asa for the company for some time, asked for Gray's book on Vegetable Morpholo,~., In around 1908, the company sold the taking tissue paper tracings of the book's help in starting a workshop in Basil chemists on Deansgate, which had not Street, Ru~olme. Flatters and Gamett 695 figures. He attended other university been successful, and moved to 32 Dover bought some machines and paid the rent extension lectures and met a felk)w Street, near the Manchester High School for the small nx~m. However, the instru- student who later became his wife. for Girls and opposite the University.The ment maker disappeared and the com- Professor Milnes Marshall suggested that company hired and sold large numbers pany later learnt that he had hen he join the Manchester Micn~copical of lantern slides on all aspects of natural convicted and sent to prison. The Society, which he did in 1886. Charles history. Teachers in many parts of the Gametts then set up their own instru- Gamett joined Society the same the year world increasingly used" the firm for ment works, hiring two skilled workers and the two became friends. supplies of microscope slides and acces- who undertook the manufacture of speci- sories for collectingand preparing speci- men-collecting apparatus and repair of By 1891, Flatters was making slides from mens. micr~opes.

Bulletin of the Scientific Instrument Society No. 53 (1997) 15 Fig.2 lh,' nlh'rmt v.~ t l, tttcr~ 0 t;,n~lrtl ~ >11 ~t~ .tro.t 50 ~ears - i Service to Micrivscopy. Ortk, inal heM by Mum'urn o.[ Science and Fig.I tl, lttcrs ¢. t;,lructt, shop 1.1 t).ltord R~ud from ~1 ~k.ars hldustrv m Manch~ter. .%,rxlce to Micrl~'opy. Ort~tn,ll tn ,~,|u>eunl of Science and Ind..tru m Ahinc/u~ter

Flatter~. Mdbourne and McKechnie ctm- mical departments. Here the staff could destroyed the whole of the upper floor at tmued at the Church Road premi.,~e,s until have more space and k~s disturbance Wvnnstav House and the entire stock of the bu~me.,,s failtM in 1~13. Flatters ~m noi.~ and dirt than on Oxford Road slid¢,'s. H~wever, staff managed to main- continued to make microscopical slidt.'s, The extra space at .~ Oxford Road was tain the previous year's turnover and often carrying the word 'Accurate', as u.,~-,d for storage and offices. The com- issued progress reports to keep custo- well as lantern slidt'~. Flatters was eltx-ted pany ~n built a single storey instru- mers in touch with the current situation. x =ce-pr~.'sident of the Manchester Micm- ment works, in the grounds of tile house, xopwal .%~:ietv m 1"23. He later became where it began to preduce the 'Precision' By the firm's fiftieth anniversary in 1951, ill and died in i'2~. aged eighty-~ne, l'be micn~cope and the No. I micropmlector. it employed sixty-six people who had company continutxi as .~'ientific photo- Wilfred Gannett. John B Garnett's .~m, b~m with the company for an average of graphers until the late 191g, although Iomed the firm as a biologist after rtx'ord~, do not .,,how who was invoh'ed obtaining a Masters degree in General ten years. A b(x~m in education spending in the 19~)s resulted in increased orders. alter Flatters' death Science In a break with famih" tradition, he had been educated at tile William A quarter of the specimens were being exported, particularly to emergent coun- Flatter, and t,arnett Limitt~.| expanded Hulme Grammar School in Manchester. tri~ where museums and sch~xfls were it.,, bm, me~s ,,teadih,' during the lq2tls, Once at work, he developed the pr(~uc- building collections. The large increase in &~,plte the death 0f Charles Gamett in tion of dissections and skeletons. I~21. lhe company tl~k up the lea~, for business put a lot of strain on the company as it could not expand Wynn- the upstalr~ t1~rs of 311 tkford Road to In December 1937. tire swept through stay Hou.~,. Fortuitously, Manchester acconlm~|ate the micr~.~-ope and che- Wvnnstav House. destroying the micro- University. bought land on Oxford Road, mical departments. In Iq27, it acquirtx'! a slide an~t chemical departments. Staff, to allow for its own expansion, and work,hop at the back and increa~t the however, managed to ~ve most of the Flatters and Garnett was able to move railge ot nl.-,trunlent~, it pri~tuced. These Sl~'imens and micrlvslides. The Second to new, purD~,-built premises at Mik- Includtx'l das~xtmg nutria, copes and the ~,~,'orld War was another difficult time for rops Hou~ on Bradnor Road, Wythen- l~r~t m~.tel ot the preci.,,ion microproiec- the compan.v, but it managed to maintain shawe, in December 1%5. However, the for. designed by John g (,arnett. I-he the supply of leaching material. In 1947, firm had .,~,rious financial problems in the compan,, won a reputation for pr~.iucing the finn began a contributor' pension next few .,,ears and Wilfred Gannett, then ~ell-&~-igned. rehable m>tmments and tund for its staff, older members being managing director, was seriously ill. The ~,ld ~t: pr~iuct- all m er the ~orld A eligible for benefits as though they had company went into liquidation in 1%7. , atalo~ue pr~Muced m I,~2~ ads erti.,,txt been contributing over the years. It Wilfred Garnett died in 1q88 that the tlrn~ ~,upphed nucro~cotx~ and already providtM paid holid'avs and .I~.Ct"~'~WI~.'~. st",Ps.'lt31t'lls, colhs.-tlng appa- made allowance for ~ickness, as'well as ram> and cabinets, m~Met,, prepar~xt .,,harmg proti~ amongst the staff when it Fowler & Company 1898 - c. 1988 nu~ ro~o|~., >hde,, proltxtlon apparatus. made rea.,~mable profits. -tam> chemical, and reagent.,. William itenrv Fowler was born in July Hatter~ and Garnett Limited t¢~k space 1853 in (.)ldh,{m. When he was fourteen, tlenr~ L,arnett died m a bu> accMent in at the Bnti.,,h Industries Fair at Olympia he began an engineering training at the l'a31 A. he ~va. ~lce-prt...ident of the tot the hrst time in lq-l~ and acquired ()ldham firm of Platt Brothers, textile Manche,,ter M~cro-cop~cal .'4,,~'let,~ the new cu.,,tome~. At the next Fair, two machinery manufacturers, where his ,on~pan~, prc~'nted the ."~wletv ~ith a ~ea~ later, it di.~plaved the '.Mikrop¢ father was fort,man moulder. After two mlcroprotector in hl~, memory A ~ear industrial prt~'tor for the first time. This years, he went to work at Wolstenhulme later the lea,,,' ot num|~'r 311 ran outand replaced the microscope for routine & Rye, engineers al~ of Oldham In 1871, | latter,, and t;arnett ltd acqmred a large examination in many laboratories. he bvgan work as a pupil draughtsman \ ictorlan hour" o11 ~%~nn,,,ta~, Grove In with Buckh-,' & lavhm al~ of Oldham, l-allmslwld ~she~' it mo~ed tl~, nlicn~.- The company suffered a ~ond ~tback and then as a dr, mght.,,man with the -t~dc .Dxmwn phoh~raphic and the- from tire in .%'ptember lq4q This time, it Manchester Sh,am U~.r¢ A,,,,,~:iation.

Io Bulletin o! the ~u,nhlu -Im, lrnnw.! ~..l'v No 53 (I~7} 0"!'" "•

Fig.4 Partsfor the construction of a Long Scale Calculator, with a completed example, Fig.3 Haroht l~ou,l,'r and an unknown asststa.t ass,'mblm~ probably taken at the Station Works in calculators in the workshop at Oakleigh in around 1917. Original around 1929. Original Held by. Sale Libra,. held by Sale Libra..

In 1873, at the age of twenty, he won a In 1898, The Mechanical Engineer carried Scientific Publishing Company and Whitworth Scholarship and studied for an article on a circular calculator, under helped with editorial work of The four years at Owens College in Manche- the same name, which had been devel- Mechanical Engineer. He also spent a lot ster. He was a good scholar and won oped by the journal's proprietors. They of time designing circular calculators several prizes in both college and external claimed it was cheaper and easier to use and, around 1908, set up a workshop examinations. In August 1877, he was than others available at the time. it had a for their manufacture in a room at the aplx~inted as Assistant Engineer to his old nickel-plated case and consisted of a family house, Sale Lodge, in Sale. He employers, the Steam Users' Association. revolving dial, operated by a milled nut soon had an assistant to help with He held this post for twelve years during at the top, and fixed i~,inters moving assembling the calculators. which he prepared standard specifica- over five scales on its face. The article tions and designs of boilers, inspected and advertised the calculator's usefulness for W.H. Fowler may have financed the tested steam appliances, and investigated draughtsmen, students and engineers. purchase of equipment. Photographs of the causes of boiler explosions. Records do not show who designed this the workshop appear to show one room instrument or where it was made; it was with an assembling table down one side In 1885, he became a Member of the sold via the Scientific Publishing Com- and machinery, including a treadle-oper- Institution of Civil Engineers and of the pany. Fowler was elected a member of ated lathe and a f(K~t press, on the other. Institution of Mechanical Engineers, and the Manchester Literary and Philosophi- The Fowlers k~k out four patents in the seven years later also joined the Iron and cal Socie~ in 1908. next four years, the first in 1910 covering Steel Institute. In 1888, he became General the double-sided 'i.x~ng Scale' or 'Pocket' Manager of the Chadderton Iron Works. W.H. Fowler's son, Harold, was born in calculator that was to be the mainstay of 1879. He followed in his father's fi~ot- pr(~uction for the next thirty veals. Inthis In 1891, W.H. Fowler's career took a steps, getting his first job in the drawing design, one dial was movecl'bv a milled different turn and he became Editor of office at Platt Brothers in OIdham He nut on the edge of the casing," the other The Practical Engineer, a weekly journal went to night school at the OIdham dial and the pointer by a knob in the published in Manchester. In 1897, he set Municipal Technical School where he centre of the face. The'calculator had a up on his own as a consulting engineer won a scholarship to the Manchester maximum .scale length of thirty inches. with an address on Corporation Street, Sch(~l of Technology in 1',~)0. There, he Manchester. A year later, the Scientific studied nine subjects, including me- The business, however, was never very Publishing Company - which Fowler chanics and metallurgy, achieving first profitable. Circular calculators had a large may have owned - was set up at the cla~ advanced results in four. After a number of different parts, compared with same Corporation Street address. This year, he won a free studentship in linear slide rules, and had to be as- company began publishing a weekly Mechanics to the Royal College of ~mbled by hand. Production costs were journal, The Mechanical Eny,ineer, ancl Science in London but his parents could therefore high and the calculator cost h~ur acted as a patent agency under the same not afford to pay for him to go there. times as much as linear slide rules. name. In 1900, the company moved to However, he had also won a Whitworth premises at 53 New Bailey Street in Exhibition scholarship and went to By Iq14, W.H. Fowler had moved to a Saiford. By this time, it was al,,~ publish- Owens College where he studied engi- smaller houwe, Oakleigh, on The Avenue ing F,m,h'r~ Mechanical Engineer~ Poch't neering for a year and also registered for in Sale where he ~ up a better-~luipped B~,k, the first of a series of annual ~cket summer cour.,~ at the Sch~x~l of Technol- workshop. Harold had married an ac- books for a variety of trades. The ogy in calculus and electrical appliances. tress and was living at Alston on Old company moved to premi~,,s in West In 1902, he went to work in the electrical Hall Road in Sale. Photographs of the Timperley, near AItrincham, in the early switchgear department at Ferranti Lim- workshop, taken three years later, show 1940s, possibly as a result of the heavy ited in Hollinw(~. A year later, he separate machining and assembling bombing of Salford during the Second joined the Vulcan I~iler and General rooms, the former with belt-driven World War. It moved again in the early Insurance Company Limited in Manche- machinery. (Fig.3). Dunng the First World 1960s, to Dalton Street off Rochdale ster as Electrical Engineer Survevor. War, Harold served with the Royal Road, nearer to Manchester's centre and Engineers in the Signals .'4ervice in France was in business until about 1976. in 1905, he began working for the and I~,lgium. A family friend remembers,

Bulletin of the ~ientific Instrument ~)cieh' No. 53 (1LJ~7) 17 however, that he slipped down a flight of 4. 'Abraham Flatters:An Appreciation of a steps when on leave at home, was Great Microscopist', Manchester Ci~ Neu~, 9 invalided out of the forces with a March or May 1929 (cuttang in 'Newspaper pension, and returned to work in his Cuttings', Biography fileat [x~calStudies Unit, father's workshop. His wife left him for Manchester Central Library). another actor and set up as a comedy duo 5. Hatters & Garnett Limited, Micro-pm~ec. in a public house in Wales. tion Apparatus - List P (Manchester, 1948). 6. Flatters& Garnett Limited, Catalogue S.4 - In 1920, the Fowlers moved the business Stains, Chemicals And Reagents (Manchester, to larger, separate premises at the Station 1949). Works on Chapel Road in Sale. This had been a Congregationalist and then 7. Flatters& Garnett Lunited, Catalogue A - Microscopical Preparations (Manchester, 1948), Methodist chapel but was empty by the 9th ed. late 1910s. Harold worked very late'there on many nights and is supposed to have 8. Flatters & Garnett Limited, Bees And been kept company by a ghost. In 1924, Beekeeping - Lantern And Microscope Slides - List William Henry and Harold took out a HH, (Manchester, nd). loint patent for a development of the 9. 'Cockroach Industry a Victim of Hygiene', calculator in which an extra milled nut The Guardian, 13 December 1962 (cutting in was fitted to the casing edge, enabling firms list at Local Studies Unit, Manchester the user to move the dials on the two Central Library). faces with the lingers of one hand. They 10. 'Science Shop Moving (hat to Suburb', The adapted the patented 'Long Scale' calcu- Fig.5 Cutt111~, head i~¢ the nl,lcllmc u~cd h~r Guar&an, 7 December 1962 (cutting in firms lator to include this feature (Fig.4). In lining out the steel di,; fi,r a cah'ulator ~ah', list at Li~cal Studies Unit, Manchester Central 1927, the company introduced the 'Mag- c 1929. Original held by. Sale Library. Library). num Long Scale' calculator which had a II. R. Winsby, 'Flatters & Gamett Limited', maximum scale length of rift),inches. Manchester Microscopical And Natural History models including the 'Universal' - a Society Neu~.letter, ll August 1988. By 1929, Fowler & Company employed single dial instrument with a scale length four machine operators and a works of up to ten inches - and the 'Textile' 12. B. Bracegirdle, 'Famous microscopists: Flatters & Gamett Limited, 1901-1967', Pro- manager. The works were equipped with calculator. The company marketed its full range through Joseph Casartelli & Sons ceedings, Royal Microscopical Society, 28, No.2, belt-driven machinery including a (April 1993). milling machine, two lathes and a f(x~t Limited, scientific ir~strument makers of Salford, as well as through the Fowler's punch, a punch for blanking dials and a Fowler & Company dividing engine to mark dial blocks prior Pocket Books. Jim Cookson ran the to engraving (Fig.5). The business was business after Harold Fowler's retire- ment. In the early 1960s, the company I. Candidate's Circulars for William Henry still not very successful, however, and Fowler, submitted prior to his: (a) election as took in various engineering jobs to took over as proprietors of the Scientific Publishing Company. Fowlers (Calcula- Associate Member of the Institute of Civil support the calculator making side. Engineers, 1885; (b) transfer to full member- W.H. Fowler died in April 1932 and tors) Limited carried on trading until it ship, 1900. Harold became owner of the firm. By went into liquidation in around 1988 1936, the company had introduced an- following Jim Cookson's retirement. 2. William Henry Fowler (ed), The Mechan- other model, the '12-10' calculator, de- k'al Engineer (Manchester, 1898-1915). signed for architects, builders, surveyors Next the last part in this four-part article: 3. A.G. Thornton, Mathematical Drawing In- and timber merchants who often had Joseph Halden & Company and A.G. struments and Materials (London, 1904),advert. Thornton Limited. calculations to make with decimal and 4. Entries for Harold and William Henry duodecimal (12ths) notation. All the Fowler in David Allan Low (ed), The Whit- company's prt~ucts were still marketed Note uan'fh B0~d¢ (Manchester, 1926). through the pages of the Fowler's Pocket B~ks. 1. Henry Garnett was interested in the 5. 'Memoir of William Henry Fowler', In- history of science and wrote an article for the stituteOf Mechamcal Engineers Proceedings, 122, (London, 1932), pp. 724-7Z~ The business moved again in 1938 to Manclx~c,~ter Literary & Philosophical Society's Memoirs ab(mt J.B. Dancer. He may al~ have Hamp.,~)n Street in Sale when the Chapel 6. Obituaries of William Henry Fowler in been revolved in putting together the Garnett The Engineer (1932), p. 153, 399 and Engineer- Street works were demolished to make collection of microscopical and photographic ing, 133, (1932), p. 55. way for the Town Flail extension, it equipment. The company gave the colhn.'tion continued to be a general engineering to the Soc|ety when it cltY-~ed and it has 7. J. Casarteili & Son, Catalogue Of Cloth workshop as well as making circular recently been donated to the Museum of Counting Glas.ccs Etc (Salford, nd), p. 6 and end. calculators. Car indicators and head- Science and Industry. in Manchester. 8. HJ. Cooper (ed), Scientific Instruments lamps were made briefly, as were (Lond~m, 1946), pp. 272-273 pressings for the car trade. During the Bibliography Second World War, Jim Cookson joined 9. Fou,le~Pocket Books For Electrical Engineers (Manchester, annually 1901-cl964); and other the business as the new manager and the Flatters & Gamett Limited pocket books. companv'.~ name was changed soon after to Fowlers (Calculators) Limited. 1. A. Flatters, Methods in Microscopical Re- 10. Photographs of Fowlers workshops and search, Vegetabh" Histology. (Manchester, 1905). family (held by Sale Library). In 1948, on its 50th anniver~ry., the 2. Flatters & Garnett Limited, 50 Years" Author's address: company intr(~uced the 'Jubilee Mag- Sen,ice To Microcopy, 1901-1951 (Manchester, num' extra long scale calculator which 195l). Curator of Science The Mu~um of Sc~lce and Industry. enabled calculations to five or six figures 3. 'Obituary, Mr Abraham Flatters', Annual Lit¢rp~d Road and had a total scale length of seventy-six Report, Manchester Microscopical Society inches. Later, it produced several new Castlefield (Manchester, 1928). Manchester M3 4JP

18 Bulletin of the Scientific Instrument Society No, 53 (1997) 'Spirit of Place': Some Geographical Implications of the English Provincial Instrument Trade, 1760-1850 A.D. Morrison-Low

than importing and repairing - only in some localities. For instance, the practical users - that is, the surveyors, the architects, the carpenters, the ma~ns and other wrights - who were building new towns well away from London, encouraged th(w,e with the right skills to move out into the provinces, or, if already there, to diversify into these areas of manufacturing expertise.

