Accession No

6571

Brief Description

portable seismoscope, Italian [tentative attribution], 1900 (c)

Origin

Italian [tentative attribution]

Maker

Class

earth sciences

Earliest Date

1900

Latest Date

1900

Inscription Date

Material

metal (brass, other); glass; wood

Dimensions

230mm (height) x 140mm (width) x 140mm (depth)

Special Collection

Provenance

Purchased from Tesseract, Box 151, Hastings-on-Hudson, New York 10706, U.S.A. on or before 08/03/2014. Item 33 in Tesseract catalogue 98, winter 2013-2014.

Inscription

Description Notes

Portable brass seismoscope, possibly Italian, c. 1900

Portable brass seismoscope in glass cylindrical cover which bayonets into place. Five brass balls mounted atop long springy silver arms, which vibrate between adjustable contact screws wired to terminals below. These orthogonal pendulums allow vibrations to be detected in all three dimensions simultaneously. Three levelling feet. Designed to demonstrate and analyse earth tremors or other vibrations. This example is related to the ideas of Italian seismologist Giovanni Agamennone (1858 - 1931).

complete. Except for a single long crack in the glass, and a little discolouration to the brass, it is in very good condition.

References

Events