Accession No

6250

Brief Description

“Sternprojektioner” (”Star Projectioner”) instrument for tracking celestial projection locations onto the world map, by Jakob Uhlmann, Austrian, 1913 (c)

Origin

Austria; Vienna

Maker

Uhlmann, Jakob

Class

astronomy; cartography; horology

Earliest Date

1913

Latest Date

1913

Inscription Date

Material

wood (ebonised wood, possibly pine); glass; metal (brass; steel)

Dimensions

Diameter: 540mm; height 144mm

Special Collection

Provenance

Purchased from Dorotheum Auction House, Palais Dorotheum, A-1010 Wien, Dorotheergasse 17, Austria, on or before 29/10/2008. Lot 1 in Historische Wissenschaftliche Instrumente und Globen.

Inscription

[around rim of world map glass plate]
JAKOB UHLMANN STERNPROJEKTIONER PATENT
[on front of booklet]
Lehrtext
mit
erlauternden Zeichnungen
zum
Sternprojektioner
von
Jakob Uhlmann
Wien, 1913

Description Notes

“Sternprojektioner” (”Star Projectioner”) instrument for tracking celestial projection locations onto the world map, by Jakob Uhlmann, Austria, c. 1913.

Ebonised wooden cylinder in three parts. Bottom piece is a flat, fitted base. Onto this sits the main body part, with two brass handles attached. In this central body part sits a wind-up clockwork mechanism, which rotates two sets of radial arms. Onto these two radial arms sit glass plates, the outer having a world map painted onto it, the inner here missing, but expected to be a day-and-night disk and/or a city disk. Onto this main section sits the top, third section, which also has two brass handles attached. This section holds a stationary glass plate showing a celestial map, with ball-and-stick constellations plus semi-opaque green painted patches.

Accompanying the instrument is a 58 page booklet, in German, with some illustrations, printed in Vienna and dated 1913. The booklet explains how the instrument works and what the linear and radial markings on the glass plates indicate. Also tucked into the back of the booklet is a single folded sheet, typed, and signed by Dr. M. Wähnl.

Condition: Fair - world map glass plate has been broken in two and then repaired. Celestial map plate has several chips around its edge. Probably two disks are missing (the day-and-night disk and the city disk). Some damages to the wooden casing.

References

Events