Accession No
6482
Brief Description
gunner’s callipers, by George Adams Jnr., English, c. 1790, with French metric re-inscription after capture during the Napoleonic Wars
Origin
England; London
Maker
Adams, George (Jnr.)
Class
military
Earliest Date
1772
Latest Date
1815
Inscription Date
Material
metal (brass)
Dimensions
590mm (length)
Special Collection
Provenance
Purchased from Christie’s South Kensington, London. Lot no. 48 in the Travel, Science and Natural History sale, 23/9/2010.
Inscription
G Adams London
Description Notes
Brass gunner’s callipers (aka calipers), by George Adams Jnr., English, c. 1790, with French metric re-inscription after capture.
Signed “G Adams London”, the reverse with 1-42 scale for GUNS and two scales for L S M on one side, other scale on obverse with signature also with later engraved French scale 4-36 “C. des piéce de France”.
Condition: good (missing one steel tip); complete.
References
Events
Description
Used for matching the bores of guns with the correct size of projectile. This instrument has been attributed to George Adams Jr, but may have been made by Hannah. We can be fairly certain that they were used in the Napoleonic Wars (1803-15) as they have been re-inscribed with metric measurements presumably following their capture by French forces.
20/03/2023
Created by: Guey-Mei Hsu on 20/03/2023
FM:46991
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