Edinburgh and Dublin

The Georgian cities of Edinburgh and Dublin still reflect the economic momen- tum which could sustain self-sufficient Fig.l Boxa'~,)d~cctor, marked 'Robert Huds,m, l~'cd,, 1o8o': NM.q cultural centres, well removed from T.1990.88. Trustees of the National Mu~ums of Scotland. London. The local demand for unstru- ments in the provincial hinterlands of these two constituent parts of the 'United Introduction makers appeared in other population Kingdom' can be briefly summarised as centres: Thomas Moone was making 'mainly surveying'. It began with offi- The Peri(~ of the classic Industrial instruments in Bristol in 1669 when his cially run and equipped surveys. In Revolution in England, from about 1760 fellow Bristolian Samuel Sturmy de- Ireland, pacified after the 1641 rebellion, until about 1830, saw the domination of scribed him as 'an ingenious smith', there was the L~wn Survey, conducted the world market for the manufacture of although Philip Staynred had preceded by Sir William Petty; in the Scottish scientific instruments of all clas,,~s - them both in the previous generation, ~ Highlands, it was General William Roy's experimental, didactic and practical - by the brothers John and Robert R(~coe military survey, almost a century later, England's capital city, London.' Yet were active in Liverpool from around after tile 1745" rebellion. Surveying did instrument making was never exclusive 1696,~ and an hourglass-maker, Nicholas not cease thereafter: it was the principal to London, and this piece with its Cosens, obtained his freedom in York in method, firstly, of finding out how large somewhat pompous title - a quotation 16,38.: the 'pacified" territory was; and subse- from Virgil's Aeneid,: - will try to asse~s quently, it could be used for taxation, rental and land division purposes. what conditions were necessary to enable At the start of the period of the Industrial some localities to flourish, while others Revolution, in about 1760, these centr~ remained more or less static, or failed of instrumental activity - and there were However, Scotland and Ireland with altogether. communities of hardly more than a their capital cities, cannot be considered handful of specialist instrument makers part of 'provincial England'. In some The Early Trade to be found anywhere outside London - ways the markets for in.~truments in Edinburgh and Dublin developed a were located in the major centres of momentum of their own with only [x~pulation, because that is where people Where did instrument production in superficial similarities to English provin- would buy or use instruments. Even England have its centres before the cial centres. ~ However, it is the manu- where there were no actual instrument Industrial Revolution? What were the facturing and retail trade in instruments makers, the mathematical practitioners, characteristics, or 'spirit' of these places? in four of these English towns, and their as described bv E.GR. Taylor, were to be Did the nature of local industrialization special geographical characteristics, that found in provincial England from a fairly affect these? Did the products of specific is examined in the remainder of this early date. This can be illustrated with centres change with time? It could be paper. ~id that instrument making was 'pro- two earlier pieces, now to be found in the collections of the National Museums of vincial' when it first arrived in England, Bristol because for a time this new industry was Scotland. One, a bra~ rule, marked with still dominated bv the workshops of the name of its one-time owner R(~ert Trollap of York, an architect and builder, In around 1700, the centres of English Flanders. In due course, men with population were to be found (after mathematical and engraving skills is dated 1655, the year in which Trollap designed and built the Exchange and London) in ~ork, Nor~ich, and Bristol. moved out of London to find new and Towards the end of the 'long centuB-' of local markets during the more stable Guildhall, Newcastle. The second item is a boxwtx)d sector or 'joynt rule' (pr(~- the Industrial Revolution, i~pulation later Stuart period, in the late seven- had grown in the newer centres" of teenth century. Thus, Robert Davenport, ably London-made), again marked with the owner's name and address 'Robert Sheffield, Manchester, Liverp(~l and who had learned his trade through his Birmingham. and in some cases had apprenticeship to no less a figure than Hudson, Leeds, 1686', and it includes a perpetual almanac, dialling and trigono- overtaken the older, medieval wl~l the pre-eminent London mathematical towns and ports. London remained instrument maker and engraver Elias metrical scales, as well as timber mea- sures useful for carpenters (Fig.l)? England's major port, the entrep~'~t fi, r Allen, was to be found in Edinburgh the Empire, although Bristol in the ~uth- from 1647; ' and the mysterious 'W.R.' west became significant: '... the greatt.,st, constructed a surveying instrument for a This gradual growth in market demand the richest and the best l~rt of trade in Dublin latitude in 1667.' Instrument led to instrument manufacture - other Great Britain, l~ndon (~nlv excepted',

Bulletin of the Scientific Instrument Society. No. 53 (1997) iq ~r 0 H N Hz R 1G H Z (F,om L 0 /¢ .0 0 ,V) Mltl~Imatlc"I, PhlofophKal, lad Optital I nlhument-Maker, At akeSe.aH ~d ti,s~= ~'= I~,, o, ~r. Se~$t St,#,-.', (J.e~dl. Ill=: +Ol.,

ma,lt, lk,l~klmK,ll. I~ (~J~d ~un+~ll -be'e (.+~4~en+++ ..Ira= ICr.~,,~ t fly Ph,~ wJ ~,11~ d ~ I,~,.,,+.++, ,. I'.t+i, ,,..i

¢+ ~.'I~,=. W,, W &,+ ~ mdv.,q t~ x~4b, ~.,, l l~.-J.-~ ...

l~l~rll¢ I~NII l,l I" Ill II~ll JllMttky +II Ollff., lb,~+ l'h~l+s

4111111.1. IM I (le~llllt k+l F~I,~I+II, ~.¢ ~m~l.llll~l Ii~411111~4Piii+' lml llvlet + II! llmm+ - ¥1"~? 41+ ¢.~II P~III~ Cdesl d k.m~, In I+~I~IIIII. ,i ~Iu41~, lil~4i~, I', l,k Mql~llll~Ck * • III YlI+I~I, I~ I,~¢---a ~1 t,.~l~k~ i rap+Ira, O', k l+,. +~-.w~l ud Fig.4 Octant, nmrked 'Lezvrton Liz~'rpca,I + ik~.l. • rk awl I +~lltS. - Am I'ellqll. t.. k,, do~llkl I.+ +r~l¢ Fig.3 Mariner s tomp,~s., marked "Sprin¢- W" Tyler 1783': CHSI WP 884. Courtesy of ,'r, Brish,l': NMS T.19o9.31. Truste~ of the the Coih'ction of Historical Scient!fic insiru- ~ ..41t,41~d Jillllq~l. IIImrlvll'/ "~:~ l+ dlltqllll.~lI the llllcdllk Nath,nal Mu~ums of Scothmd. men,s, Han~ard Umt~'rsity.

I.=I,11~, ~ A,~,~ ~ ~r.jl~, ~ ~k ¢I~..~,~ ,~,~-~.

m,c,~cqm dr ,.ram. g-.,%'~mlm ~ +, ~k. u, ~..bel ~.~I~ Gregory. apl~inting a local b(x,k~iler provided they survived the first two or as an agent h~r their wares," John Wright three years, appears to be relatively appears to have .seen them off (he stable, extending over a number of sub~'quently advertised himself as 'the generations or trade successors.:' Among ONLY MATHEMATICAL, PHILOSO- contributing factors must have been the PHICAL and OPTICAL htstrument-Maker long-established large houses and estates in BRISTOl/"): he may briefly have been around Bristol, and a steady market for mm,..mmm: a~,~ ~-~,-~ ~ ~ I~11 D~mn' j... survived bv his wife, Susa, as a back.staff -.- ...... ,...-..~...,,.~. the supply of quality items: the fashion- with her signature has been recorded. '~ able spa of Bath (another gracious His shop, however, 'At Hadly's isicl Georgian town) was merely a few miles Fig.2 Adzvrti.q'ment fi,r John Wright. 13 Quadrant ... Lately the SHOP of Mr away, while larger landowners with their March 1756. Felix FarJev's Bristol Journal. JOHN WRIGHT)' was being run by Bristol Central L~bra~. surveying and building requirements J(yshua Springer (Fig.3) by 175q, implying were to be found in the surrounding a firm trade successionY ~ By 1774 Spring- countryside? ~ wrote Daniel Defoe in 1726. 'it is er was to be found in premises at no. 2 supposed they have an hundred thou- Clare Street'- - an address which was to Liverpool ~nd inhabitants in the cit)., and within be u.,~,d in turn by R & C. Beilbv from three miles of its circumference; and they 1808, t- and sub~uently by John King, It is illuminating to contrast Bnstol's ~v above three thou~nd sail of ships (late foreman to C. geilby) TM - in a direct instrument activities with th(~se of an- belong to that port'. "~ Here there would line, confirmed by newspaper announce- other port: Liverpool. In 1726, Daniel be local demand for the supply and ments, which continued until well after Defoe commented: 'tis probable it will in repair of navigational instruments, for the Great Exhibition of 1851. a little time be as big as the city of Dublin example the two surviving wooden ... "lis already the next town to Bristol, nc~-turnals by Robert ~k,ff, dated 1693 Joshua Springer may have inherited and in a little time may probably exceed and 1702 rtspectively. There had been Wnght's premises and commercial gcx~l- it, both in commerce, and in number of instrument making and activities as.~- will, but in 1774 he al.~ found him~lf people'. 2~ During the period of the ciated with navigation from Tudor times, with competition, in the per.,~m of Henry Industrial Revolution, for a number of bt, t not apparently sufficient for a Edgeworth, who described him~lf as rea,~ms, Liverpool overttx,k both Bristol community of specialist practitioners to 'The only Person in this City, who served and Dublin in size. A centre for the slave ~ustain itst'If, with skills pas~.~l on from a regufar Apprenticeship' in instrument- trade, for imports of cotton, tobacco and one generation to the next." A propor- making. "~' Edgeworth appears to have sugar, Liverp(~d was a dynamic, chaotic tion of the go(~ls +,,,rid in Bristol must arrived in Bristol from Dublin, where he and growing mass of seething humanity. have been associated with London may have served an apprenticeship with Unlike Bristol, wht~e street plan n~- manufacturer~, and the cachet of La,ndon John Margas, formerly of London until mained recogni~bly the same through- manufacture can be .~'n in 17%, when his bankruptcy in 1758" In 1790, Richard out this peri~, Liverpool's population adverti.,~,ments were ap[~,aring in the Rowland adverti..~,d that he had 'suc- grew enormously, reconstructing its Bristol press for ceeded to the business of the late Mr docks and waterside as the port ex- HENRY EDGEWORTH, which he in- panded: and as a result, instrument Iohn t,~.nght (Fn~m I+ONIX)N) .. land at the tends carrying on in all its branches:'z: makers did not remain in the same h~,t] (~'ntlemen may del~.nd ut~m being again, in partnership with his sons premi.,~es nor indeed did their trade •,erxed wllh the above, and all olher Edward and Thomas, and long after his successions appear to be so smooth. ln,,trument,,, made dccordtflg to the latest death, the firm al.~+ survived to beyond lh,,co,.ene.,, JOHN ~.Rl(illl being late an the Great Exhibition Although there was a handful of retail ..\pprentlce to Mr LOll'., Suc~e~,r to Mr instrument makers in Liverpool in the I IIt~MAS ~ARI(;II'I', In,,trument Maker to Numbers of wtail firms of instrument he, Mal~,t~, (l-lg2) ~: first half of the eighteenth century - makers in Bristol remained small and Robert Wild, Thomas Kendal, James relatively static: at around five in 1775, Dykes, Henry Roberts and William Although threatened on at least one rising to wen or eight in lb~k), and ten Skegg - these individuals are very occasion by the London instrument in 1810, at which figure it remained until l~scure, known only from the descrip- makers James Ay~ough and Henry after 18~). The longevity of the firms, tion of their occupation in parish

20 Bulletin of the .~ientific Instrument Society No. 53 (1~7) registers.~ By the time the first street Bepsty, who married a local woman in directory was published (1766 in the case 17717: Less peripatetic were the later 1~ Liverpool), there were two mathema- arrivals of the Ca~rtellis (whose firm hcal instrument makers listed, one prov- first appeared in 1821, and continued ing very short-lived.~ By the turn of the until the end of the century) and the century, there were ten firms, and these Pastorellis,whose links with the l.a~on numbers increased gradually over the firm of the same name have yet to be next fifty years to 36 in the year of the established.~* Great Exhibition. Initially some, such as John Grindrod and Thomas Howard, York may well have been locals (judging by their names), but others, for example Across the Pennines are to he found John Leverton (Fig.4), were trained in another two great cities, which can be and had migrated from London. Adver- contrasted with each other: and as tL~ements appeared in the local paper G,,re~ Lizwpool General Ad~wti,cer in 1766 neither are great ports, they in turn and 1767, in which Leverton claimed that should provide different geographical characteristics than those shown by be was 'from London':~ Gloria Clifton's confirms that his father was Bristol and Liverpool. 'York,' wrote Directory Daniel Defoe Lancelott Leverton, bricklayer o4 Wal- tham Abbey, Essex, that he was appren- is a spacious city, it stands upon a great deal ticed to William Parsons of the o/ground, perhaps mo~ than any city in Goldsmiths Company in 1749 and treed England out of Middlesex, except I~Iorwich; in 1761.~" William Drury, active in Liver- but then the bu~dmgs are not close and pool between 1769 and 1773, may have thronged as at Bristol,or as at Durham, nor been an apprentice of the London ship is York so populous as ether Bn.~ol or chandler and instrument maker, John Norw~h. But as York is full o~ gentry and UnngsY persom of distinction, so they live at large, and have houses prop~wtioned to their quality; and this makes the city lie so br There does appear to be strong links Fig.5 7ra,h' card .li,r Charles /ones, u,ith extended on both skies 04 the river:TM between the specialist provincial trade in unsigned octant, stamped with dividin,¢, nmrk Liverpool and the navigational instru- for Spencer, Bnnvning & Rust: Mu~u,n of The seat of one of England's two ment makers and suppliers from the the History of Science, Oxford, inv. no. 32-9. archbishops, centre of the northern docks of London at the end of the medieval wool trade, and one of the eighteenth century and well into the Liverpool signature has a dividing en- richest and more settled conunumties, nineteenth. This is demonstrated by a gine stamp, and so not all Liverpool York had known instrument-making for number of surviving nautical instru- octants - or even just their scales - can be some time: ments, recorded with a Liverpool signa- assumed to have been divided in ture, which appear to have London London. However, the question remains: No city in England 1~ wroeel is better furnishedwith pn,visams t~ every kind. nor connections. For example, one ebony did any instrument maker in Liverpool octant, signed on the ivory plate, any so cheap, m proportionto the gtmdness possess a dividing engine, and if so, at of things;the Over being so navigable,and 'Thomas Holliwell' has the ivory scale what date was it obtained? At the least, marked with the dividing engine symbol so near the sea, the rnerchants here trade this shows that the wholesale prices directly to what part of the world they. of a fouled anchor, implying that it had asked by volume manufacturers of will...*~ had its scale divided by Jesse Ramsden's specialist instrument types undercut dividing engine, in London.-" Another smaller scale construction elsewhere However, dunng the eighteenth century, octant which appears to have an inter- and led to complex supply arrange- York's importance as a port went into esting history is an unsigned example, ments, in which both London and decline. Gloria Clifton's Dirertory men- with the dividing mark on the scale for provincial manufacturers were undoubt- tions the group centred around the the London wholesalers Spencer, Brown- edly active. eminent early eighteenth-century clock- ing and Rust, and several trade labels, maker Henry Hindley, which i~ncluded now katie, within the case..u The label John Stancliffeand J(~n Smeahm, both of still attached inside is for 'Charles J(mes, Liverpool is a geographically close whom migrated in due course to real manufacturer of sextants and quad- neighbour of Prescot, the centre of London, and subsequently became move rants ...'at a Liverpool address occupied watch-part construction: so nearby was involved in engineenng? I Hindley made by Jones between 182.3 and 1827 (Fig.5). a great I~OI of men with mechanical at least two refracting telescopes which The label also reveals that 'C.J. [was] ability and skilful craftsmanship from have survived, and it has been suggested Step-son & late Apprentice to L Gray', which individuals no doubt sometimes that he was supplied with glass of a who was at that Liverpool addrt~ss moved to the flourishing lx~rt.~ It is suitable character by a k~cal spectacle between 1814 and 1822. One of the loose apparent that the rising number of maker, Richard Egglesh~n, whtrse shop in trade labels is for 'John Gray, manufac- chronometer makers in the Liverpool Minster Yard was only a few yards from turer of sextants, quadrants, compasses area - among them the Fnxlshams," Hindley's workshop; both men were telescopes &c., No 13, Little Hermitage Gray & Keen, Edward Ma.~sey ~ - drew men4ioned in the same adverti~ment Street, Wapping, Lond(m'. -° This must upon this expertise. From a relatively (for an auctitm) in December 17.34.': imply not only the stated relationshipby early stage, t(x~, there was an apparent marriage between John Gray of Liver- demand for domestic barometers, and York had fewer instrument-makers in the pool and Charles Jones, but also a family weatherglass makers with experience late eighteenth century even than had relahonship between the two John Grays, with gla~ working were able to survive. Bristol: however, 'RICHARD EGGI.E- who may even have been one and the Amongst these were the peripatetic STON, Spectacle-Maker from l~mdon ...' same. However, not every t~-'tantwith a Italians, starting with one Antonio advertL~,d his 'new Improved Dioptncal

