Accession No

2255

Brief Description

dialling scale, brass, by Henry Sutton, English, mid-17th Century

Origin

England; London

Maker

Sutton, Henry

Class

dials; drawing

Earliest Date

1649

Latest Date

1665

Inscription Date

Material

metal (brass)

Dimensions

length 258mm; breadth 48mm

Special Collection

Provenance

Purchased from Turner and Devereux, London, 07/1976. Purchased with assistance a Grant-in-Aid administered through the Science Museum (PRISM).

Inscription

‘H: Sutton fecit.’ (obverse)
‘In usum Euclidis Speidell Angli.’ (obverse)

Description Notes

Brass dialling scale with central section and part of one end missing.
Obverse:
1. log scale of numbers, marked ‘Num’, divided 4 - 20[0], numbered 4, 5,6...1[0], 2[0]...10[0], 20[0]; 4 - 20 subdivided to 0.1, 20 - 40 subdivided to 0.2, 40 - 100 subdivided to 0.5, 100 - 200 subdivided to 1.
2. log scale of sines, marked ‘Sin’, divided [2˚ 15´] - 90˚, numbered 3, 4, 5...10, 20...70, 90; 2˚ 15´ - 30˚ subdivided to 15´, 30˚ - 60˚ subdivided to 30´, 60˚ - 80˚ subdivided to 1˚.
3. log scale of secants, marked ‘Sec’, divided [10˚] - 60˚, numbered by 10˚, 0 - 20˚ subdivided to 2˚, 20˚ - 30˚ subdivided to 1˚, remainder subdivided to 30´.
4. log scale of tangents, divided 3˚ - [63˚ 30´] and back [26˚ 30´] - 87˚, numbered 3, 4...10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60 and 30, 40, 50, 60, 70, 80, 87; subdivided to 15´.
Four scales in the central part of the scale missing.
5. scale of meridional parts split over two lines, marked ‘Mer’ divided [2˚] - 86˚, numbered 10, 20...70, 75, 80, 85, 86; subdivided to 15´.
6. log scale of chords, marked ‘Cho’, divided [1˚] - 60˚, numbered by 10˚, subdivided to 15´; also points marked on this line and numbered 1, 2, 3, 4, 5.
7. log scale of sines, marked ‘Sin’, divided [31˚] - 90˚, numbered by 10˚; 31˚ - 70˚ subdivided to 15´, 70˚ - 80˚ subdivided to 30´; 80˚ - 85˚ subdivided to 1˚.
8. unmarked scale divided [0] - 160, numbered by 10; also numbered 1 - 8 in opposite direction.

Reverse:
1. scale of sines, marked ‘Sin’, divided [0] - 90˚, numbered by 10˚ (except 80); 0 - 60˚ subdivided to 30´, 60˚ - 80˚ subdivided to 1˚, 80˚ - 90˚ subdivided to 5˚.
2. scale of secants, marked ‘Sec’, divided 10˚ - 60˚, numbered by 10˚; 10˚ - 20˚ subdivided to 1˚, 20˚ - 40˚ subdivided to 30´, 40˚ - 60˚ subdivided to 15´.
3. scale of chords, marked ‘C’, divided [0] - 60˚, numbered by 10˚, subdivided to 1˚.
4. scale of secants, marked ‘Sec’, divided 60˚ - [76˚ 45´], numbered 60, 65, 70, 75, 76, subdivided to 15´.
5. scale of tangents split over two lines, marked ‘Tan’, divided [0] - 77˚, numbered 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 63 (twice), 65, 70, 75, 77, subdivided to 15´.
6. scale of hours, marked ‘Hou’, divided [0] - IIII, numbered by I, subdivided to 15 minutes.
at least two scales (including latitude scale) missing from middle.
7. declination scale, unnnamed, divided [0] - 23˚ 31´ - [0], numbered 5, 10, 15, 20, 23 31, 20, 15, 10, 5; subdivided to 15´.
8. date scale for winter months, unnamed, divided September 12 - Mar 10, named months, subdivided to 1 day.
9. hour scale, unnamed, divided 6 - 12, 1 - 6 and XII, I - XII, numbered by 1 and I, subdivided to 2 minutes.
10. list of prominent stars with their right ascensions.
11. protractor around three edges divided [90] - [0] - 90˚, numbered by 10˚, subdivided to 1˚.

Centre section of rule removed in an 18th/19th Century adaptation for use with an adjustable carpenter’s square.

Condition fair (tarnishing); incomplete (missing central section and part of one end)

References

Events