Accession No
3985
Brief Description
Demonstrational model of polar flattening by Gaiffe, 19th C.
Origin
40 Rue St. André-des-Arts; France
Maker
Gaiffe
Class
cartography; demonstration
Earliest Date
1800
Latest Date
1900
Inscription Date
Material
wood; metal (brass, steel); thread (string)
Dimensions
length 410mm; breadth320mm; height 105mm
Special Collection
Provenance
Purchased from Tesseract, New York, USA, 1991.
Inscription
‘A. GAIFFE
Institution
St. Georges
H. Courtois
40, Rue St. André-des-Arts’ (label on base)
Description Notes
Model to demonstrate the shape of the Earth. Varnished wood rectangular base with 4 feet; brass wheel at one end of the base, with wooden handle by which it rotates. At the other end fits a spinning circle, made up of 4 semi-circular steel bands. The wheel and the circle are connected by a piece of string.
Condition good; complete
References
Events
Description
This model demonstrates the flattened shape of the Earth at the poles. It was made by Aldophe Gaiffe (1832–1887), a Parisian instrument maker, who began to specialize in electrical instruments and electro-therapy machines in the second half of the century. His firm was situated in the centre of Paris not far from the Sorbonne, the College de France and the major engineering and Institute schools who were important clients for the instrument-making business.
24/02/2014
Created by: Allison Ksiazkiewicz on 24/02/2014
FM:43672
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