Bulletin of the Scientific in~trument Society No. 53 (l~Y7) 21 Telescope' in a local newspaper in the nineteenth century hand technology .~CHA'RD: EGOL£$TON; "#,~ta~. ~ October 1740 (Fig.6)P He had served and craft skills dominated the Sheffield his apprenticeship with the London Ya.d, aM 6 ~ ,~m~w4 i~ Spa.ier-gaulf 'Y&k, metal trades with its small units of ~AAI~ ~w.lfe.lla all $c m Of Olxick-Gla~t~.~ie~. optician Richard Roak. ~ In 1768, his son J.Y I. tco~'.~, a~l $1~',ack.• of all ~ ~ct in C~d. md .~l. construction, marked by the division of vet, T~cm('.'~'wll, Hornv.~u~het, and IJ~ I=~n,ar Id" WlTl Nathaniel, who had served his appren- U~'- are ~..od conv'en?.nt amd be~'r..l. ' - - Labour ticeship with 'MarT' Eggleston, optician' ~:[~-~ O~:ta-G~a,q'~ and all man~Oo' L;~::ck-G,aff~.. (presumably his widowed mother) also _ Lai~L' • new Im~.,'o~ed DIoFCr~caJ Ie,r:co;~,; L,~J~j(I_ The first optical business in Sheffield, ht Le~gd'%.'wb:cJl'-ma~ei~lElS~CT~l.~'l lea{I t~ro~ .~C/I~ Te- advertised himself as a spectacle maker le~op¢, ,sC,d sp~'OC,rd by 'Os¢ R o r • ~. -~,, c s • 'r •; ~ R ml~'" according to local histories, was run by: in York, making and selling 'allSorts of Spectacle, Telescopes, Microscopes ...'.'~ Mr Samuel Froy,~aff ... although the exact year is uncertain. He was the inventor of • vctTec~rtteMam~.. - • . - ..~ -~.-~: ";, In March 1774, his brother-in-law John •.,. _~ ~a~.:~_~..~_,u so,,, ,LE~~, proces,~ of grinding the perspective glasses, Berry announced, shortly after Nathaniel concave tn" convex, though of course many Eggleston's death, that "he continues to ~mpmvements have been made since his make and sell all sorts of reflecting and day. He had his grinding wheel near the refracting Telescopes, single and com- Twelve o'Clock public house, and the~ he carried on business many yearn. His trade pound Microscopes' and so on. ~ Berry Fig.6 Adzvrtisement Richard Eggleshm, 28 was chiefly in common acromatic [sic] himself died the following year, and his October 1740, Yorkshire Courant. York telescopes, reich)scopes, spectacles, reading widow (born Elizabeth Eggleston) then Public Libra,. glad, &'c. Mr Fn~gatt died in the year remarried someone outside the trade, c i,',97.,~ However, one 'Matthias Wisker, glass- tures, while local iron was used in nail grinder and spectacle maker at the The first local directory was published in making and goods without cutting Golden Spectacles, Spurriergate, succes- 1774, and it records two other names: edges, such as cooking pots) ~ sor to the late Mr Berry' continued this John Handcock, a ring sun-dial and trade succession, which unlike the ex- buckle-maker; and Joseph Wilson, an Sheffield had a great natural advantage amples at Bristol,did not remain in the optician, mathematical instrument maker same premises, but appears to have over other provincial cutlery centre•, and spectacle maker. Proctor & Beilby, moved around within YorkN Matthias namely, an abundance of local water the largest of the Sheffield instrument (or Matthew) Wisker had served his power. At least 90 water mills were in manufacturers, appeared first in the apprenticeship with George Cowley, a operation in 1740, and two out of every directory of 1781: according to a con- three were used for the grinding of gla~s grinder and was made free in 1774; temporary account they ran a 'Little he was succeeded bv his son John in cutlery and edge tools. Another k~cal Mesters' system in their premises in fortunate geological feature was the coal- August 18(}4, when the gtx)cls supplied Market Street. ~" This system, borrowed measure sandstones, which were ideal ttn~k a more definite turn away from the from the cutlery trades, allowed self- for the manufacture of grinding wheels - scientific towards the general store, employed men to rent space within their and these were of such quality that they candles, spermaceti oil and lamps be- factory under contract to carry out were sold all over England from an early coming the wares in preference to specific work. The 'little mester' would date. tele,~,copes and microscopes, although employ and pay his own workmen, spectacles were still on offerN John's providing them with both tools and widow, Elizabeth, continued in business When Daniel Defoe visited Sheffield in equipment; materials were either bought 1726 he wrote that: after his death at the age of 48 in 1822, from the factory proprietor, or elsewhere, with her son Matthias's assistance,~' and the finished items sold back to the giving up in his favour in 1827Y The town of Sheffield is very populous and large, the streets narrow, and the houses factory proprietor:, this allowed enor- Matthias Wisker retired in favour of his mous flexibility in times of economic son, John Thomas Rigg Wisker in 1859 - dark and black, occasioned by the ctmtinued smoke of the forges, which are always at hardship, although few great fortunes another business which lasted well work... The manufacture of hard ware, were made. beyond the Great Exhibition, and by which has been so antient in this town is wl~ich time it claimed that it had been not only continued but much increased. ~ The diversification of Sheffield-made e.~tablished in 1762Y" There was no real goods can be seen in the advertisements competition, instrumentally speaking, As time went on, the cutlers diversified of the Chadburn firm, whose close-knit until Thomas C(x)ke founded his busi- into a huge range of products: those in family enterprise ensured that the busi- in Stonegate in 1837. ness the town centre made the high quality ness survived and expanded over a goods, while specific geographical areas number of generations. The partnership Sheffield were devoted to sickle makers, or nail- of Chadbum & Wright was formed in makers or scythemakers, in rural dis- 1818, and as an advertisement from 1825 Contrast this settled, regular existence tricts, metalwares were a part-time shows, they manufactured optical goods with the explosion of activity, particu- occupation, often combined with the as well as dealing in 'all kinds of larly of heavy indust~- which occurred farming of small-holdings. By the seven- hardware' (Fig.7)Y William Chadbum, slig'htly further south at Sheffield. The teenth century, further specialisations who had begun as an optician in 1816, reputation of Sheffield-made knives and had developed - filemaking, buttonmak- was by 1828 advertising a greater edge tools gix~s hack long before the ing and metal box construction. Despite versatility as a 'brass and iron founder, Industrial Revolution Hallamshire (an Sheffield's landlocked position, there was optician, cutler and general dealer'; '~ and area including the parishes of Sheffield no difficulty getting its sought-after in turn the firm became Chadburn and Ecclesfield) was famous for the go(Ms to market: there was a weekly Brothers, who were Alfred and Francis quality of its metalwares as long ago as carrier service to [a)ndon from at least Wright Chadbum from 1837, joined by the Middle Ages, but by the sixteenth 1637, but most manufactures went by Charles Henry in 1841." Charles Henry century local iron was cunsidered to be inland waterways, which were being Chadbum started up a branch in Liver- of inferior quali~' for the steel for tools constantly improved. The small work- pool in 1845, and by 185l the firm was requiring a sharp edge: iron was there- shops or forges were run by the so-called awarded an honourable mention for the fore imported for such steel manufac- 'little mesters' (or masters), and well into items which they displayed in the Great

22 Bulletin of the Scientific Instrument Society No. 53 0997) 8. NMS T.1978.92 and "I".1990.88;my collea- gue Dr A.D.C. Simpson is currently research- ing these items.

9. The extent to which the Scottish market for apparatus, as opposed to the means for supplying it, should not be considered as provincial was discussed by AD.C.Simpaon, 'The Adies of Edinburgh: satisfying the Scottish market', unpubli.~ed paper delivered at the 'Business of Instruments' conference, held at the National Museums of Scotland 22 March 1986.

10. Dar~a,.I Defoe, A Tour throu[~h the Whole THOMAS COOKj Island of Great Britain, Pen~ edition (Lon- don, 1971), pp. 361,363. Fig.7 Advertisment for Chadburn & Wright, 1825. Shef/~eld Public Library. .~ ;?. ,'o.Vl:)'Sl"JfEl~r II. The nocturnal m the National Maritime YON g., Museum is dated 1693, my. no. N28 A74-2; that in the Science Museum is dated 1702, inv. Exhibition. '° They were awarded a Royal P'HROMATIC TELESCOPES, no. 1903-80; an illustrationof this appears in Prince Appointmept to Albert, and /. :~v ~; ~,~:.~:: ~,~ ..~. ~ - AJ. Turner, Early Scu,nti, fic Instruments: Europe continued well beyond 1851. .... ~ ,~.: . ~.',,.~;~, 1400-1800 (London, 1987), p. 72. Robert Yeff's p PI.~IN OR E~I.s,I'~RI¢'~,I.~I,~[-~;TI,,.G~. Certificate of the Freedom of Bristol, 1697, is End of C,eo~aphical ConStraints Science Museum inv. no. 1987-61. Yeff is discussed in Clifton, 0p. cit. (note 6), p. 308. I" c .M~ofa~., tae I~,,- ¢r *r- d~,,,, In,cram,r, .ar¢, t • Another instrument by Yeff is a 24-inch By this time, improvements in rail Gunter's scale dated 1721 at the Whipple transport had overcome the previous • z ' ef ~, Tde,,ee,l~ i'.,m,m blea r*~ n*l~t ftmll t~ J~D| Museum of the Hmtory of Science, Cambridge, restrictions imposed by the compara- inv. no. 2823. Other early Bristol makers are tively slow import by canal and sea of mentkmed in Jonathan Barry, 'The Cultural raw materials to manufacturing centres: Fig.8 Ad~,rtisement for Thomas Cooke of Life of Bristol,1640-1775', unpublishedD. Phil. in the latter half of the nineteenth century York, 1843. York Public Library. thesis, Umversity of Oxford, 1985: J. Willis, T. it was to be a York instrument maker, Wells, T. Plummer, E. Wonlfe. A back,staff, Thomas Cooke, who was to break the history departments in the public lib- marked 'Made by Tho" Plumer in Bristol'was mould of the earlier provincial instru- offered for sale by Sotheby's, 20 May 19q2, Lot raries of York, Sheffield, Bristol and 388. ment maker, and 'spirit of place' was to Liverpool. And, as ever, Dr Anita become the more particular spirit of McConnell and Dr A.D.C. Simpson. 12. Felix Farley's Bristol Journal, 13 March entrepreneurship (Fig.8). The coming of 1756. the railways, together with the produc- Notes and References tion of instruments in factories - Cooke's 13. I/nd., 20 November 1756. Buckingham Works on the edge of York 1. The most recent assessment of the London were built in 1855 - ushered in a new era trade during this peri~l is by Anita McCon- 14. Bmtol Week~. intellixenccr, I January 1757. in the history of instrument making.*' In nell, 'From Craft Workshop to Big Business - the latter half of the nineteenth century, the London Scientific Instrument Trade's 15. Sotheby's, 20 September 1983, Lot 104: the location of centres of instrument Response to Increasing Demand', London 'Made at Sos" Wright s m Bnftol'. production was not constrained by their Journal, 19 (1994), pp. 36-53. geographical position by having to be 16. Felix Farl~'s Bristol Iournal, 29 September 2. Virgil, Aeneid, Ixx~k vii, p. 136, from the 1759. close to their markets: James White of Concise Oxford Dictnmary of Quotations (Oxford, Glasgow, Thomas and Howard Grubb of 1981), p. 26.3. Dublin, the Cambridge Scientific Instru- 17. Ibid.,I0 Septmnbe¢ 1774. ment Company merely required access to Earliest 3. See D.J. Bryden, 'Scotland's Ig. Ibid.,9 July 1808. the new rapid transport and communica- Surviving Calculating Device: Robert Daven- tion systems, of firstly, the Empire, and port's Circles of Proportion of c.lbS0', Scottish secondly, the world. Historical/~,L~; $5 (1976), pp. 54-60. 19. Undated trade card, Blame Castle Mu- seum, Bristol, my. no. TA 5100. Acknowledgements 4. J.E. Burnett and A.D. Morri.~n-Low, "Vulgar & Mechanick': the ScientificInstrument 20. Felix Farl~'s BristolJournal, 25 June 1774. Trade in Ireland, 1650-1921 (Dublin and This paper is a version of one of the same Edinburgh, 1989), pp. 14-15; the instrument is 21. Clifton, ~. cir. (note 6), pp.92, 178. title given to the XV Scientific Instrument in the collection of the Museum of the History Symposium, Ottawa, September 1996, of Science, Oxford, inv. no. M20. 22. Felix Farl~'s Bristol Iournal, 6 February. which i was able to attend with a grant 1790. from the Scientific Instrument Society. 5. E.G.R Taylor, The Mathcraahcal Practi- My thanks also go to Dr Liba Taub, tioners af Tudor and Stuart Enl?land 1485-1714 23. Numbers gleaned from Bns4ol directories, Whipple Museum, Cambridge; A.V. Sim- (Cambridge, 1954), p. 260. which run almost annuatlv fn-nn 1792. cock, Museum of the History of Science, 6. Gk)riaClifton, Dmx'to~ of British Sclent~ic Oxford; Dr Gloria Clifton, National 24. Bath managed to supl~ a handful of Instrument Makers 1550-1851 (London, 1995), p. resident instrument retailers during this Maritime Museum; T.J. Bryant of Bristol; 2,37. period including, at different times, Jacob Martin Suggett, National Museums and Abraham (who also had a shop in Chelten- Galleries on Merseyside; Will Andrewes 7. ibid., p.66, quoting Brian La~nes, The ham), Lyon and Th~nnas Davis, James Filed, and Martha Richardson of Harvard Early Chrkmakers of Great Britain (London, Henry. Oakley, John Orchard, Peter Salmoni, University and the staff of the local 1981), p. 106. Beniamm Smith and Henry Tulley.

Bulletin of the Scientific Instrument Society No. 53 (1997) 23 25. LX~oe,0F c/t. (note 10), p. 3q2. For a more 38. For the Casartellis, see Jenny Wetton, 52. Ibid., !1 June l&qg; the firm first appeared recent overvk.w of Liverpool, see Sheila 'Scienlafic Instrument Making in Manchester Martinet, The £conomw and Soc/al Deve/0pment in Bailey's British Directory ...far the year 1784 in 1790-1870", Manchester Memoirs 130 (1990- 4 v0/s. Vol. 3, first edition (London, 1784). of Merx,~/ae (Lm~on, 19~). 1991 ), pp. 37-68; for the Pastordlis, see Clifton, op. cir. (note 6), p. 211. Although John Pastomlli 26. L~d by Oliver Fairclough, 'Joseph Fin- first appears in the Liverpool directory for 53. Much of this account is derived from ney and the clock and watchmakers OF 18th Sidney Pollard, A History of l.~oour in ~d 1834, Joseph Pastorelli & Co. adverti.~,~l century Liverpool', unpublished MA thesis, (Liverpool, 195q), pp. 54-59 and David Hey, University OF Keele, 1975, pp. 225, 405-40~. quitting their busine~, selling (among other merchandise) "weatherglassesand barometers' 'Introduction' to Janet Barnes (ed.), The Cutting Edge: an £xhibitam OFShe~. eld Tools (Sheffield, 27. John Gmdmd, mathematical instrument at 43 Atherton jtrec¢ some considerable period 1992), pp. 9-12. maker, appeanrd in directories for 1766 and earlier:. Gore's General Advert/set, 8 May 1800. 1767 only; John Leverttm first appeared in 3q. Defoe, op. ctt. (note 10), p. 523. 1766, succeeded by S. (Susannah) in 1787; 54. Defoe, ap. cit. (note lO), p. 482. made her last appearance in the 1790 directory. 40. ib/d., p. 521. 55. Unsigned article [Robert Leader], 'A 28. Gore's Liverpool General Adt~rtiser, 14 May 41. Clifton, 0p. cit. (note 6), p. 137; see also Chapter on Old Sheffield Trades', Sheffield & 1766, quoted by Fairciough, op. or. (note 26), p. J.RM Setcheil, "Henry Hindley and Son: I~herfmm Independent, 12 April 1873; Robert 226. Instrument and Ck~ckmake~ of York', unpub- Eador Leader (ed.), ReminL~cences of Old Sh#- lished BmLitt thesis, University of Oxford, 1971, field, its Streets and its People (Sheffield, 1875), 29. Clifton, ap. ¢it. (note 6), pp. 166-167. which formed the basis of his 'Henry Hindley pp. 94-7. 30. lb/d., p. 89. A telescope with Drury's & Son, Clock and Instrument Makers and signature was sold at Christie's South Ken- Engineers of York', Yorkshire Philo,~ophical 56. [John Holland], 'Reminiscences OF an smgton, 29 September 19o,4, Lot 212. Soca'ty Annual Report far the Year 1972 (York, Sheff~ld Workshop', Sheffield Telegraph 23, 24, 1973), pp. 39-67; and the same author's 'The 26 and 27 December 1867; republished by A.D. 31. Seen at the Scientific Instrument Fair, Friendship of John Smeaton, F.RS., with Morrison-Low, 'Proctor & Beilby, Part !: Early London, May 1994: see AN Stimson, 'Some Henry Hindley, ~t and Clockmaker 19th Century Scientific Instrument Making in Board of Longitude Instruments in the Nine- o[ York and the Development of Equatorial the English Midlands', Bulletin of the Scientific teenth Century', in P.R. de Clercq (ed.), Nine- Mounting Telescopes',Notes and Records of the instrument Society, No. 41 (1994), pp. 9-15; teenth-Century Scwnt~c Instruments and Their R~I Society#London 25 0970), pp. 79-86 and "Proctor & [leiiby, Part ll; Proctor & Beilby's (Leiden and Amsterdam, 1985), pp. 'Further Information on the Telescopes of Sheffield',/bid., No. 42 (1994), pp. 17-21. 115. Hindley of York', ibid., 25 (1970), pp. 189-192, also RJ. Law, 'Henry Hindley of York 1701- 32. Museum of the History of Science, Ox- 1771: Part !', Antiquar,,,n Hom/o~F/ 7 (1971), pp. 57. A net¢ Senend and commercial Directory of ford, inv. no. 32-9. 205-221 and 'Part 11',/b/d., pp. 682-699. She~ld and its vicinity ... Compiled by R. Gall. (Manchester, 1825). 33. C~ton, op. cir. (no~ 6), p. 118. 42. Yorkshire Courant, 24 December 17M, quoted in Setchell's thesis, 0p. cir. (note 41), 58. Sheffwld Directory and Guide ... (Sheffield, 34. EA. Bailey and T.C. Barker, 'The Seven- p. 10. 1828). teenth-century Origins of Watchmaking in South-West Lancashwe' in J.R. Harris (ed.), 43. Ibid., 28 October 1740. Ln,erpool and Mer.,~,'vs. ide: Essays in the Economic 59. Mary C.hesworth, "Bought of: 19tk century and ~ctal History. of the Port "and its Hinterland 44. Clifton, 0p. cir. (note 6), p. 93. Sheffield through its Billheads and Related Docu- ments (Sheffield, 1984), pp. 1@15. (London, 196q), pp.l-15. 45. York City Archives: Register of Freemen, 1080-1986; Yorkshire Courant, 23 February 1768. 35. Vaudrev Mercer, The Frodsham: the story OF 60. Illustrated Catalogue of the Exhibition of all a Family afChronometer Makers (Lm~on, 1981), 46. Yorkshire Courant, 22 March 1774. Nations ... ([xmdon, 1852), vol. 1, p. ,136, entry 'Chapter VI: The Liverpool Frodshams', pp. no. 259. 56-61. 47. YorkChronicle, 4 August 1775 and 12 April 1776. 36. Alan Treheme, The Mas,~. Family: Clock, 61. For which, see Anita McConnell, lnstru- Watch, Chnmometer and Nautical Instrument 48. Ibid., 7 November 1777. ment Makers to the World: A History of Cooke, Mak~ (Newcastle-under-Lyme, 1977). Troughton & Simms (York, 19qr2), pp. 50-56. 49. York City Archives: Register of Freemen, 1680-1986: Yorkshire Courant, 20 August 1804. 37. Antonio Beptsy instrument maker, mar- Author's address: ried Elizabeth Merr~ohn, 2 March 1771. National Museums of Scotland Liverl~loh St Nicholas's Parish Registers: 50. Yorkshire C~:.ette, 9 and 16 March 1822. Marriages. Chambers Street 51. Ibid., 9 June 1827. Edinburgh EHI IlF

Honorary Member Awarded Paul Bunge Prize 1997

Sih'io A. Bedini received the Paul Bunge Prize for the history of scientific instruments on 9 May. Bedini, born in 1917 in Ridgefield, Connecticut, studied at Columbia University. He retired from the Smithsonian Institution of the National Mu~um of History and Technok)gy, Washington DC, in 1987. His publications on the history OF scientific instrm,nents are numerous and multi-faceted. Paricular reference in the Bunge citation was to his Science and instruments in Se~wnteenth- Centu~ Italy (1994) and his current work on 'The Vatican and Science'. The Paul Bunge Prize awarded by The Hans R. Jenemann Foundation {the death of the founder who is an Honorary Member of the SIS is reported elsewhere) is administered by the German Chemical Society and the German Bunsen Society for Physical Chemistry.

