Accession No
6057
Brief Description
altimeter by Thommen, Switzerland; mid-20th century
Origin
Maker
Thommen Switzerland
Class
surveying
Earliest Date
1945
Latest Date
1980
Inscription Date
Material
plastic (perspex, other); metal (steel); hide (leather); rope (string); cloth (linen)
Dimensions
length 60mm; width 70mm; depth 22mm
Special Collection
Brian Harland collection
Provenance
Donated on or before 11/07/2003.
Inscription
‘THOMMEN
Switzerland’ [on dial]
‘5000M’ [stamped into leather case]
‘43269’ [serial number stamped into dial face]
Description Notes
Analogue pocket altimeter by Thommen, Switzerland, with linen bag; mid-20th century.
Round black plastic dial, with altitude scale marked in 10m intervals. Small window in dial showing number of kilometres.
Square brown leather case covering the dial, with circular window to allow the dial to be read with the case in place. The case is secured around the dial with press stud, and is taken off to alter the dial. Case is stamped with the maximum altitude for the dial, ‘5000M’.
Natural linen bag for carrying the altimeter. Bag is marked with ‘A2137’ in black marker pen.
Condition fair. Dial face has 28mm long curved crack in centre and the central dial face has crazing to plastic. Corrosion to metal studs.
References
Events
Description
An altimeter is a device that measures changes in altitude (vertical distance). The altimeter uses the principle that air pressure decreases the higher you get in order to measure the change in altitude.
Altimeters have many different uses, including determining altitude in aircraft and spacecraft, but this type is a pocket altimeter used by climbers and surveyors. Brian Harland, a geologist at the University of Cambridge, used this altimeter when mapping the Arctic region of Svalbard in the mid-20th century.
30/09/2005
Created by: Ruth Horry on 30/09/2005
FM:46526
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