Scientific Instrument Society Bulletin March No. 52 1997 Bulletin of the Scientific Instrument Society ISSN 0956-8271 For Table of Contents, see back cover President Gerard Turner Honorary Committee Howard Dawes, Chairman Stuart Talbot, Secreta~. Jt~hn Didc~k, Treasurer Willem Hackmann, Edator Jane Insley,AdvertL~mf Manacer James Stratton, MeetingsSecrefa~ Ron Bristow Gloria Clifton Mike Cowham Arthur Middleton Alan Morton Liba Taub Trevor Waterman Membership and Administrative Matters The Executwe Officer (Wing Cmdr. Geoffrey Bennett) 31 High Street Stanford m the Vale Farmgdon Tel: 01367 710223 Oxen SN7 8LI-[ Fax: 01367 718963 See inside back co1~,rf~r re.formation 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 OXI 3AZ Tel: 01608 811110 (home) e-mail:[email protected] Advertising Jane lnsley Science Museum South Kensington Tel: 0171-9~ 8110 London SW7 2DD Fax: 0171-9,'~ 8118 e-mail: j.insleyOnmsi.ac.uk Organization of Meetings Mr James Stratton 101 New Bond Street Tel: 0171-629 6602 London WIY 0AS Fax: 0171-629 8876 Typesetting and Printing Lithoflow Lid 26-36 Wharfdale Road King's Cross Tel: 0171-833 2344 London N1 9RY Fax: 0171-833 8150 Price: £6 per issue, including back numbers where available. (Enquiries to the Executive Officer) The Scientific Instrument Society is Registered Chanty No. 326733 ~ The Scientific Instrument Society 1997 Editorial From O-Ring to Moon Shet graph of Cad Neuh6~r's dtrument to Tumer's previous catak~ue published m labour troubles shortly before he left the Ig73 c~ the earlier instruments a.,w~ciated On a number of occasions we have firm in 1925, when he must have been in with Martinus van Marum (17~-IH37). grappled with what as colle~ and his early seventies. That was the time of That catak~ue set the benchmark fol- historians we mean by the term 'scientific the riots between fa~ists, communists, lowed ever since by m~t writers of i~trument'. We would all agree that a and the vark)us socialistfactions. "re Pas's im~trument catak~guea. The second cata- chess staff, a theodolite or a micn~cope is next piece will be on F.W. Bresthaupt & k)gue reviewed by Michael PrichanJ is a scientific instrument, but what about a ~Cohn, based on inforn~atkm supplied by quite a different kettle of fish but unique ck~k, a camera, or a radio? Every one ol that firm. m its own way Ntwman Channing and the last three items is catered [or by Mike Dunn have attempted to pn~uce specialist Ioumais. A camera collector is Another Bulletin feature that should have the first comprehensive list of British on the whole not interested in micro- an international flavour is 'Market Race'. camera makers. Their catalogue is similar scopea, and a clock collector not b)' and SIS members have started to r~mcl to but much narn~ver in sc~t, than Gkwia large in raditm (although I know at lea~ my entreaties to report on the state of the Clift(m's DIr~'Io~ t~ B.hsh S('ienH.{ic one exception to this rule). ! consider the market in their country. You may Instrument Make~ 15.~)-1851. I have interests of the Scientific Instrument remember that in the last issue Aid. J. h~md both I~s immensely useful as Sa~ciety to be overarching~ that rq that Klut dealt with the s¢~ene in the Nether- in them we find information which the membership has very wide interests lands, while in this issue Bj6rn U. would take us a king time to ferret out indeed. I try to reflectthis bn)ad church gambeck reports on what has been even if we had all the multifarious in the Bulletin. There are members whn happening in Germany. it makes rather smrces at hand. These two directtwies collect a specific category of instrument, pessimistic reading, and 1 wonder do highlight the problem when specia- and others whose prime aim is to collect whether his compatrk~ts agree with his lists pn~duce a catak~ that is bn~Kler devices that highlight scientific break- views. A little while ago I asked one of than their ex[r~rti~ allows for. Thus, the thn)ughs tw iml:xntant innovations. The our Belgian members to report on the important maker (and later firm) of humble O-ring fits into this latter instrument market and collecting scene L~dltmd is covered bv Clifkm in eight categm'y. I have to admit that I have not in his country, but he felt that them was detailed entries, whi|e he is virtually yet come across a collector of O-rings little to wnte about, so I am now hoping dL~mai.