Accession No
1025
Brief Description
Napier’s bones (part of the ‘Instrument for Arithmeticke’), by Robert Jole, English, 1667 - 1700
Origin
England; London
Maker
Jole, Robert
Class
mathematics; calculating
Earliest Date
1667
Latest Date
1700
Inscription Date
Material
wood (boxwood); metal (brass)
Dimensions
each bone length 45mm; breadth 11mm; cursor length 165mm; breadth 15mm
Special Collection
Provenance
On loan from Trinity College, University of Cambridge from 1951.
Inscription
Description Notes
10 strip form Napier’s bones in boxwood. Double sided with the mutiplying tablets reading upwards. Pierced brass cursor for reading the bones. Brass clasp (to hold compendium lid and base together) - missing
Condition good; incomplete
References
Events
Description
In 1617 John Napier invented the calculating aid Napiers bones. These were first described in his book Numeration by Little Rods in 1617. Each of the 10 rods or ‘bones’ in a set are engraved with a multiplication table. This simple device made multiplying and dividing large numbers very easy by transforming the calculations into simple addition and subtraction. The rods became extremely popular and spread across Europe lasting well into the 20th century where they were still used in primary schools in the 1960’s.
FM:45537
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