Accession No

6523

Brief Description

two temperature and humidity circular-chart recorders, by Cambridge Instrument Company Ltd., with replacement charts and pens, English, c. 1960

Origin

England; London / Friern Park / North Finchley

Maker

Cambridge Instrument Company Ltd. [6523.1-2:] Foster Cambridge Ltd. [6523.4:] Cambridge Industrial Instruments Ltd.

Class

thermometry; meteorology

Earliest Date

1949

Latest Date

1980

Inscription Date

Material

metal (steel, aluminium, brass); glass; paper; plastic (polyvinyl chloride PVC?); rope (string)

Dimensions

[6523.1-2:] 36cm (w) x 58cm (l) x 13cm (d) [6523.3, in box:] 156mm x 151mm x 17mm [6523.4, both boxes together:] 287mm x 287mm x 37mm

Special Collection

Provenance

Transferred by an individual from the Department of Engineering, University of Cambridge on or before 27/07/2012.

Inscription

[Plaque on front:] Cambridge
MADE IN ENGLAND
[Plaque inside behind paper:]
MADE IN ENGLAND
CAMBRIDGE INSTRUMENT COMPANY LTD.
MECHANICAL THERMOMETER DIVISION
FRIERN PARK, NORTH FINCHLEY, LONDON, N12
...
BRITISH PATENT No. 413395

Description Notes

Two temperature and humidity circular-chart recorders, by Cambridge Instruments Company Ltd., with replacement charts and pens, English, c. 1960.

[6523.1-2:] Two near identical large recorders. Heavy circular steel body with hinged door covering front, with circular glass window. stainless steel turn handle for locking door, with key lock mechanism (keys present for 6523.2 only). Steel plaque above window on front reads:
Cambridge
MADE IN ENGLAND
Three mirror-plate brackets screwed into back of main body. Two 45mm diameter, 277mm long tubes, side-by-side, protrude from bottom of recorder, constructed of steel mesh with solid steel rings at ends. One tube is screwed onto a green base-plate and contains a coiled black tube; the other tube is screwed onto a purple base-plate and contains steel stand which suspends two thin steel parallel plates.

Recorder body contains clockwork mechanism behind a steel plate. Above the steel plate is placed a sheet of graduated circular paper (paper not present in 6523.1) that is rotated by clockwork mechanism. Above paper, attached to inside edge of recorder are two stainless-steel pens, one green, one purple, for inscribing lines onto paper. Spring mechanism controlling movement of pens disappears into body of recorder below steel plate. Steel pin with coil holds pens off of paper surface when recorder door is opened. Overall condition is good.

[6523.3:] Card box containing four replacement pens, two green, two purple. Top of box is inscribed in manuscript with the following:
“GREEN
SPARE PENS
C.I.Co
TEMPERATURE &
HUMIDITY RECORDERS.”

[6523.4:] Two boxes of replacement circular charts, entitled “CAMBRIDGE CHARTS”. One manufactured by Foster Cambridge Ltd., Mechanical Thermometer Division; the other by Cambridge Industrial Instruments Limited, Mechanical Thermometer Division.

References

Events