Accession No
1669
Brief Description
Napier’s bones, English, early 18th Century
Origin
England
Maker
Class
mathematics; calculating
Earliest Date
1700
Latest Date
1730
Inscription Date
Material
wood (boxwood); metal (brass)
Dimensions
length 95mm; breadth 68mm; thickness 15mm
Special Collection
Fitzwilliam Collection
Provenance
On loan from The Fitzwilliam Museum, University of Cambridge.
Inscription
Description Notes
Boxwood rods in boxwood case in boxwood tabulat. Sliding push-fit lid. Tabulat with lid at left hand calibrated as the multiplicand. 10 rods, with an additional rod for squares and cubes. Rods calibrated on all 4 faces with the multiplication table 1 - 9 reading from top to bottom.
Condition fair (box and lid splitting); complete
References
Events
Description
In 1617 John Napier invented the calculating aid Napiers bones. These were first described in his book Numeration by Little Rods in 1617. Each of the 10 rods or ‘bones’ in a set are engraved with a multiplication table. This simple device made multiplying and dividing large numbers very easy by transforming the calculations into simple addition and subtraction. The rods became extremely popular and spread across Europe lasting well into the 20th century where they were still used in primary schools in the 1960’s.
FM:39542
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