On the same occasion Claudia Schuster-Spiekenheier of Berlin was honoured for her study of the Assmann's Aspiration- Psychrometer and Jan Frercks of Oidenburg for his replication of Fizeaus' determination of the speed of light by means of his toothed wheel apparatus.

24 Bulletin of the Scientific Instrument Society No. 53 0997) SIS Visit to Rome 4-7 March 1997

J / Fig.2 Ceiling portrait of Torricelli, Ufficio Centrale di Ecologia Agraria, Rome. Fig.3 A thec~lolite bu Salmoira,~ln under sun~,'y by. Jeremy Collins, Ufficio Centrale ordination of meteorological observations di Ecologia Agraria, Rome. in Rome, Ancona and Ferrara, the first such Fig.l 'Gallih'o'., Wall~ m the Collegio in Europe. Under his direction meteorolo- graph by Re~,-~siwas of the same date. Other gical instrumentation was standardized Romano complete with malkin,~ members. examples seen were by Galli-Brassart, and made largely automatic; installations Agammennone and Cancani. It would be were sent to Cuba, Shanghai and Manila. Tuesday 4 March 1997 interesting to learn more of the calibration Secchi was the first President of the Institute techniques for this type of instrument of Meteorology. The Society resumed its Grand-Tour-by- which is not well covered in the literature instalments in Rome; a punctual if early The College building has an Observatory - and not often found in the UK! departure and a smooth flight from London dating from c. 1580, the tower dating from Salmoiraghi's signature was clear to be seen augured well for the visit. The gods and c. 1786. There are particularly fine deco- on a portable anemometer, and that of airlines Viatores et impedimentae molestos sunt rated ceilings,that in the library has ceiling Hagemann on another example. It was ('Travellers and their luggage are a nui- portraits of the philosophers and Torricelli's important to see examples of the Italian sance') are not to be taken for granted, uizzical gaze (Fig.2) monitored our quest instrument trade and makers in the light of however, and two members' luggage failed ere. The Library today holds books from what we were to hear later about their to arrive in Rome. Fortunately the antici- 1860, earlierbooks having been removed to scarcity. Salmoiraghi was also the signature pated pleasure of revisiting the city and the the Vatican Library after the unification of on a fine theodolite (Fig.3), quickly reas- prospect of seeing new collections largely Italy sembled by Jeremy Coilins's experienced overcame this annoyance until the luggage hands from the kit of parts in which it lay arrived later in the day. Fortunately also the L'Ufficio Centrale di Ecologla Agraria was and the Collection includes several other two visits planned tor the afternoon were to instituted by a State Decree on 26 Novem- examples of theodolites and levels. There is institutions which shared the same build- ber 1876 to continue the work of astronomy, a need for conservation work and funding ing, the Collegio Romano, as well as meteorology and, later, seismology. Resid- for it, but this never deters Society sharing origins. ing in the Collegio Romano, it was the members' appetite for new collections and national centre for geophysics, seismology, Ufficio Centrale di Ecoiogia Agraria the enthusiasm shown by them will justify. and meteorology. The Centre is believed to Curators' quests for resources. hold the most complete set of meteorologi- The Coilegio Romano (Fig.l) was built in cal records in Europe. From the time they Other instruments noted were a psy- the second half of the 16th century as a were begun, in handwritten form, the chometer including one by August, a Jesuit College and added to in the late 18th entries covered the normal parameters of Richard's thermograph and a recording century. Its aim was to teach not only the atmospheric pressure, wind speed and rain gauge by Palazzo. Looking again at classical subjects but also mathematical and direction, visibility,humidity, cloud situa- the catalogue after the event there are physical science and, in particular, astron- tion etc, but also some unexpected com- instruments which deserved more time omy. Before 1572 Ft. Cristoforo made ments. In March 1870 the Aurora Borealis than we had; a mercury-column barograph observations on the Ca~siopea constellation had been recorded, while in April a laconic is one of these and more of a surprise than using rudimentary instruments; astronomy note records the sound of cannon heard in the unsigned 20th century Fortin-type became a major interest of the Jesuit the morning as Garibaldi approached the barometer which was seen and noted. Brotherhood and of the College in particu- city.From the same era were weather maps, lar where it was energetically taught (it will again very early examples of this form of it is a little sad that the early items were be recalled that,a littlelater, the Jesuits built presentation. removed from their original home in this the Observatory in Beijing). Fr. Attanasio venerable establishment, but there were Kircher (1602-'1680) teacher of physics, The early Collections of instruments and good reasons at the time and, as we were oriental languages, geology and astronomy, papers were removed in the 19th century to ~ later, they are well cared for else- first organised the collection of scientific and are reported on elsewhere; those whEqrlP, material which became an important fea- remaining in the Institute are largely 19th ture of the teaching in the College. and 20th century. The catalogue provided Not in the programme or the catalogue but was appreciated and, being illustrated,was not to be forgotten were the magnificent Astronomical observation and teaching did helpful even to those of us with no Italian. views over Rome from the root of the not cease during the period of suppression Strangely, dates are not given for a number Observatory, in brilliant sunshine and clear of the Jesuit movement and continued of the items in it. air to satisfy, meteorologists and visitors under secular management, but the return alike. of the Obs~atory to the Jesuits began a As in a previous visit to Florence, seismo- Liceo Ginnasio E.Q. Visconti new era in its history in which Fr. Angelo graphic instruments m the collection re- Secchi (1818 - 1878) was a great influence.In minded us of this aspect of Italy's geology. The Liceo is housed in the same building the late 18th century there was great A seismograph by Scateni and dated in t~e where it was set up in 1870 by decree, interest in Europe in meteorology and in catalogue at 1883 was formerly in the taking in the ~hysics instruments from the 1855 Secchi established daily telegraphic co- University of Urhino; a portable seismo- Observatory. I ne malority of the t~c~,cts in

Bulletin of the Scientific Instrument Society No. 53 (1997) 25 (1841-1912). an electro-magnetic motor by Froment of Paris, and laboratory gaivar~- ometers of the peril~ including -~n elegant Pouillet's sine gah'anometer in bra~. A telegraph receiver, keyboard, and other items underlined the contemporary topi- cality of this technology. A Wheatstone-type wave machine attracted attention; we learned that it was procured after fmcchi visited Wheatshme and saw an example. It Ls thought that on his return to Rome he commissioned this example from Francesco Pauli, a local craftsman. Fig.5 Cyco.n'h'r, or kVa~,c.,'tcr, ma&' I,v Fig.4 Itah,m clc~trt,,ll rh,lp.,,du t,t/ t;crard An amilliary sphere on display, 345 mm in Marconi, I~m&m al~mt 1910, Licei Ginna- Turner and Paolo Bn'nni, Licei Ginnasio diameter, was described in the catalogue as sio EQ. Vi~onti, Rome. E.Q. Vi~onti. Rome. late 17th century, having the rare facil'itv of allowing earth and sun to he interchanged. continuously tracking the motion of the the collecti(m date from a programme of From the late l'~th century were two more Sun), and an achromatic 3~ m, terrestrial acquisition commencing in the late I~h armilliary spheres and a planetarium, hand- telescope on a fine walnut rising table by G. century. This was a period of rapid driven and candle-lit. and S. Metz of Munich. Also commanding deveiol~ment in the application and teach- In the optical category of instruments were attention were a large Hoitz electrostatic mg of the pnnciples of electricity, and machine and an impressive Koenig's acous- many g¢a~-qualitv teaching items includ- tic analvser. electrical instruments feature s;.nmgly in in.g photometers," spectn~copes, a solar the Collection (Fig.4). microscope, and a lmflanscope by Soleil of The third nx)m contained an assortment of Much of the Collection has been catalogued Paris which was of Norremberg's pattern A complete (and not .so complete) items by Orlandi and Rugsell in consultation with Foucalt's heliostat by SL'cretan caught the including a collection of early light bulbs Paulo Brermi and is well illustrated in attention as did an arrangement of a crown and holders, various vaccum pumps, a colour and black-and-white. This is very glags prism with two others of flint glass to model of a Wheatstone bridge and a large valuable becau~ the collection is large; the show the basis of achromatic systems. It Gramme dynamo. In between the older catalogue has over 500 entries and there are was by Tecnomasio of Milan; there were items, a small (it,~0s ?) portable 45 rpm many oblects yet to be included. other instruments by this firm, which was gramophone was spotted, which would new to some of us. have been more at home in Camden lark A Lyceum .science n~n'n might be expected Market. to contain rugged and workmanlike exam- Were this m~t er~mgh, there was a n~m full pies of the mstruments of physics, made or of equipment awaiting identification and Although the collection did not contain cht~,en for didactic qualities. This was nt~ cataloguing; members were invited to try very early instruments, it was certainly a the ca~ in the Liceo; although there were their hands and a few did, but there Ls most interesting visit with a chance to view teaching and demortstration models there another large pnqect here. a wide range of interesting 19th century was a wide range of high-quality research pieces. Brlshm, and laboratory instruments frommakers of Ron r~pute. An mieresting aspect of this was a S.A. Cheerer: glimp~ of the trade patterns in italy, Wednesday, 5 March Osservatorio Astronomico di Monte Porzio particularly in the l~h century. French (?atone Istituto Tecnico Commerciale "Leonardo da makers predominated, with many objects Vinci' from Secretan, Secretan & Lerebours, It was our first high i:x~int of the trip. The Rhumkorff, BregueL Carpentier, DucreteL Ob~rvatory Ls situated to the east of Rome This was the first large technical high sch(ml approximately 20 km from the centre of the (;aiffe, Brunner, Duh~|ue and Barlow, to be set up in Italy after the freeing of whde Ernecke of Berlin supplied several city m the middle of a well-known wine Rome from French ci~ntrol and the reunifi- growing area. The building was erected mechanical models cation of the country in the early la70s. The during the Mussolini era as a counterpart to A i:ew oblects by British makers were noted, lstituto has a comprehensive collection of the observatories of Paris and Greenwich. particularly a late lath century simple late nineteenth century apparatus covering ]he proud 'Duce' was upset that Rome, the m~cn~-o~rm bv Dollond and an impre~i,ce all areas of phvsical ~cience, and forms a hub of the universe, did not have a well- m~Mel tn a ~ertical steam-engine driving fascinating 'time capsule' showing the known observatory, but the dusty atmo- paddle wheel~ by ~Aatkins& Hill dated at c. range of scientific equipment in educational sphere prevented astronomical work, so the I~'~0 IWatkins & Hill catalogues and u~ at the time the lstituto was established. Ob~rvatory was never a serious place of papers refer to various t)pes of engine The group was welcomed by Professor scientific research. models they would make to special require- Zagarese, who explained thai'the lstituto In modern times the building ~rves in part ment.' which this may have b~.n.) For the was in the process of restoring some rt~ms Fditor's .,ake, note ~'as taken of a cvc- as an astronomical mu~um. Many of the to establish an internal museum for the astronomical instruments used in "the late ometer, or wavemeter, dt~.igned by Jt~hn scht,d, with the support of various of the Ambn~, Fleming and made bv Marconi at lath and the 19th centuries in Italy are now professors. Two large nn~ms were now assembled in these ha)ms. In the centre of Dalston. i.ondon, dated at 1016 (Fig.g). The ready, with a third na,m containing various c~,tometer con,.i..,t~, ot a cvlindrlcal con- the central hall we ~w a meridian circle, unrestored or incomplete items and some manufactured in 188q in the workshop of dt,n~.r, external spiral coil, and a tuning 'enigmas' on which the comments of the ,nditator. which on this example was a group were invited. Salmoiraghi (Fig.6). The objective has an (,e~,sler tube, now my,sing. The reading aperture of 201) mm and a focal length of ~,~a.,. obtalnt'd from a cur.~r on a linear scale Among many interesting instruments 3.48 m In the background there is another adiacent to the coil and conden~r a.,,semblv. round in the first two n,~ms were a large meridian circle, supplkxl by Ertel of Munich 1-hi,. i~ perhap., an lllu,.tration of preci.,,io'n electromagneticallv driven harmonic pen- in 1853, with an aperture of q2 mm and a apparatu~ being applied to wireless wht~,e dulum, designed by Augusto Righi, which focal length of !.51 m. earh, dexelopment was ~ empirical in drew out waveforms simply by dropping a Meridian circles were considered in the 19th 17,1 tu re trail of ~nd onto wet shellac. ()ther large century the most important instruments of items of interest include an artificial plaster ()ther interesting ek'ctncal apparatus m- an (~servatory. (h'iginating in the large eve of the late 1870s with a variable iris mural sectors of the lath century, then eluded a reproduction of the electro- diaphragm, a very fine heliostat by J. d~,namic machine made by Pacinotti developed by Ram~en, Care and Trought- Dub~v~cq on a substantial geared table'(for on (Olaf R(~mer's 'Rota meridiana' of 1704

Bulletin of the Scientific Instrument ~ciety No. 53 (1997) Fig.7 Black marbh' mirror teh'sc,,p,' by An~elo Lusuergh, c. 1835, Osservatorio Fig.8 Ertel transit telescope, made m 1868, Astronomica di Monte Porzio Catone. Osservatorio Astronomica di Monte Por- zio Catone. It has a split-lens micrometer. A fine repetition or Borda circle by Belier of Paris di'~tances of the same stars photographed of about 1806, represents the earlier circle half a year later without the sun. This is instruments, in front of it we saw an exactly as had been predicted by Einstein's astronomical camera with hmr objectives of Theory. of Relativity, a cort.sequenceof which of by gravity. Fig.6 M,'ridian circle by. 5a/m,,mz~hi ,!f about 1920. This is a transportable instru- m the deflecticm light ment for expeditions to study total solar Milan, Osservatorio Astronomica di echpses. During the few minutes of totality, Another instrument of special interest was Monte Porzio Catone. the eclipsed sun and its surrounding aura the transit telescope made by Ertel in 1868 with the brightest stars were photographed. which was used to determine the base lines was exemplary), it became in the work- for the survey of Italy (Fig.8).It was used as Half a year later the same stars were a zenith telescope with an artificial mercury shops of Reichenbach in Munich and photographed with the same camera, but Re]~sold in Hamburg the leading astronom- ]'mrizon in order to observe the transit of now at night. When the plates were stars free of atmospheric refraction. In other ical instrument of highest precision. Mea- compared by means of precision measure- surements of an arc second became rooms were found many astronomical ments, it was found that the angular standard on quiet and clear nights. With instruments, such as spectrometers and an such wonderful instruments, later also distances of the stars photographed during objective prism by Merz of Mtmich used produced by Ertel, Pistor and Martin, and the eclipse, wh(~e light passed near the sun, with the previously mentioned Cauchoix others, in connection with high precision were slightly greater than the angular equitorial telescope. Special menti¢m should clocks, the complicated movement of the be made of the wonderful Beniamin Martin earth-m(xm system, the fundamental con- orrery dating from between 1760 and 1770. stants of our planetary system and the self- Its sun, moon and planets are kept in a movement o~ stars and starclusters have wooclen box in an exhibiti(m case in another been determined. room. Nineteenth century, astronometric measure- In the real meaning of the word, a unique ments are an important foundation stone in object is the 'Meteort~raph' constructed in the building of our modern astrophysics. 1866 by E. Bra,~rt of Rome (Fig.9). ]his is The beginning of astrophysical research an automatic registering meteondogical dates from the second half of the 19th station for: (1) air pressure, (2) temperature, century. An interesting example is the (3) direction and (4) velocity of the wind, (5) equatorial telescope, near the entrance, rain quantity and (0) dural~(m. Bra.~rt had manufactured in 1885 by Cauchoix of Pans. planned to manufacture several, but the With this Uxstrument Ft. Secchi measured price of this sophisticated device was ~ the spectra of bright stars and comets. exhorbitant that the interested person with- drew his patronage (see Bulletin, No.~. More of a curiosity than an instrument of p.12). serious scientific use is a reflecting telescope by Angelo Lusuergh of about 1835, whose The oldest exhibits are four plates engraved main mirror is made of black marble for sun in about 103~ in black slate by the Jesuit observations (Fig.7). There are two possible Athanasius Kircher. They are itor the sun, eyepiece arrangements: (1) a sloping eve- ml~,n and the planets. partially for hor- piece as used by Herschel on his largest ological u~ ~with an a.~tn,logical/a.~tronom- telt.".~cope, and (2) an eyepiece mounted at ical meaning. They are certainly worthy ot with a 45 plane mirror, as prop~:l by serious historical study as pu[~lication~ on Newton. Marble is far from being a suitable this ty[~, of material an, unknown to me. material for precision telescope mirrors, but The original goal of a leading astronomical this instrument is neverthek~s an ingenious (~'~enato~' on the Monte I'orzio remains m attempt, and an example of the strange my mind ~'ithout doubt a Utopian dream diversions that have occurred in instrument M~.ich more meaningful and succe~,~tul is ,ts dL.,sign. use as a mu,~'um on the development of astronomical instruments in the Iqth cen- One of the older instruments is a reflecting Fig.9 A|,'t,',,r,,k'ral~tt ,!t t.. Hr,t,..art ,,/R,,mc. tury. telescope with metal mirror and wo(~en 1806, Osservatorio Astronomica di tube, probably made by Amici in M¢~lena. Monte Porzio Catone. Roll Wdh~ch

