Accession No
1202
Brief Description
horizontal dial, English, mid-19th Century
Origin
England
Maker
Class
dials
Earliest Date
1825
Latest Date
1875
Inscription Date
Material
metal (brass, white metal, steel); wood (mahogany); glass
Dimensions
length 93 mm; breadth 90 mm; thickness 23 mm
Special Collection
Provenance
Inscription
Description Notes
Mahogany case with silvered brass fittings. Pierced dial plate set into base, divided IIII - XII, I - VIII, numbered by I, divided to 5 minutes. Folding gnomon for 52˚ N. Below dial an engraved paper compass card with 16-point rose and degree scale divided 0 - 90˚ - 0 - 90˚ - 0, numbered by 10˚, subdivided to 2˚ (subdivided to 1˚; 1-2-2000). Needle marked ‘N’ and ‘S’. Needle stop mechanism.
Condition: fair (glass cracked, wood cracked); complete.
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:43299
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