Accession No
0838
Brief Description
napier’s bones, English, late 17th century
Origin
England
Maker
Class
mathematics; calculating
Earliest Date
1675
Latest Date
1700
Inscription Date
Material
wood (boxwood); ivory; metal (brass)
Dimensions
length 75mm; breadth 63mm; thickness 23mm
Special Collection
Robert Whipple collection
Provenance
Purchased by Robert Stewart Whipple from T.H. Court on 07/04/1937.
Inscription
Description Notes
Ivory rods in boxwood case. Push-fit lid to case which is internally subdivided. One face of case fitted with a lip to act as the tabulat. 20 rods with an additional rod for squares and cubes. Rod calibrated on all 4 faces with the multiplication tables from 1 - 9 reading from top to bottom. Ends stamped with the multiplicands, 2 on each face.
Condition good (some chipping to lid of box); 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:39543
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