Accession No

6680

Brief Description

Orrery with tellurion, by Parkes and Hadley, English, c. 1910

Origin

England; London

Maker

Parkes and Hadley

Class

astronomy

Earliest Date

1910

Latest Date

1920

Inscription Date

Material

metal (iron, bronze? and copper?); glass; wood (?)

Dimensions

280mm (height) x 325mm (diameter)

Special Collection

Michael J. Clark Bequest

Provenance

Inscription

Proceeding outward from innermost concentric circle:
PARKES AND HADLEY'S PATENT ORRERY
AUTUMN SUMMER SPRING WINTER
DEC NOV OCT SEP AUG JULY JUNE MAY APRIL MARCH FEB

Description Notes

Orrery with tellurion, by Parkes and Hadley, English, c. 1910

Large, incomplete orrery with open gearwork. There is a small oil lamp with glass cylindrical windguard, to represent the sun; the light is directed onto the earth by means of a concave reflective saucer. There is a knurled knob attached to a rod, which turns a smaller disk that sits inside the oil lamp to adjust the flame. The main circular platform is inscribed with the seasons and months around its centre, and the circumference has teeth which allow the globe of the Earth to "orbit" the sun on its own gear system. The globe of the Earth sits on a long, tilted rod with a metal cap to keep it in place; a system of gears below the Earth and under the main circular platform enables the moon (a smaller white globe suspended on a wire attached to the Earth) to orbit the Earth, the Earth to rotate and orbit the sun, and the reflective saucer to turn in time with the Earth's orbit.

Earth and moon may be made of wood; main platform and gears are iron but may also have bronze and/or copper parts.

There are also two long curved and angled wire rods with hooks at one end; they probably held some other element in place which is no longer extant. Handle missing.

Condition: good, but incomplete.

References

Events