Accession No
0692
Brief Description
horizontal dial, English, 1933
Origin
England
Maker
Class
dials
Earliest Date
1933
Latest Date
1933
Inscription Date
Material
metal (silver, brass, steel); plastic (leatherette, other); glass
Dimensions
case length 65 mm; breadth 61 mm; thickness 12 mm
Special Collection
Robert Whipple collection
Provenance
Purchased at Harrods on 03/02/1933.
Inscription
‘TEMPUS FUGIT’
‘MADE IN ENGLAND’
‘SUMMER
TIME’ (all on dial plate)
Description Notes
Silvered octagonal base plate on 3 (plastic (?)) feet. Dial plate divided 5 - 12, 1 - 7, (plus 30 minutes either end; 1-2-2000) numbered by 1, divided to 15 minutes and VI - XII, I - VIII (plus 30 minutes either end; 1-2-2000), numbered by I, divided to 15 minutes. (Scales 1 hour apart; 1-2-2000). Outer scale marked ‘SUMMER TIME’. for ‘51 30’. Inset compass with 8 points, marked for variation. Motto ‘TEMPUS FUGIT’. Folding gilt style.
Leatherette slip case.
Condition: good; 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:43302
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