Accession No

2740

Brief Description

compensation planimeter, by Amsler, Swiss, c.1950

Origin

Switzerland

Maker

Amsler

Class

calculating; drawing

Earliest Date

1950

Latest Date

1950

Inscription Date

Material

metal (steel); wood; cloth (felt)

Dimensions

box length 260mm; breadth 85mm; height 48mm

Special Collection

Provenance

Purchased from Christie’s, South Kensington, London, England; lot 70, 12/03/1981.

Inscription

‘AMSLER
Fabrication Suisse 612/10233’

Description Notes

Steel beam tracing arm graduated 90 - 350 by 10 to 1. Steel pointer on cranked terminal with knurled screw. Adjustable rest on beam. Beam slides through drum unit; clamp and slow motion screw with index graduated 0 - [10]. Steel wheel to two rotating drums graduated 0 - 10; one subdivided to 0.1. Weighted base with spikes; steel linking arm. Arm with tapered rods ending in balls on each end fits into base and drum unit. Rule with spike (?function). Bag with spare points; fitted wooden box with green felt; label in lid giving scales and values of drum unit, position of tracing arm and constants.

Condition

References

Events

Description
Planimeters are mechanical instruments designed to solve the common problem of computing the area of an irregular closed shape. The first instrument designed to do this was made by J.M. Hermann, a Bavarian engineer in 1814. Tito Gonella of Florence independently invented a similar instrument in 1824 using a wheel and cone arrangement.

FM:44701