~d by Chanmng and Dunn with (there may not be many shapes but there that the next 'Market Race' will deal with ' We can find a Ckmrge Dolkmcl, t~tickan, certainly are many sizes), but it is the USA. I am very much open to at 543 St Paul's Churchyard in the 184~k, inctmcei'vable that vacuum technok~y ~u~tkm~ h'om budding rel~wters kw and it is said that they were established and even space flight could have made write ups of 'Market Places' h~nn their m 17~'. Next several of their camera their dramatic advances without this countries: Canada, New Zealand, Swit- mtxtels are mentitwwd, and the ~wy is simple seal. Yet, as Allan Mills, points zerland, to name but a few. Your w~wld is ctmtinued by refemng to their merger in out in 'Who Invented the O-Ring?', the our oyster. 1927 to bectwne Dolkwid & Aitchinson. origins of this device are far fnwn clear. ]he latter detail is, of cx~rse, not in This brings me to the question: 'How Another feature that gives the Bulletin its Clifton's directtwy ~ she stops (mote or many of our historical instruments are intematk~nal flavour are the (by re)w) less) in IHSI. ro take am~ther example made up of similar ubiquihms but vital famous (if not m~tork)us) instrumental which gtw's the other way: Dalmeyer. The coml~)nents aix)ut the origins of which travek~,s by those three indomitable tml~rtant maker of cameras, JH Dell- we know very little?' researchers of the exotic, Jane insley, meyer, who became well kr~,wn for Anita McCtmnell and Alison Mtwrism- photographic lenses, takes up alnam This is a charivari of an L~gte which Low. This time they find themselve~ m two pages of details in Charming and shtnlld have s~wnething of interest for I~wence. Jenny Wett(~n has reached Part Dunn. What is J.H.'s relatkm.,,hip to H. every one. It has quite an internat~l II of her series on scientific mstmrnent DallmeyeT wh~e entry in Clilttm is a flavour as my policy of encouraging making in Manchester ~)m 1870 until very. brief three lines which sta~ that he trans-natitw~al ctmtributors is beginning 1940, and them is yet am~ther mystery was an optician in 18~!? to bear fruit. Thus, what I find Particu- ~'t against which to pit your wit. As larly gratifying is that an increasing far as the Weldon rangetinder is con- The hrus tm this trcasi~m in 'Letters number t~ mm-Bntish SIS membe~ are cerned, this enigma has at last been fnnn the Editor' is very much on the m~w willing to put pen to paper. In this firmly cracked. pn)blems t~ replacing ~;ld lacquer Fhis Bulletin we have Mathieu Willemsen correspendence was sparked off by a from Haarlem with a paper on shagreen By far the longest paper is Stephen request from (~rdon Bu.s.~v in the found ~m 18th century, scientific instru- Johnsttm's detailed historicalanalysis of previous Bulletin for inftwmatit'~n on the ments, and John B. te Pas h~)m Zeist tm the devek~ment of the anthrmwneter. best techniques. Apart thorn the kqter~ Neuhofer & Sam of Vienna. This is the What is especially pleasing is that this that have been reproduced. I also first of a number of short pieces he research was a~qisted by a grant fnnn the received st~'eral others. (k~e was m~n intends to contribute tm Austrian, Ger- Scientific Instrument Sa~ciety. I cannot R~m Bristow drawing my attenti,m h) man and Swiss makers of surveying think of a better way hw the SIS to use two intert.,sting items in M(drl ~:n~m,w. instruments, firms such as Starke & st)me of its funds" then by helping both in vol. 170 The first in no 4010 (2 Kammerer, Kraft & Sa~hn, Fennel and scholars with their research, especially February 19st) is an article by red Kern. The present one is especially when this results in such a tangible Pepper, 'Metal l~,tecti~m & Finishes', intriguing as it is based on a document product Ior the Bulle~in. pp. 144-145, and the ~md in no 401q wntten by Carl Neuhbfer, the son of the (21 June 19oh), pp. b~3-6q4, is a letter in founder. ! can imagine him, aged ninety, Of the three reviews in this issue, two am which a hwmer employee t~ R~x,~ of in the middle of the Sectmd Wtwld War, of catalogues. Robert Ande~m reviews London describe~ several aspects of writing down his reminL~enc'ea, perhaps Gerard Turner's catalogue Of the 19th tel~'ope manufacture in the 1930s, in an attempt to hark back to saner times.