Bulletin of the Scientific Instrument ~ciety No. 53 (1~7) 27 Fig.ll D,' La Riz,,,'s a/,/,aratuslbr rcpn~,h,- crag the aurora borealis. 1880. 'La Sapien- za ', R,,me. Fig.12 Early a/,paratus ,m nuch,ar r,'- ~arch, "La Sapienza', Rome. temperature. The electrical machines were particularly impressive. A massive Nairne- interested to note that one of Fermi's style electrostatic generator with glass spectrometers was made by Adam Hil~;er cylinders was used for demonstration of London. On the way out we visited a purp~es until the 19.~s. There were also subsidiary display in the entrance to the a number of electrostatic machines on the Marconi Building, which included the block Wimshurst pattern, with glass disks, dating of paraffin wax used by Fermi to produce trom the second half of the nineteenth the slow neutrons essential for his experi- century. Other interesting pieces for the ments (Fig.12). Fig. lt~ .~.I,:H,I,'statue ,,f tu~, mu~: G,dth'o study t~f electricity included a galvanometer of about 1880 b~," Hartmann & Braun of n'/,rc.,~'ntmg .,a'ient'e and Milton who ~.t,as Gloria Cl~on Frankfurt, an ab.~dute electrometer to Sir mlKh l~lflU,'~lted ~1/ the new astr,,nomy in William Thom~n's design bv Elliott Broth- Musei • Gallerie Pontificie, Vatican City Paradi~ L,~t, 'La Sapienza', Rome. ers of [xmdon, acquired in about 18~4, and a millivoltmeter by the Weston Electrical The visit this afternoon to the Vatican Thursday, 6 March Instrument Co., wfiich was the first porta- Museum, the Apostolic Library and the ble device of that type. Other notable Sistine Chapel, was most d'ifficult to Museum of Physics, Department of Physics sections of the collection were hvdrt~static arrange, and needed a special letter written of the University "La $apienza" balances and acoustic instruments. After to the Papal Nuncio in l.x~ndon, asking for permission. (it was a miracle that it was The mornmg session was held in the the Vienna Conference of 1885 the Office for Standard Pitch was set up in Rome and granted at all, considering that the letter Lnlvers~tv Museum of I'hysics, which misspelt a vital word, which came out twice houses an important and tmpre~,,ive colk~c- housed at the Royal Physical Institution, hence the emphasis on acoustics in the as 'Cistern'). On the coach, just before we him of h~.,,toric physics apparatus, datmg arrived, Paolo Brenni had commented on from the etghteenth to the twentieth collection. Be~ides tuning forks and acoustic boxes, the instruments include Helmholtz the condition of the Library. Until five years centunc~. We were welcomed bv l'mfes.~r ago, the globes had been unprotected, and Maria (;razla lanniello, who gave us a brief and Koenig re~,nators for analysing sounds into their constituent frequencies. Another any passing tourist could reach out and h~stor~ ot the .Mum'urn It was established touch or spin them. After that, they were m 1~8 on the orders of Pope Plus IX, as area of research in Rome which is reflected in the surviving instruments was atmo- covered in glass cases. Three years ago, he part of the L*nixer.,,itv of Rome 'La and Signora Mara Miniati (the Curator of .'~ptenza'. a name derived lrom the motto spheric physics. The Museum ha~ a rare example of De La Rive's apparatus for the Science Museum at Florence) wrote a above the d~r, lmttum .~ll,tt,ntta¢ hm,,r ioint letter to the Vatican Library, pointing Dommt ('Fear of God is the beginning of repri~iucing the aurora borealis, built in 1880 (Figll). It was al.~, usecl to study the out that '...the globes, if left b~; windows ~...l~|om'). The Museum was intended to and .~ exl~Ysed to eight hours each day of pro~ tde public expenmental lectures. Atter effects of magnetic variation on telegraph wires, because it generates a magnetic field Roman sunshine, would not be in go~l the un,ficahon of Italy in 1870 a Royal condition for long..' I'h~ ,,teal lre,t~tution was ~'t up under Pi~;tro analogous to that of the earth. Bla~,rna. A new bu,ldmg was constructed With th~.~e words in mind, and putting on a m the Via I'anzsperna and the ,~ent=fic Many of the items on display on the lower brave smile, we mustert~ at a side entrance mater~al of the Unp, ers~tv Cabinet of fl¢,~r of the Museum date fr~,m the heyday and were inspected by the Swiss Guards. I'hx,qo, ~as transferred there in ll'k~l. All of the Royal Phvsical Institution in the We were met in the Lib'rare by our h(~t, The the m,,trument,~ and apparatus which were lq2tk and 19~)s, ~'hen the 'Via Panisperna Ml~t Reverend Father Letmard Boyle, O.P., not ne~xh'd for re,,earch were arranged oll Group' under Enrico Fermi (1901-19541 who turned out to be a genial Irishman, still the ground fl~a~r a~ a museum in 1q78 the were at the forefront of research on nuclear with a broad hint of brogue, although he nlu,~t,um i,~,,1~ tran-,terred to the new physics. We were introduced to the di.~plavs had h'en there since 1955. The Library, first bufldmg~ ot the Lnixer~=tv Department of in this area by two final-year physics constructed in IF~42, had painted ceilings I'hx,qo, (Fig 101 .~tudents, Cristi'na Marchetti and Marco and walls that had taken 104 artists thirteen Punta. Cristina, who spoke excellent Eng- months to complete. The globes were (he exh=btt~, art' arranged on hvo flt~. lish, gave us a most interesting and well- ~ =th the older material on the upper flt~r. ~itioned in the bav windows down a reformed summa~, of the work of Fermi long gallery, and in smaller cabinets were Man~ ttem~, came from the Lmxers|tv's and his collah~ratt')rs. She had an enviabh, Gat,mctto Phu,t¢o and date trom the late armillary sphert,,s. We noted two gk4~e- knack of explaining concepts and experi- pairs by Mathams Greuter, diameter 460 ctghttx,nth and nmettx,nth centuries. ~me ments in a way which non-phvsicist~ could ot the delnonstratlon pieces v~ert, OFt a ram, dated Rome 1~36, and two large pairs understand; it" was even mofiL, impressive by Willem Jan.,a~m Bk.au, of 1620, one pair grand ~,cale l-here ~a~, an Atwood's that she could do this in a foreign language. mathlne, U~.| tO mea,,ure the ettects of mounted in unsual stands which incopo- The displays traced the development of rated turned ivory and wt~ colurnns. A grax ~t'. on motion, and a pendulum ckwk of Fermi's exF~,riments' using .~me of his 1~1 "r, u,,,'d tor hming such experiment,,, original apparatus, and photographs, ar- Farne,~, astronomical clock dated 1725 ~s tth a bm~etallic ~'ndulum of iron and chive film incorporated into a vidtn~, and drew attention, and ~ did a set of five armillaril~, each fi~r different naked-eye bra,,,, to counteract the etfects of changes in explanatory diagrams. !!ngli~h visitors were planets, probably late I(~th or early 17th

Bulletin ot the ~lenhtic Instrument ,'~cietv No. 53 (ittqT) charge of the physics section from the previous year. In 1938 Fermi was awarded the Nobe/Prize for Physics. Our Chairman, Howard Dawes, then gave a 15-minute paper on the life and work of Fermi. it is .said, he began, that Italy has only three great scientists - Galileo, Volta, and Fermi. i~,rn in 1901, Fermi became I~,th an experimental and a theoretical physicist: as a young man of 17, his competition essay for entry to the Scuola Normale Superiore Fig.13 /Dmtllart/ sf,ln'rc~ .for na/~cd-cu,' at Pisa, "On the Characteristics of Sound', planets, Vatican Library. set out the partial differential equation of a vibrating rod, solved by Fourier analysis century (Fig.13). These were .300 mm height which found the eigenvalues and eigen- overall, and 200 mm diameter. A large frequencies. The Examiner considered the celestial globe, recenth, restored to bright paper g~,~d enough for a Ek~ctorate. He colours, was mountetJ on a can'ed gilt- then studied at G6ttingen, under Max I~rn, w~K~d stand. After about 40 minutes, and and amongst his fellows were Wolfgang hav|ng taken our photographs, the usher Pauli and Werner Hei~nberg. He was ck ~ed the shutters and cut down the light appointed professor of theoretical physics on the gl&~.s. at the University of Rome in 1926, and three years later Mu.~solini appointed him to the Fig. 14 l'r,'~,',t,ithm t,~ /',w/,, Hr,'~ml t,~/ By this time the Sistine Chapel was closed, Accademia Italia. Stuart Talh,t with applau~ from Chairman but Father Boyle showed us the Reading R¢a,m on a lower floor. The library has one This year is the one hundreth anniversary Hou,ard Dawes. lstituto Enciclopeadia and a half million printed books, of which of the 'discovery' of the first sub-atomic ltaliana, Rome. seventy-five thousand volumes are avail- particle, the electron, by J.J Thomson. able at once to 140 readers that arrive each Thomson showed that what were called con.~truction of the world's first self- day, and these are only graduates and 'cath,~e rays' at the time behaved as sustaining but controlled nuclear pile. above. He has a staff of 85, which includes charged particles, with a mass much less Thereafter he worked for the Manhattan ten restorers. He finally showed us out into than of an atom. To understand these, Proiect, returning at the end of the War to a sunlit terrace, pointing out the 'Tower of something beyond the hitherto-accepted Chicago University as a professor, where the Winds' where the Gregorian Calendar laws of Newtonian physics was required. he died still relati~,'ely young, in 1954. was devised in 1582. "And behind that wall Their existence could "only be indirectly over there', he concluded, '...Ls the bar, observed by their trails left in a Wil.,~m The final paper was offered by Professor where they even serve Guinness.' A cloud chamber. The work of Max Planck a Luigi Campanella, who spoke for 20 delegate asked, 'Was that anything to do few years later showed that the energy of minutes on the relationship between thts, ry with you, sir?', and the answer was a such particles was limited by a nes,' and expenment. He referred to the earls' twinkle in his eye. i did not need to write constant, named after him; and then Greek philosophers, and how the teaching down one of his comments, it just went Einstein in his fundamental paper of 1905 of science was divided and then re-divided straight into my head and will stay there for defined the relationship between mass and from the Renaissance onwards until there a long time: '.~.The memory of gixtus Vth energy: E=mc: gave the limiting velocity. were, eventually, no less than 120 sub- divlsitms. [who was Pontiff for only five years, 1585- In 1933 Fermi and his small team began 90] is damned by the awful architecture he research into nuclear physics, a new topic ordered.' A delightful gentleman - the priest The business of the evening concluded; for Italian science. Until then, experimental our hosts offered us Italian champagne 1 mean, not the Pope - who made the physics in Rome had been dominated by affern¢am memorable. and the opportunity to mingle and talk atomic spectrt~.~copy studies, and we had with them. During the conversations we Evening at the lstituto dell'Enciciopedia seen the equipment Fermi had used earlier were suddenly aware that one of our ltaliana in the day. His majorpaper, a masterpiece delegates, Dr Ronald Smeltzer, Ls a keen on the theory of beta decay, was published historian of earls, nuclear physics, and At 1700 hours this evening the coach the same year: using Pauli's proposed owns a now-rare" recording made on two dropped us off near the monument to King article, soon called the 'neutrino' (Italian king-playing vinyl records shortly after Victor Emmanuel II, an enormous white ror 'small, neutral one'), he discovered the Ferret's death, as a tribute to him:'among marble edifice that I had already heard one weak interaction known as "Ferret's con- the conmbutors are heard the voices of his local refer to as 'the wedding cake'. We stant'. Later that year they turned to a wife Laura and many of his former made our way on foot through the old new subject. Using a neutron source to colleagues in Italy and America Profes,sor quarter to the lstituto dell'Enciclopedia induce artificial radioactivity, in the au- Campanella knew of the recording, but italiana, where a joint meeting, our Society tumn of 19.34 he found that the introcluc- had never seen or heard it. Thanlc~ to our and the Institute, was to he held. Our host, tion of a block of hydrogenous material Society, and particularly to Dr Smeltzer, Professor Cappelletti, a tall and elegant such as paraffin wax, placed between the the professor will shortly receive a tape of figure, opened the proceedings with an source and the target, had the effect of it, together with phot~-t;pies of all sides of address of welcome and spoke for 25 ~a~it ing up the reaction, and he realized the record covers. The album is called 'To minutes, around and about his istituto, its it was the hydrogen atoms that Fermi, With lxwe'. origins and functions. After a full day, we slowed down the neutrons, allowing them needed to pay careful attention to his more time to he 'captured' by a nucleus. Finally we reag~mbled in the lecture hall words. Speaking in English, which he Irradiation of uranium su~ggested the to hear our Chairman thank Paolo Brenni considered fitting for the meeting, since ibili.ty of trans-uranium elements. His for all the hard work he had put in to the international common language of I Prize of 1938 allowed him and his make our visit so successtul Stewart scholars in Ancient Rome was Greek, he family to leave Italy at a dangerous time - Talbot (Fig.14) presented him, on our explained that the lstituto, founded in 19Zg, his wife, Laura, was the daughter of an behalf, with a copy of the recently published the Encyclopedia of Physical Admiral in the Italian Navy, who also published book by Will Andrewes, Tl~e Sciences. While this was an official Govern- happened to he Jewish - and accept an Quest For Longitude. which had been ment-recognized publication, it was still appointment at Columbia UniversiO,, in (hastily) signed by all delegates. Paolo independent from Government control. the United States. The prize money'was thanked us. but regretted that he could n(~ Marconi was appointed President of the paid to him there. In 1942 at Chicago attend the Dinner the next evening as he Encyclopedia in 1933, with Enrico Fermi in University he designed and supervised the was obliged to return to his family home

Bulletin of the Scientific Instrument Society No. 53 (1997) 29 in Paris. After d~.'served applaud, the meeting broke up. Nine ot us strolled back to a trattoria near the Piazza Navona, where we dined and carefully inspected the bottom of wine glasscs.

Arthur Mi,hth'ton

Friday, 7 March

Ossa,rvatorio Astronomico di Monte Mario

After wending our way through Rome Fig. 15 .~nt~quc tch',,~7,c, tk~crxator,, and up the famous Hills of Rome we came Astronomico di Monte Mario, Rome. to the historic Villa Mellini which houses the nn~st important historical collection The k~urth n~m featuring astrolabes in- consisting of the remains of the Obscn'a- cluding a very early Moorish example bv tories and the CoHegio Romano that were 'lbn .c~aidal-lbr,ihim;, dating from 10~, was gathered tt~ether on this splendid site remarkable. Jacques van Damme was with beautiful vistas over the Eternal City. intrigued by a simple hanging theodolite We were welcomed by the Director, circle of 18() mm (7 in.) diameter whose Mannella Calisi, who reminded us of the signature we managed to decipher as awful thefts that occurred from the 'Phillipa Zangra 16~)2'. Gerard Turner paid Muscum in Mav 1~84. and were subse- particular attention to the Muscum's fa- quently outlined" in detail by the Societv's mous 12 in. (~ ram) 14th century Albion Honorary Member Silvio "A. Bedini "in bv Richard of Walllngford, which is Bulh.tm, No. c/, pp. 5-7. Fortunately about brilliantly gdded and a tribute to provincial ~)",, of 100 or so instruments ha,~'e since mathematical endeavour in medieval Eng- been recovered: some were still under land. A large 17th centun,' torquetum is a legal iun.,~.iiction and hence had m~t vet complex fusion of got~metl"y. been returned to the displays. The Mu- seum was dedicated in 1873 ~n the fourth The fifth n~)m features one of the most centenary of the birth of Nicolaus Coper- important collections of old globes and nicus, and the vestibule and in the First armillary spheres in Europe. Three original Fig.16 Cdcshal sl,hen' mounted on a lift'- R~,m there are many intriguing busts and globes by Gerard Mercator: the 1541 size blackamoor, Os~rvatorio Astronomico commemorative relics. The library contains terrestrial'of 180 mm diameter of which di Monte Mario, Rome. a splendid first edition of Copernicus" there are two copies, and a fine 1551 180 landmark De re~,lutionibus orbium awl,~- mm diameter cek~tial gk~he in a crude hum, published in !.~3. stand. Two celestial gh~x~s by Mattheus Al~tolic Nuncio in Lmldon; Dr Francesco Greuter and a rare Amsterdam terrestrial Buraneili, Acting Director General of the gl,~e of 1589 by l. & A. Florent. A Musci e Gallerie Pontificie, Vatican City; 1he ~cond n~.~m fea~lres the development and the Most Reverend Leonard E. Boyle, of optical in.,~truments - a most imlmwtant manu~ript armill'arv sphere dated 1805 by Luigi Cervellafi i~f I~flogna; another by O.P., Prefect of the Vatican Apostolic glazed cabinet of 'antichi cannocchiali ° Library,, Vatican CiW. Thanks are also due (Fig.15) dating 16~] and 1800 Matteo Viani of Venice of c. 1770. A between to Sr. Maurizio Serra, Italian Embassy, many of which de~rve ~rious optical superb celestial globe of 1792 by Cassini of Rome, with a fine large matched pair London; and Trevor Waterman and his appraisal and historical placement. A fine secretary Nicky Reed for their assistance. sclection of Gregorian reflecting telescopes by Cary of I_ondon, dated 179~. An extremely rare terrestrial globe by Nicho- by makers such as Navarre of Paris and For my part I take this opportunity to thank las Bion "of Paris of c. 1720 mounted in a Watkins of [~ndon were totally outclasscd all the Italian museum directors and by a ~em rare lt': in. portabh: Newtonian four-square brass cradle perched on the officials, who were most gracious in every shoulder of a detailed kneeling male nude p~ket tek~col.~ of p~,.,,ibk' English or .re.stance in giving access to their unique and French origin of c. 17.30 and illustrated on bronze. Vincenzo Coronelli was repre- historic collections. My personal thanks to sented with a fine 1~,~ terrestrial gl(~oe the right hand of the trio of pocket Sr. Diego Urbani in Rome for his most of 180 mm diameter mounted on a single teh',,copes on the cover of the 1991 generous a~istance to the Chairman and ebomscd pillar and plinth, and a stunning catalogue of the collection bv Dott.s,,,,a mysclf during our reconnaissance visit, and Calisi A fine Herschel telescope is exhibited mm diameter celestial gk~e mounted to Silvio A. Bedini in Washington DC for his with a m(~,t unusual fine motion micro- on the shoulders of a lifesize blackamoor valuable recommendations. meter Newtonian eyepiece which is in good figure in carnival attire dated 1696 state A large mural quadrant and .,~,me (Fig.16). The terrestrial pair is houscd in The ~ciety's Grand Tour of Rome was a spt~'tacular large th~.s~dolites by Reichen- the Biblioteca Nationale in central Rome. dream come to life and this most memor- bach and Ertel .,,urroundt~ the l~arl of the This Coronelli figure impressed Colin able week was made possible by the collection for me - a box-mounted Gregor- Gross greatly as the decorative gilding magnificent efforts of Paolo Brenni who ian 2t~ in. (65 mm) reflector by Domenico and colouring was in magnificent original condition. was pn.~sented with a copy of the The Quest .'~,lva of Venice made in c. 1770. Ex(eptional for la,n,¢itude. 'Grazie miL'Paolo!' wa~ a large hexagonal 5 metre four-draw The sixth n~m features a very early in. (150 mint pinew~,~d telescope dating Stuart Talbot trom 1~33 by Eu,,tacchio Davini with which standing ~)0 mm diameter burning glass he drew the Nh,~n, .':,alum and Jupiter. on a tnp~ of c. 1700 and a ,selection of fine Acknowledgements early editions. Coffee on the spectacular 1-he third nn~m features ~me fine levels terrace care 200 metres away from the Villa Arthur Middlekm would like to acknowl- MeHini was enhanced by the sublime edge the advice offered, during the pre- and ahdates with a quite outstanding Rado weather. latmo enca~,ed within a cut-steel decorated paration of this article, by Dr RonaldK. Smeltzer. The fl,llowing illustrations have .,~abbard A few micn~,cope~ were led by a In conclusion, a special w~te of thanks for very large Chevalier-type horizontal achro- lx,en supplied by Ron Bristow: Figs 2, 3, 5, arranging the private view of the Apolostic by Arthur Mic[dleton: Figs 1, 8, 9, 11, matic compound micn~cope mounted on Library must go to the following: His Its cabinet, made by Loisseau. 12,13,15, 16, and by Stuart Talbot: Figs 4, Excell~'ncy Archbishop Luigi Barbarito, the 6, 7, 10, and 14.

