Accession No
0858
Brief Description
horizontal dial, by J. Baum and Company, English, 1875
Origin
England; Birmingham
Maker
J. Baum and Company
Class
dials
Earliest Date
1875
Latest Date
1875
Inscription Date
1875
Material
metal (brass)
Dimensions
folded length 45 mm; breadth 33mm
Special Collection
Robert Whipple collection
Provenance
Purchased by Robert Stewart Whipple from A.S. Jones in 01/1938.
Inscription
‘J. BAUM & CO
BIRMINGHAM’ (on reverse)
‘BIRMINGHAM PATENT 1875.’ (on obverse)
Description Notes
Horizontal dial, by J. Baum & Co, English, 1875.
Brass dial plate with central hinge and hole in right-hand leaf. Hour scale divided 5 - 12, 1 - 7, numbered by 1 (subdivided to 15 minutes; 12, 5 and 6 not numbered). Folding gnomon for latitude 44˚ N, marked ‘BIRMINGHAM PATENT’ around base.
References
Events
Description
The horizontal dial is the most common form of sundial. The portable version proved very popular with the upper classes during the 19th Century. During this period it could best be described as the wristwatch of its day.
The hour lines are engraved onto a horizontal surface, with a gnomon (pointer) in the centre. Seasonal variations (caused by the earth’s orbit being elliptical, not circular) have to be compensated for, as they can affect the raw reading by up to 18 minutes.
18/10/2002
Created by: Saffron Clackson and Boris Jardine on 18/10/2002
FM:43273
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