30 Bulletin of the %'ientific Instrument Society No. 53 (1997) Leviathan Reborn The author traces the background to Ireland's most impressive historic scientific instrument, now magnificently restored Charles Mollan

built the Leviathan of Par.,~mshmm in the invented the steam turbine engine, which 1840s (Fig.2). revolutionised marine transport and also, incidentally, the generation of electrici~. Monster But that is a story for another day.

The Leviathan was a legendary sea Leviathan can also figuratively refer to a monster, mentioned in Hebrew poetry. man of great power and wealth. As an It is a fitting nickname for the Earl's aristocrat and well-connected politician, creation. Although Parsonstown - the old he had the power, and he married the name for Birr - is, by Irish standards, very wealth. William Parsons, who was far from the sea (though you can't go far known as Lord Oxmantown before he in any part of Ireland without falling off), succeeded to the higher title on the death the nautical reference is apt. William of the Second Earl in 1841, married Parsons had a particular interest in Yorkshire woman Mary Field in 1836. shipping. He owned a series of yachts, He had already been experimenting with in which the family sailed to Europe, and telescopes, but his wife's money really he had advocated to the British war effort enabled him to go to town on the proiect. the use of ram-clad ships some time Leviathan is reputed to have cost £20,000, before they were introduced (by the a truly astronomical sum at the time, French!). Speaking as President of the spent in pursuit of his astronomical Mechanical Science Section of the British research. In passing, it can he noted that Association at its meeting in 1857, he Mary, Countess of Rosse, was a pioneer declared: photographer, of great artistic talent, whose photographs of the telescope have Of this however, there could have been no been essential tools in its restoration Fig. l Wilham Pars,ms, Third Larl o.! doubt, that a certain thickness of wrought (Figs 2 and 3). Ros~, builder of Leviathan, in his robes as iron would have resisted the heaviest Chancellor of the University of Dublin ordnance then m use; that the sea could Why Telescopes? (courtesy of Trinity College Dublin). have carried the weight; and that no stone walls could have long resisted the close fire Why did William go into telescopes? of large guns.' (With a tube diameter of up to eight feet, The bogs of central Ireland would not be he could literally go into his Leviathan the obvious first choice as a site for More important, William was the father with his top hat on!) There seem to be building and operating what was the of Sir Charles Parsons (1854-1931), the two distinct reasons. World's largest telescope for over 70 famous engineer. Although generally years. But it was in Birr, Co. Offal),, right claimed as theirs by a neighbouring race, The firsthas nothing to do with astron- in the middle of Ireland, where cloudless the Parsons family has been in Ireland omy. William Parsons was primarily an conditions are welcome exceptions rather since 1620, and Charles received his engineer, not an astronomer. Indeed, as a than the rule, that William Parsons schooling and early engineering training potentially brilliant entrepreneur he (Fig.l), Third Earl of Rosse (1800-1867), in his father's workshops at Birr. Charles could easily have made a formr~ from

Fig.2 Photograph of Leviathan in about 1862 by. Mary, Countess Fig.3 t;rou F l,hoto.vr,ll,h t,u Alnru. t_ountcs~, of R,~..,'. ,lb,,ut 15.-~,g of Ros~, wife of William Parsons (reproduced by David Darien). A Miss Knox is h~kmg after three of Wdliam~ bn,thers. Ch're. Randal, and the iitth" fu:zy one, later to be the lamous engineer Charles Parsons (reproduced by. David Davisonk

Bulletinof the ScientificInstrument Society. No. 53 (1997) 31 his engineering ability. Instead he pre- spent the rest of his life. He died, though, Herschel's son, John, wrote in 1860: ferred to spend a fortune on research. His with the secrets of his mirror-making father, the Second Earl, was distrustfulof largely undisclosed. William Parsons The advantages offened by this corumructi~ in and schools general, boarding schools noted: [a glass as opl~)sed to a metal mirror] am in particular, so he educated his children immense, in ~, first place, glass, weight for at home in Birr. (William later followed weight, is incomparably stiffer than metal; this example with his own children.) Had Since Sir W. Herschel's time, no unprove- so that a glass speculum, to be equally William Parsons proceeded to Eton or ment that I am aware 04 has been made in strong to resistchange 04 figureby flexure, wherever, as would have been the norm any part of the process 04 making specula of need weigh only one-fourth 04 a metallic telescopes; none 04 the difficulties which he for the sons of his class, it is likely that his one. Secondly, a glass disc of six or eight k,~ stated as existing have since been sur- attraction to manual pursuits would have in diameter may be ca~, annealed, and n~unted; and none of the defects which wrought with infinitelyless labour, hazard, been beaten out of him. Getting dirty his skill had not removed, have since hands was not for the well bred. and cost than one of speculum metal. yielded to the dexterity, and perseverance Thirdly, supposing a slighttarnish to arise 04 others? from sulphuratien, the reproduction 04 the The Parsons family had a long engineer- polLsh is the work 04 a few minutes, and is ing tradition. An" ancestor, Sir William performed injuring Here was a challenge he could not resist: without any chance 04 Parsons, had sent up from Birr to the the figure. Even if irretrievablyspoilt, the Dublin Society. in 17.M a 'terrior', an silver coating may be instantly removed, instrument to pull up small trees by the The examination of the heavens cinnmenced and a fresh one laid on at a comparatively roots. He had also presented his 'scoop with the late Sir William Herschel, and, trifling cost, the parabolic figure once given spade' designed 'to throw up strong prosecuted by him with such success, still to the glass being indestructible. Fourtldy and lastly, the reflective power 04 pure roots of wild parsnips and other weeds', continues.New factsare recorded;and there can be httledoubt but that discoverieswill silver...is to that 04 the best speculum alloy, his 'biangular harrow' and a 'drew foot' as 91 to 67. 4 (whatever that was). Another attraction multiply in pn~wtion as the telescopemay on the demesne is what is believed to be be improved. It is perhaps not too much to expect, that the time is not far distant when However, advised by colleagues such as the first iron suspension bridge built in data will be collected sufficient to afford us Thomas Romney Robinson, Director of Ireland, and the family also erected an some insight into the cimstructionof the Armagh Observatory, and Thomas early overshot water wheel. Engineering material universe.~ was in the Parsons blood. Grubb, the Dublin telescope maker, Parsons opted for metal. If Lord Oxmantown made bigger and After his education at home, Lord Metal Alloys Oxmantown went up to Trinity College better telescopes, he could perhaps dis- Dublin, and transferred from" there to cover the nature of the universe, and Magdalen College Oxford, where he would win a reputation as one of the all- He experimented with differentalloys of graduated with a first-class honours time giants of science. It didn't quite copper and tin and determined the best degree in mathematics in 1822. He then happen that way, but that was the fault of mix for high reflectivity - four equiva- went into politics, being elected four the universe, not of William Parsons. lents of copper to one of tin,or by weight times to represent the King's County And he did become President of the 32 parts copper to 14.7 tin. The highly (now Co. Offaly) at Westminster between Royal Society (from 1848-1854), was reflective alloy was called speculum 1823 and 187,4. conferred with the IllustriousOrder of metal for the very reason that it was St Patrick by Queen Victoria, and used to make specula or mirrors. But the Travelling from Birr to London was no received many other honours in between. problem with speculum metal possessing mean achievement in th(~e days. it took It wasn't too bad a bag. 'in the highest attainable degree the eight hours to get to Dublin, before even qualities of whiteness, brilliancy, and resistance to tarnish' was that it was embarking across the Irish sea. But it may So he set out on his telescope research in notoriously brittle.His attempts to make be that, on his journey to Lon&m, he 1827, resigning his seat at Westminster in large solid minors were, at first, un- noticed Sir William Her~hel's great 1834 to devote more time to his task. He telescope outside his home, near Slough. soon found out why no-one had im- successful - they always fractured on In any event, he was earh' attracted to proved on Herschel's work during all the cooling. So Parsons tried to make astronomy, for he joinecl the Royal intervening years. Making large mirrors segmented mirrors. In these he fused Astronomical Society in 1824. So here was ra)toriously difficult. sixteen plates of speculum metal onto a was the second influence which was to reinforced base made of a brass alloy direct his subsequent Lnu:teavours. (that is copper and zinc) of the same The Wrong Decision? coefficientof expansion as the speculum Herschel metal. He did succeed in making a fairly good 36 inch diameter mlrror by this In hindsight, he was right to go for large William Herschel (1738-1822) was a meth(~, but there were difficultieswith reflecting telescopes, rather than refract- soldenng the plates to the base, and with fa~inating character. He was born in ing ones, though he was arguably wnmg Hannover, now in Germany, and started joining the edges of the plates to one to go for metal mimers rather than glass. another. his professional life as an ~boe player in For refracting telescopes, optical glass of the band of the Hannovarian footguards. the required quality wasn't available, and He moved to England in 1757 and went While perfecting this technique, he con- then there was ai~ the difficult problem tinued experiments with cooling solid on to stud,,, musical theory, mathematics of chromatic aberration. Technology for mirrors. The problem was that the edges and finally astronomy. He'built reflecting making large glass mirrors wasn't avail- became solid first and this caused teh.'~copes with which he observed Ur- able either, though William Par.,~ms was stres,,~ as solidificati(m progr~ to- anus in 1781, the first planet to be capable of overcoming the problems. wards the centre. These stres~ were di.,~-overt~l since ancient times. He was Besides, metal mim,rs were more 'Brit- sufficient to shatter the brittle metal. then set up, for he obtained appointment ish'. Glass mirrors were for the French - William therefore set out to construct a as pnvate astronomer to King George i![, they were later developed by Leon moving to Slough in 1786, where he Foucault (1819-1868). mould whk-h would cool the metal from the base while keeping a uniform

32 Bulletin 04 the ~ntific Instrument S(ri~ No, 53 (1997) than he determined to put it to the test, and the nesult has been attended with clnnplete SUCOLa~$.7

The casting of the mirror required about 2200 cubic feet of tuff, but then peat wasn't hard to come by in Birr.

Thomas Ronmey Robinson observed the ,i dramatic scene: On this occasion, besides the engn~sing importance of the operathm, its singular and sublime beauty can never be forgotten by those who were so fortunate as to be present. Above, the sky, crowded with stars and illuminated by a nawt brilliant m~xm, seemed to kink down auspiciously on their work. Below, the furnaces poured out huge columns of nearly monochromatic yellow Fig.4 The machine~or grinding and polishing specula. Shaft A uws flame, and the ignited cruobles during their rotated by means of a home-made three-horse-poucr steam engine. passage through the air were fountains of Belts below the table of the lathe allou¢d this rotation to be transferred red hght, producing on the towers of the to other centres. One of these (the second from the right) rotated the castle and the foliage of the trees, such speculum casting (HI), which was held in a large txru,I of water to accidents of coiour and shade as might maintain a steady temperature. Suspended abcnw the mirror was a almost transport fancy m the planets of a u~aaclen disk M and six strings from this held the polishing tool fKL), contrasted double star. N(~ was the perfect which was circular and made of cast iron. The tool was grooz~ed so order and arrangement of every thing less striking: each possible contingency had been that clumps of polishing pouvler u~auld not build up, as these u~auld foreseen, each detail carefully rehearsed; reduce the accuracy of the figure. Eccentric cranks at B and G aihn~wd and the workmen executed their orders the tool to be moved ozwr the swface of the speculum in tu~ different with a silent and unernng obedience worthy directions, at right angles to each other, at different speeds, and its of the calm and provident self-possession in ua,ight on the speculum was adjusted by means of the countenveight which they were given." Q. By adjusting the lengths of the stn~kes imposed by, the eccentrics B and G, it u~aspossible to impart a figure to the speculum very close to The speculum was allowed to cool in a the needed parahdic shape. The u~oden di~ M, and thus the h~i, specially constructed annealing oven for was ai~ re~lved - about once~or ezwry.f~fteen turns of the speculum. sixteen weeks. temperature across the mould. He finally Dr Thomas Romney Robinson and Sir Unfortunately, the first speculum to be obtained sound castings, but they still James South travelled to Bin" to try out cast broke on the grinding machine. A weren't good era)ugh. The casts had air the two 36-inch mirrors, the segmented second was quickly made to replace it. Its bubbles trapped on the bottom (which and the solid, and found them both to be alloy content and surface weren't perfect would become the reflective surface of excellent. Robinson was ecstatic: but, after two month's grinding and the speculum), and this resulted in pock- polishing, a satisfactory mirror, weighing marking of the surface. The cavities were It is scarcely ~)ssible to preserve the four tons, was produced. The third difficult to grind out. necessary sobriety of language, in speaking attempt produced a mirror with a crack of the m~n's appearance with this instru- through the middle. The fourth fractured ment, which discovers a multitude of new into little pieces in the annealing oven. But the remedy immediately suggested obg~cts at every point of its surface. Am~mg Finally, the fifth attempt gave a perfect it,ll; by making the iron surface [i.e. the these may be named a mountainous tract casting, though its weight, at 3~ tons, b~ccttnn of the mould] pontus, so as to suffer near Ptolemy,every ridge of which is dotted the air to escape, in fact by forming it of was less than ideal. At last there were with extremely minute craters, and two two serviceable specula, so that one plates of iron placed vertically side by side, black parallel stripes in the I~ttom of the defect was alt(gether removed. ~ Aristarchus. ~ could be used while the other was being polished. Thus, the solid iron base, which he had William's future successful mirrors were The Steam Machine intngtuced to allow cooling ~m below, solid castings. And he did not stop with was replaced by strips of h(a~p-iron, set the 36-inch speculum. Having success- on edge. The gaps were sufficient to let ful]y overcome the pn~blems of casting While all this was going on, experiments out the gases, but close enough to retain this, he determined to go further than were progressing with grinding and the metal. anyone else had gone. Using the same polishing the mirrors. In order to prevent methods, with necessary changes of spherical aberration, the mirnws had to detail because of the gigantic scale of be parabolic in figure, though the Using this method he cast, first, a 20-inch the work, he successfully cast a 72-inch problem was eased by giving the mirror mirror, and then a 36-inch. The latter was speculum on April 13, 1842. Thomas a long focal length (i.e. less curvature) in three and three quarter inches thick, and Dick wrote in 1846: proportion to its diameter. weighed thirteen hundredweight. Par- sons had trained and used local crafts- At that time it was considered bv some as The key to Rosse's successful technology men for this work. We can imagine their tittle short of a chimera to attempt the was ~e use of mechanical means for iubilation, and that of William, at this ctmstructkm of such a m~mstrous instru- grinding and polishing and, after a great dramatic success, which followed so ment; but the idea no s(~mer occurred to deal of experimentation, he devised a many difficulties. this ingenious and persevering nobleman stream-driven engine which gave repn~-

Bulletin of the Scientific Instrument Society No. 53 0997) 33 position ! .7.

position 2

Fig.5 l.t'~mth.m .;:,,,.:~:,~, ,i:, t~z~', ,,/'.,'~,'z~[~,'t~Lzt÷,,~m, lille t1~,'t1~;t, t,n the h,l, ot tire left Ii,t,td wall, is lust vtsibleL

ducible results, first to give a spherical was constraint~ in sideways movement position 3 figure, and then the needed parabolic by the walls. [his fact thai it could not retlecting surface (Fig.4). move much on either side of the North/ South line, technically known as the The ..,peculum had been cast to its 'Meridian', limited tht, use of the tele- approximate shape by the mould, and ~ope, allowing ob.~,rvations of an oblect was then ground and polished more to be made over a period of about an accurately to the required figure on the hour or less, before the rotation of the machine[The complex princess made urn, Earth moved it beyond view. But there at different stages, of rand, emery, rt~in, wasn't really any cl~oice. The mighh,, size pitch, rouge, spirits of turpentine, wheat of the instrument made massive supports flour, brown ~ap and ammonia! L.~sential, and the Third Earl had the engineering mnm to know that a tele- Fig.6 Diagrams of the system of u~'ic,hts Mounting Lex,iathan .~ope made to be more flexible in its and chains to allcm, Leviathan to attain movements would not have had the ,h~'rent elevations. '" ~,~,hile the mirror is the key element in a needed rigidity. In the event, his support refltx'ting tek--~-ope, a hmr ton monster structure was extremely succt_.'ssful with- made of brittle and ~mewhat flexible in its limits A system t~f weights, chains, really wanted to do was k) resolve the metal netxts special housing. It is the and guiding bars was used to move the fuzzy bits ob~rvt~ in the sky. mounting of the telescope which was and barrel (Fig.0L is such an awe-inspiring sight at Bin" Charles Messier (17~)-1817) had ~'~,- Castle. Three wotMen viewing bavs were needed sively searched for them unresolved in order to look into the Newtonian fi~cus obiects, or nebulae as they were called, [he speculum rested on a levered at the top of the tube to allow fi~r and Herschel carried out a systematic ~,upport, a system intn~uced by Thomas different elevations of the tube, one in survey of the heavens looking for them, (,rubb. ~ that its weight v,'ould be front (which could sink into a hollow in cataloguing no fewer than 2~)8 objects distributed on 81 supl~rts acnv~s its back the ground), one cantilevered at the top by 1802. A major unresolved question, ~urface to prevent flexure and fracture. of one of the walls, and a third following his listing and attempted 1-be sUpl~wt was held in a box above a cantileverecl on the wall behind this one classification, was whether the objects mighty cast iron universal joint. Beyond (Fig.5). were truly nebulous, or whether some or the sl~.~ulum box was the 57 ft~tlong all of ti{em were in fact clusters of tube, .qightly tailoring from the centre to The resulting instrument was cumber- dimrete stars, too far away and t(m close the end,,, and up to eight feet in diameter. m~me, and required a team of assistants together to be resolved by the instru- It was made of t~lk strips, bound with to move it, although fine movements ments then available. iron rings, and looked like a giant could be carried out bv the obse~'er. The elongatt~J whiskey barrel. Mighty ma- object to be viewed was located in a low Addressing this question was a chief ~mrv walls were ~,uilt, i.~intlng North/ power eyepiece, and then a higher one - incentive to the Third Earl in building ~ut'h on either ~,lde, 70 feet hmg, ~ feet which was held on the same sliding bar his bigger and better telescopes. Had he high, and 24 feet apart (Figs 2 and 5). As as the other - was moved into place. well as gi~ing redid support for the been able to demonstrate that all the so- tele,.cope, the~, shielded it from the Fuzzy Bi~ called nebulae were in fact star aggre- wind, which could otherwise have gates, this would have been a very cau.,,txt the tube to shake, leading to dramatic achievement indeed. His earlier .~ what did they hmk at with their three tinct telescope had resolved some of wobbb.' images. [he tube could move massive new tele.~ope, which had a the nebulae, but could not resolve others. tn~m I~orizontal to vertical and beyond greater light grasp than anything made So the first task, when he had his Leviathan between tht~-,e walls and, though only to before? [hey It~ked, of course, at the in working order, was to look again at a hmttt~ extent, fn~m side to side, as it Mt~n and ihe Planets. But what they .~me of Mt .'ssier's and Herschel's nebulae.

M Bull, tin of the .Scientific Instrument Society No. 53 0997) Thomas Rornney Robinsm, after using In 1878, the Fourth Earl addr "~ the Leviathan for a short time, was his usual issue: over-optimistic self, and he concluded

i TM immediately (and prematurely) that they Unlike the ca~ of a rekactmg t~bsct~e, of were all resolvable: the performance of which a competent judge may be able to gwe an opinion of He [called] attention to the fact that no permanent value, the reflector of this war REAL nebula seemed m exist anaong so may be as to defining power practically a many of these ob~ chosen without any totally different instrument kmn what it bias: all appeared to be clusters of stars, and may be in the next. The large speculum of

every additional one which shall be re- . d. the 6-|ont has, with one exception, been solved will be an additional argument repolished at bast in every second year, against the existence of any such_..A nebula, Fig.7 The "Whirlpool Nebula' - Messier 51 generally every year, and at first, when great at least in the generality of cases, is nothing - drawn at Birr as seen throu¢h Leviathan. efforts were being made to push its power i more than a cluster of discrete mrs," to the utmost, and to improve the prt~,ss of This was the first spiral nebula to be .1 disc,ncred - in Sprin¢ 1845. polishing, much oftener. Every time the The Third Earl was more circumspect: speculum is removed from the tube and rep~dished, the old figure, whether it be g~xxt or is lost in the process, and a ? ...we that one Earl, and later his son Lawrence, Fourth bad, can scarcelysay any d:~,cthas new one formed, whose merits in no way ?: been examined under a combination of Earl, with their assistants, examined all the bright nebulae which were far depend on those of the last, and the h favourabb circumstances:still it is not now telescope, though in mechanism the same, enough north in the sky to be seen from probable that with the present instrument is optically speaking a new one. It would be any remarkable additi~ms will be made to Birr. The results were published in two exceedingly difficult to give an estimate of the details of nebulae already carefully major papers, one of them by the Third Its qualities in various seasons, and in the 1 sketched, except in very favourahle states Earl in the Phih~phical Transactionsof the great ma~mty of cases the value of an of the atmosphere. Occasionally the air is so Royal Socie~. in 1861, which takes up 64 obse~ation has been lmnited by bad atnm,- transparent and so steady, that magnifying pages in its reprinted form, '2 and the spheric conditions rather than by imperfec- power may be pushed very far; and then, tions of the instrument.. It is not, therefore, 1 perhaps, something new comes out. Such other by the Fourth Earl in the Scientific Tran~cti,ms of the R,~al Dublin S,x'iety of surprising that conflicting unptessions as to opportunities, however, are rare...TM 1879, which occupies a remarkable 178 the performance of the six-foot reflector pages." standd have been formed by persons who There is disappointment here. The pro- had, on one occasion only, an opportunity of blem of resolvability of the nebulae was k~king through the instrument. '~ more intractable than had been antici- Assessing Leviathan pated. While Leviathan did resolve stone Leviathan was large and difficult to 'nebulae', what had happened was that it operate, as it did not have an equatorial Although everyone must surely have had just put the question further out into mount. The weather conditions at Birr appreciated the amazing achievement of space. The ambition to sweep the were constantly unsuitable for viewing, building such a mighty instrument and heavens for more nebulae had given the mirror varied in its quality, it could getting it to work, there were different way to the investigation of those already flex, dew up, and tarnish. But it was not opinions about how go(~ it actually was discovered, and even this was dogged by only an engineering achievement of for astronomical observing. Views ran- conditions: gigantic proportions, it is clear that it ged from the ecstatic to di~ain. Our was, in the right circumstances, a fine friend Thomas Dick clearly belonged to ...in our climate, where there is so much astronomical telescope. George Johr~tone the former camp: cloudy weather, a year's work, measured by Stoney gave what seems to be a dis- the number of hours when nebulae can be passionate opinion in 1878: effectively observed, is not considerable.... This telesc,~e, the largest and most magni- In our ever-varying climate, when we ficent that ever was attempted, reflects the l would say that al~ut two out of three employ high powers and large apertures, greatest hmmur on the genius, the inventive mirrors [i.e. reTa~lishings - there were truly vision is impeded more or less by the powers, and the scientific acquirements of two actual specula] were go~ working unsteadiness of the air; it is impeded also its noble contriver....C~nnpared with it, the mimes, and that one out of three would by haze; and in both respects the condition working telescopes of Sir William Herschel, bear any test that could be applied By a of the air varies immensely from night to which in his hands conferred on astn~m~mv grand working mimer ! mean one in wfiich night, and from hour to hourY such inestimable service, and on himseJf the instrumental defects fell very much astronomical imnu~rtality, wen. but play- below those ansing fnnn the state of the Spiral Nebulae things..~ atmosphere on an average working night.

But if he failed in his initialambition, his But Frenchman Ldon Foucault had a The test usually applied was the perfor- mance of the mirror tm a star of the 8th, 8%, Leviathan did achieve useful results. The different opinion: most striking of these emerged early, in or 9th magnitude under a power of 7~. the Spring of 1845. He studied Messier Such stars are bright in the great tele,x-ope. They are usually seen as halls of light, like 51, and di~overed that it had a spiral Le tebscope de Lord R(~e est un blague)~ [h)rd Ros,~'s telescope is a ~ke.I small peas. vk~lentlyboiling in ctm,,~Xluence structure (Fig.7). M.51 lies in the small of atmospheric disturbance. If the night is constellation of Canes Venatici (the gt~d there will be nmments now and then Hunting Dogs), not far from Alkaid in Granted, the latter quote comes from the when the atmospheric disturbance will the tail of the Great Bear. The next famous French scientist who felt that his abruptly seem to cea~ for a traction of a Spring, Messier 99 was also found to be work ~m sik'ered glass mirrors was being secured, and the star is seen |or an instantas spiral in structure. It lies in the constella- ignored by 'English' scientists like the tebsct~e really pre,x~ts it. It is by the tion Coma Bernices (Berenice's Hair). By Robinson, Grubb, and R(r-~se(all actually appearance of such moments that the 1850, fourteen such nebulae (most of Irish!). (As it turned out, Foucault had lx'rformance of the telescope must be judged. With the best of your father's these now known to be distant galaxies) made the better choice.) But the different mirrors that I saw, the appearance at such had been discovered, with a variety of experiences of those who tried out opl~rtunities was like that of the light spiral shapes. Over the years the Third Leviathan were rec~gnised by the Rosses. shining through a minute needle-hob in a

Bulletin of the Scientific Instrument Society No. 53 (1997) 35 Fig.8 [ t'x t.~than/,ch~rc ~cm~;'at~,n (phvh, bu Lh,zrh'. ,'th,//an~

Fig. t) Leviathan aHer n'novatzon.

card placed in tremt of a flame. I think an,.' telescope. It is just t(x~ fragile, and too !I. Idem, p. 125. practical a,,,tnmomer will agree with me m easily tarnished. Instead a 72-inch alum/- the ~v,tnkm that mirrors of six feet m 12. William i'ar~*ns, lhird Earl ~d Rt~, 'Oh n/urn mirror is being made, and before d~ameter that bore this test bordered very the Gmstruction of Specula of Six-feel Aper- clt~h." indeed tm tho.~netical Perfo:tion. z" too long l~'~,a~than will again be a work- tune; and a ~lection from the Obse~'ations of ing tek.~scope. Nebulae Made with Them', Phd¢~phaal Trans- It is widely accepted that, at its best, this actums of the R~al Socwttt, 1861, repnnted in was a very fine telescope. Go ~,e it! William Par~ms, op. tit. (note 1), pp. 125-18q. 13. Lawrence Parsons, Fourth Earl of Rosse, The Rebirth Notes and References 'Observati~ms of Nebulae and Clusters of Stars Made with the Six-fia~t and Three-fex~t Reflec- (h.er the last year h'vtathan's great tube 1. William Par~ms, The S,'u'ntt~/c Pat~.rs of tors at Birr Castle, from the Year 1848 up to Wdham Par~,ns, Third Earl qf R~g~', G*lh'cted was removed and refurbished, and the About the Year 1878', Scu'nt~ic Tran~,tu~ns of and Published b~ The Hon. Sir Charh~ Par~,ns. the R,,val Dublin S~wiet~, New Serms, 2 (1879), mounting restored and replaced. It is K.C.B.. £RS (Bradford and London:The Coun- pp. i-178. now back in its place, a dramatic sight to try Preys. 1926), p. 63. commemorate the genius of its inventor 14. Thomas Dick, ~,. cir. (note 7), pp. 423 and 2. Idem, p. 9. IFigs 8 and 9). It can be moved mechan- 428. ically, as before, but also electricalh,. All 3. Idem, p. 13. 15 l~m Foucault, quoted in S.C.B. Gas- that is missing is the mirror. 4. Em~chvuedu~ Br~tanmca, Eighth Edition - coigne, 0p. ctt. (note 4), p. 108. quoted m S.C.B. (,a~,,o~gne. "The (;neat Mel- One of the two specula (the 3=~ ton one) 16. Lawrence Par~ms, op. tit. (note 13), pp. 4 bourne Tele~'ope and Other Nineteenth Cen- and 5. ha~ entirely di~ppeared. The four ton tury Reflectors', Quartcrlu Iournal ~f t/u" Royal one is now in the ~'ience Mu~eum in A~tr,,namtcal S~ tet~, 37 (1996), pp. 101-128. 17. Idem, Appendix iv. South Kensington, presented to the 5 I,~'ilham I'ar~,ns, ap. fit. (note I ), p. 50. Museum by de~endants of William 18. Garret ~C~-aife, 'The Making of the Ros~ O. Idem, p. 18. Telescope', Institution of Engineers of Ireland I'ar~ons, and its pre~rvation to the Heritage S~cietv Meeting, 27 November Iq~5. prt,~,ent day can be attributed to this gift 7. Thomas Dick, The Practical A.,tran,~mer... and the care taken of it while in the (New York: Harper and Brothers, Itgt6), p. 423. Auth,,r ~ address: Mu,,eum's p~v~.,cssion. Attempts to have 8. William I'ar,~ms, op. c:t. (note I), p. 21 =t returned have not, so far, met with 17 Pine Lawn ,ucce~,s. in any event, it could not 9. Id,'m, p, 2q. N,~,,townpark Azvnue Blacknx'k practically be "used in the restored 10. Idcm, p. 125 Co. Dublin, Ireland

Hans Richard Jenemann Obituary

t~r honorary memher Hans lenemann, the founder of the Paul Bunge Prize, died on 6 December l~k'~ after a peri(xJ of ill health. He was I~,m in Main/on I0 March 1920. He fought on the Russian front and was made a pri.~mer of war in 1945. He was sent home in I~'~ and h~k up his chemical studies at the Johannes Gutenburg University in Mainz. In 1953 he began his professional career as an anah tical chemi,,t at the .'ffhott-(,la.,,wt, rke in Mainz. Later be became head of the ~et-chemical anab,'tical lal~watory and of the training of ph~ ~=cs and chemistry lahwatorv tt~chnlcians. Throughout his career he was an advocate for improving the vocational education of cht'mi~trx and physics technicians. He retired in lqi~2, hut ~ince the mid-~wenties he had been collecting laboratory scales and balances, and gathered many hundreds of unique items. ]-he hi,,ton' and provenance of each item was meticulously researched and phot~raphecl. In this ~vav he built up an exten~,ive photographic and slide archive coupled to a comprehensive library on balances and ~ales, which became theba~,is of many paper~ and his b~,~k The Clu'mist's Balance. In l',e#0 he decided to part with the majority of his coiled't/on which tva,, ~ld to the firm Me/tier in (;ie~,~,n, and with the funds he established the Hans R. Jenemann Foundation fin the promotion of the hi,,torv of scientific m~,truments, which annually awards the Paul Bunge Prize.

Bulletin of the Scientific Instrument Society No. 53 (Iq~7) Mystery Object

N ./ first part second part

i

Fig.l Inside view of the device. Fig.2 Device closed with its paper n~chd box, and one la,und coin fi,r comparison.

There has been no response whatsoever and a spectroscope produced by John to the previous mystery. In March of this Browning with the engraved dedication: \ year a charming letter dropped onto the 'I.EE. Premium 1908 LH.A. Cart' in a editor's desk: presentation box. In none of my diction- both parts aries could ! find an explanation for this in perspective '...I am a 20-year old German, doing my abbreviation. In school we had spent Fig.3 Drawings of the authar of the "thm¢ military service at the moment and am quite a lot of time with different methods Dimensions: first part: 33 x 33 tara: second going to start the studies of mechanical of spectral analysis. part: 26 x 36 ram; hole 2 mm diameter. engineering in October 1997. In the summer of 1995 l spent a month in Lxmdon and went every Saturday to But that Saturday I bought another small but had not been able to identify' it. He Portobello Antique Market, where I item, none of & dealers knew what it advised me to write to the Mu~um of bought several small items of physical was used for or gave it a name. Someone the History of Science in Oxford. and optical instruments (a Sikes' Hydro- thought that it might simply have been meter by Buss, two pocket spectr~scopes, used for studying in.~ts, it was pretty Could you tell me anything about this one by John Browning and the other by cheap: £10, and i had hopes that ! would object? it consists (i~igs 1-3) of two A. Hilger, a scak~meter by J.H. Steward, find some information on it at the Science cylinders of brass, fitted together. Each etc.). I visited the National Maritime Museum as 1 had done that other day one has a small hole in the centre. Into one Museum, on another day the Old Royal when I found a Hartnack Microscope of these holes is secured a thick lens, and Observatory and the Natural History (inv. No. A43388) and a box like mine the whole construction is covered with Museum, and three times the Science (inv. No. A00946) in the exhibition on the glass. If you put the two parts together Museum, where I got the information history of medicine, but there was and point the one hole to the light and concerning my purchases. nothing similar to my small mystery look through the lens, the space inside is item. Asking at the information "desk, brightly lit. The device is stored in a and giving my tale, one of the friendly cylindrical box made of paper m,iche. I t Saving as much of mv pay as possible, I J employees gave me the address of C.I~. have added a one-pound coin to give a could afford another trip to London this Brown, Senior Curator of Cla~ical Phy- rough indication of the size of this January. in the PorttR~ello Road ! was sics. I wrote to him as soon as p(~ibl'e. device...' lucky and could buy among other things He answered with a long letter: he had Timo Mapl~ a Hartnack & Prazmowski Microscope seen one of these t~'s some time ago Remchin~,.n, Germany t Letter to the Editor

A Dealer's Response they like with it, be it a piece of furniture, When Mr Read earns his living solely by a vase or ornament, or an instrument, by buying and selling instruments. I wi*uld I reply to a letter from Mr Read published way of trade or otherwise. It is their own like a progress relm)rt. When he has done in the last issue of the Bulh'tin. All is well business, m~-one else's, and certainly m)t it for twenty-five years, maintained a until the second paragraph, when a Mr Read's. ! remind him of the specialist family by doing so, existed and survived wheel suddenly falls off. dealer who bought at Christie's, some ten in the harsh and competitive commercial years ago, a pair of miniature sextants by world outside an ivory tower, I would be The subject of 'polished' instruments has even more interested "in his comments. been aired before in your columns, Cary, with consecutive serial numbers. notably by the late Saul Moskowitz and They sat in his shop window for months until a passing tourist offered to buy my~lf; but surely; by now Mr Read must Arthur Mi,hth'ton understand a fundamental fact of life- them, provided that they were polished /2 New R,n,, and it is this: when someone has bought and mounted as bed-side lamps. Any Cotvnt C~Irden ! something, it is theirs to do whatever guess what happened? J Lond, m WC2N 4LF

Bulletin of the Scientific Instrument St~,qy No. 53 (1~07) 37 i Current and Future Events

Until lurther notice, Chicago of di~overy and stunning paintings of 26 October lq~/, London exhibition at the Adler Planetanum and newh/di~overed lands by the Britishartist The 23rd Scient(fic & Medical Instrument Fair Museum Comets through the Ages: ~0 Years and draughtsman, William Ht~Iges. will be held at the Radiss~m SAS Portman °f Wonders opened on 7 February to Hot'el, London. Details: 0181,.866 86r~. celebrate the arrival of Comet Hale-[h~pp. 9 July 1997, AGM The twenty-five works on paper from 13 November 19~7, Birmingham The Annual General Meeting will be held Adler's Hi.~tory of Astrom)mv Collection The Lunar Society at Soho House with deal with the whole gamut of emoti(ms on Wednesday 9 July at the ,Society. of Antiquaries, Burlington Hour, Piccadilly, Electrical Demonstrations. The public experi- from fear to simple curiosity aroused by the ments will be conducted by Willem Hack- arrival of comets as reflect~l in rare b()oks, London WI. Lectures by Dr Hester Higton, K. van Cleemgalel, and "AD. Mornson-Low mann. Details to be announced in the next broadsides, and other prints fnnn the 16th Bulletin. to the 19th centuries. As has become (see the Society's 'Programme of Meetings' for details), starting at 2 pm followed by tea 25 November 1997 - 2 February 1998, comn~m over the last few years the Adler and the AGM, which should finish at 5 pm Planetarium and Museum has a vigorous Madrid programme of events. For details consult 21-24 July 1997, Greenwich Peder y Tecnoh~gaend Sil~lo XVI: Lovaina como their media contacts Terry Shaffer tm O0 1 312 322 0524 or Joyce Parker-Johnson on 00 The Open talk on the of the raw ana lecnnm~ in the XVith Century: 1 312 322 0328. Donu', a history Observatory in the dtnne which houses the la,ut~in as the centre of diffusam of scientific Until 22 June IqqT, Oxford UK's largest refracting telescope. The talk instruments). An exhibition at the Real includes a demonstration of the opening of Diputacin San Andres de Los Flamencos, in Visible Light: Photoxraphy and Classification the huge 'onion' dome (weather permit- Fundacin Carlos de Amberes, c/ Claudio exhibititm of in Art, Scwnce and the Et,eryday, flog). Hours 11.00-11.30 am. Coello 99, 28006 Several scientific photographs at the Museum of M~ern Art Madrid. b~)ks, engravings and manuscripts will in Oxford, 30 Pembroke Street, Oxford OXl Summer "97, Gmmwich 1BE Tel.: 01685 722733, and 728608 (re- form the environment for al:nmt 60 Flemish corded information). Fax: 01685 722573. and Spanish scientificinstruments from the A number of special events have been Ibth and the beginning of the 17th centuries. Until 29 Augwt 1997, Ghent arranged over the summer at the historic A catak~gue will be available in Spanish. An Greenwich sites: the National Maritime English translationis envisaged but this will Onzichtbare Stralen ('invisible Rays') exhibi- Museum, Old Royal Ob~rvatory and tion at the Museum Geschiedenis van de depend on public or private sponsorship. Queen's House. These include several re- For further ir~ormation telephone: 00 34 1 Wetenschappen (Museum of the History of of episodes Science), of the University of Ghent in enactments important in the 4352201, or fax: 00 34 1 5781092. history, of science using actors: 'Longitude: Belgmm, situated at 281 Knjgslaan, Build- Harri.~n and Maskelyne', 'Explorers of the 3 December 1997, SIS 5th Annual mg S 30. Open week days l0 to 12. 30 and Heavens: Flamsteed', 'Explorers of the Invitation Lecture 13.30 until 17.00. This exhibition was Galileo', and opened in early December 1996. Heavens: 'Explorers of the Gresham College and 17th Century Scientific Heavens: Mrs Herschel" (who tellsof the life Instruraents by Allan Chapman of Wadham Until 13 Sel~,mber 19q7, Oxford and times of her famous brother). For College, Oxford, at the Royal institution, 20 Cameras: The Technology of Phoh~raphic details contact 0181-8~ 4422 or 0181-312 Albemarle Street, London W1. Doms open Imaging. Special exhibition in the Museum 6565 (24-hour info line). 5.30 for 6 pro. of the History of Science featuring the fine I1 - 14 September 19q7, Chicago 20 - 24 July 19q8, Bdl0ston collection of cameras, early photographic FIG (the international Federation of Sur- lenses and accessories cov~nng the entire Call for papers on all aspects of dialling for spectrum of photographic history from veyors) ad hoc Commis6,on on Surveying are the annual meeting of the North American organizing an exhibition The Art o/ Sur~- Daguerre in 1839 to the Nimslo 'three- Sundial Society to be held in Chicago. For dimensional' camera of the early 1980s. For rag, and a one-day symposium to coincide further information contact Sara Schechner with Brighton. further details see the Spring lC)q7 issue of Genuth, National Mu~um of American the 21st FIG Congress in As the Museum's newsletter Sphcrra. Two small part of the FIG Congress technical activities History, Room 1040, MRC 605, Smithsonian uSymposium is to be held on Wednesday 22 brochures accompany the exhibition: one a institution, Washington, DC 20560; fax 00 1 brief overview and the other a hand list of 202 786-2851. E-mail: [email protected] ly 1998 in a lecture theatre adjacent to the the exhibits (listing 152 items). The detailed above exhibition with the theme 'The catalogue can be consulted on the computer 11 October 199"/, London History of Measurement'. It is proposed that at the exhibition site, and will shortly also hile some of the papers will concentrate on be available on the Museum's webpage. The Society for the History of Medieval pre-18th century topics others will cover Until 28 September 1997, Derby Technok)gy and Science is ~oiding an all- anniversaries of the introduction of the day coik~uium in memoriam of two of its metric system in the 1790s and the introduc- On the occaskm of the Ioseph Wright of founding members, Aiistair Crombie and tion of EDM instruments in the late 1940s. Derby. Bi-Centenarv, there will be an exhibi- Jean Gimpel at Imperial College, London. Details from J.R. Smith, FRICS, Honorary tion at the Derby Museum and Art Gallery will include John North, Willem Secretary, FIC ad h0c Commission, 24 Wood- ka)king at his works, including his most kmann, Nigel Hi~ock and Roland bury Ave., Petersheld, Hants GU32 2EE. fan~)us masterpiece A Philosopher Lectunng Bechmann. Anyone interested is invited to Tel/fax: 10730 262619. E-mail: 101765.332 on the Orrery, and an important collectionof attend. For further information, contact the @compuserve.corn recently acquired drawings. During the Secretary of the SHMTS, E. Savage-Smith, same [~eriod there will be an exhibition at Summer 1998, Noilet Exhibition, 4Wfll~ome.Unit for the History of Medicine, CNAM Paris the Derby industrial Museum entitled, A oanbury Road, Oxford OX2 6PE. Fax: Great Reputation - Tu,o Derbu Factories: The 01865 274606. E-mail: emilie.savage-smith@ For details of [his exhibition entitled L'Art Sdk Mill and the China Works, telling the wuhmo.ox.ac.uk des Exp&wnces ('The Noble Art of Experi- history of these two great factories estab- menting') which is intended to open in the lished" in Derby in the 18th century. Guided 16 October, London Conservatoire Natkmal des Arts et M~.rs tours by appointment. Tel.: 01332 255586. (CNAM), Pans, in the summer of 1998 and Until 28 September 1997, Greenwich The Electron, new exhibition at the Science then move to other venues contact Guy Museum. An evening reception and private Vadeboncoeur, David M. Stewart Museum, G~c and the Endea~s~ur, an exhibition based view have been organized" by Alan Morton Le Fort-l'le Sainte-Hel(me, C.P. 1200, Station on the pioneering voyage of Captain Cook for SIS Members, to start at 6.30 pm (doors A, Montr6a], Canada H3C 2Y9. It is still held at the Queen's House in the grounds of open at 6 pro). Please book well beforehand intended to publish an illustrated catalogue the National Maritime Museum, Green- with the Meetings Stratton, of the Nollet collection. wich. On show will be a blend o4 original Secretary,James artefacts used bv Cta)k on his first voyage in order that the Science Museum will have Details of future events, meetings, exhi~tiam the listof participants. etc. should be sent to the Editor.

38 Bulletin of the Scientific Instrument Society No. 53 (1997) Classified

Advertising Char~es Extensive wports available tm business and biographical histories of Bristol- Whole page £175 sourced instrumentmakers; detailed list Half page £90 on application with sae and fi~ur first Quarter Page f.S0 class stamps. All priced at £1 per page, £5 Eighth Page L15 minimum, plus p(~tage. Terence Bryant, Classified 17,0.20 per word, 75 Ravenhill Road, Bristol BS3 5BS, tel rain. £5 0117977 7944. Clarified Bo~ Number £1.20 per insertion Flier, Single A4 £100 BROKEN or MISSING LENSES/ Flier, Double A4 £125 OPITICAL MIRRORS/PRISMS Other Advertising Ask for Quotation Lx~ok no further! Optics besFx~ke made to Artwork, if required At coM Match All Periods. Repolishing and Silvering. Contract work undertaken. The rates ihown am for camera ready art- All Scientific/Medical Instruments per- " • tl,, o*,1, -/7,#,, ,/ : : work. A 10% discount applies on booking for fectly restored. Mechanical work, includ- • ,¢-, ~,,.,,~.'.t,,,p,~ 4 or more coMecutive issue~. Detailed Rate ing Gear Cutting through to Gilding, Card available on request. Shagreen, Enamelling, etc. dealt with to Copy Date no later than 4 weeks prior to the highest standard, including a full publication, i.e. end January, April, July & Lapidary. Service covering all (;era Stones October. decorative or functional. All Fine An- Box Number replies to the Advertising tiques, Object D'Art and Objects de Manager as below. + Payment for advertising is due in advance Vertu Restored. From Arms and Armour with order. Payment by cheque, Visa or MC through to Japanese Works of Art ex- pertly dealt with plus a full Engineering Quality Medical Instruments wanted accepted. Foreign advertisers requested to urgently. C,(w)cl condition and complete use credit card payments to avoid losses to and Metal Finishing Scrvice (Patinating the Society on currency conversion. and Plating etc). For full details send a sets. Must be pre 1920. Competitive All payments and copy details to:- SAE to MR. G. COOKE (CONSUL- prices paid. Dr David Warren 77 Cam- Jane Insley, Science Museum, TANT RESTORER) Mill House, 9 Wot- arthen Avenue Portsmouth PO6 2AG London SW7 2DD. ton Road, Kingsw(w~d, Wotton-under- UK. Phone 01705 376518. E-mail: Tel: 0171-938 8110 Fa~:0171-938 8118 Edge, Gloucestershire GLI2 8RA. Tele- [email protected] phone: 01453 842681

.;\N I IQE l:, 'IIL\"]'II,']t" '~11~+'+~ " "." "l~ "i v -! ..-~r. ,I ' "|

~ Antique & Collectible Show "',,

• IsU." >I.l,l TI, A)F, + " ~q[ ~" °"~1 F,UROItGAN,.O IV The IUItional Pa,, ." @.1 , :. o,"

Exhibitor,, h'om chrou ,Kh,tn.lt tl~.. t I.,(";., (~,,md~, anJ [':+:,,rid d~ ~.~t Saturday September6, 1997 \'i ~\I~ • " g,~a~=.ma_~ \~%+ ~:"

~"~"*i -": ...... NI+'~4RKIXlIRP~411+I~,XlXIRI'~IRI ..... P.JlJJ+ o,*; Infom~lio~'(l101476-6177 ,, ~,,..~<\ ~I i/ ~,' ...... ,...... ",~,,~...... t~.,,-,,u-,...... ,p ...... I <'(~%.\.\ ~',q~t

Bulletin of the .%cientific Instrument ."xx'wtv No. 53 (1~71 3~

$ NINETEENTH CENTURY LIBRAIRIE ALAIN BRIEUX SCIENTIFIC DEMONSTRATION MOTORS, ELECTRO-MAGNETIC AND PHILOSOPHICAL INSTRUMENTS SOUGHT BY COI, LECTOR 2x -t~

48 rue Jacob, 75006 Paris. 1"el. +33 (1)42 60 21 98 Fax. +33 (I) 42 60 55 24 History of Medicine & Science, Rare Books, Peter Thomashow Autographs, Rare Scientific, Medical & Surgical 164 Congress Street Instruments, Books of Documentation. Brooklyn, N.Y., USA Bought- Sold - Appraised Phone & Fax 718-797-1024 I LYNN RDINO I -----I ANTIQUE INSTRUMENTS 1--

Early .'qcwntzf, c Instruments

Catalogues TESSERACT issued quarterly l~,x 151 t iasl,nlzs on I|ud,~ ,n IO3 Weq Ali,o .'StreetO Ojai Cd h,mi, 91(123 Ne~' York 10706 Telephone/Fac,,imile18(151 (~-020-1 (914) 478-2594 Shop ()pen I0 a.m to 5 p.m. e~en, Fridu,,. Saturda,,. Sunda.,. and Mondayor b,, apl~inlment

Bulletin of the .~|t'ntific Instrument ~:iety No 53 (1¢W7) IMPORTANT ARTIFACTS FROM THE HISTORY OF MEDICINE, SURGERY & SCIENCE

ALEX PECK ANTIQUE SCIENTIFICA

Featuring Medical Antiques of the American Civil War Era. Send a self-addressed stamped envelope for furtber information. Please advise your interests and wants.

P.O. Box 710-S Charleston, IL 61920 U.S.A. 217.348.1009

m

~r~.c.lu e Eighteenth and nineteenth century mathematical, philosophical and optical instruments of all kinds - ) SCie~, including microscopes, telescopes, globes, tifi~ orreries, sundials, compasses, surveying, navigating, drawing, calculating, Ills~me.tttS medicaland laboratory apparatus. Send $5.00 for current illustrated catalog

Old Historically important books for collectors; beautifully illustrated and practical reference books for everyone " ~ ~are including astronomy, mathematics, computing, chemistry, physics, engineering, microscopy, BOO~S navigation,surveying, history of sciem'e and antique scientific instruments- Send $2.00 for current catalog "B °'

Catalogs online at: http:flwww.gemmary.com/rcb/ E-maU: [email protected] ~. Oi Box256ti-" Fal~lbro0k, CA 92088. t619) 728-3321. 728-3322 tAns & FAX 1 Table of Contents Appro~te n~m~al will be rekmmced m Ph~/~ Abstracts

Editoru!

...... ° ...... '°°'°*°°°°'"" ...... •.°°°*°`°°°*••°•°•••°°°°•°•°°•'*°°°°•••*°°°.°°••°°••°•••*°•*•°°•••*•°°..°°°°°.°°°°•°••••°••° I Cover Story Warren I~ I, Rue and Lunar Fhoto~al~y ...... W'd]em Hac.knumn 2 The Annual inwtati~ Lecture Medun~! Giob~ C/,~ l.q~0-t6s0 ...... J.H. ~ S Three 19th Century ~t Makers at the Umvermty of ~, Belgium ...... M. Dorikem and b Dorikem-VanprNt 9 Sornti~c Instrument Ma~n,¢ m Manc~Wr 1870-1940 HI: Flattersand Gamett Limiteci,and Fowler & Company ...... Jenny Wetton 15 '~int o~ P1a~': Some Geo~raphio,! ~olic.tiom of the ~ Provinml Instrument Trade, 1760-1850...... A.D. h4ovrimn-Low 19 SiS Vmt to Rome 4-7 March 1997 ...... oo o,,.,o,,, ...... ,oo.o,.oo,...**.oo..o ...o .o....,..oo,o..o,.o°,.o,,.,ooo, o.,.o,. Leviathan Reborn ...... °" ...... * ...... ° ...... °'**" ...... " ...... " ...... *°* °°°°°'"'"° "°"'*'°'°"'""°'"*'*'**''"'°'""°"*'°'"'°°'°"°*°'°'° °'°°°'o"" ~1 M~.ry ob~ ...... Letter to the Editor ...... " ...... " ...... ° ...... °*" ...... " ...... "" ...... "°'°**'"'"'°*"°°'"" *"°°'"""*'"°" °'*"*"°'°°'°°'o,,,o.*. 37 Current and Future Events ...... "°'°'° ...... ''" ...... "'"* ...... * ...... "°'° "°'°°°"°'*'"°"*°"°°'°"'°°*"'-.o.-*,oo 38 Advertisements ...... ,o..o...... *.....o..o.....o.o.o.o..oo.o,oo.o...o.o.

The Scientific Instrument Society Membership c q~ y ~ ot p,od~-t~on. to their tastes. The Society has an international ~p. Activities Regular evening meetings are held in London, as well as ~ eneday and week-end ~ m amact~ve Wovim~ locations. Speakers are usually experts in theu" field, but all members are welcome to 8ive talks. ,Special ~,hind-the-Ken~" ~ts to museums are a useful ~eature Above all, the Society's satherm~ are erqoyable social occas/om, providing opportunitiesto mee¢ others with simiJar interests. The SIS Bulletin This is the Society's ~mnai, publuhecl four times • year and mint h~e to nnemlx~. It ~ attractively produced and aku~'ated, and contains m/ormative articles about a wide range of in~ummts as well am book and exhibition reviews, news o/SIS activitY, and meetings of related societies.There is a lively letters page, and 'mystery ol~,cts' are presented. Another leatmre is • advertisement column, and antique dealers and auction houses ~ take adverti~n8 q~ze, ~o that o011ecton may find the BuUetm • means of adding to their coik,ctio~. How to join The annual subscription is due on 1 January. New members receive back copies of the 8u//efm for the yem" in which they join. Current Subscription rates Subscriptions

Resklent in UK £30.00 Residentelsewhere { £35.00 $55.00

Please note that higher cost of overseas membership is due to additional postal rates. Pleaae contact: The Executive Officer (win 8 Cmdr. Geoffrey Bennett) 31 High Street, Stanford in the Vale, Faringdon, Oxon SN7 8LH. Tel" 01367 710223 Fax: 01367 718963