Accession No

0217

Brief Description

horizontal dial, Butterfield type, by Claude Langlois, second quarter 18th Century

Origin

France; Paris

Maker

Langlois, Claude

Class

dials; horology

Earliest Date

1725

Latest Date

1750

Inscription Date

Material

metal (silver); glass

Dimensions

breadth 65mm; compass diameter 32mm

Special Collection

Robert Whipple collection

Provenance

Purchased by Robert Stewart Whipple from R. Middegaels, Paris. In addition, Whipple paid Munsey (?), Cambridge for repairs in the form of two screws on 07/1925. The object is listed in the accession register under 31/03/1925, but there is a note “(actually Feb. 26)”, indicating that the date of purchase was 26/02/1925.

Inscription

‘C. Langlois AParis’ (top)

Description Notes

Silver; octagonal base decorated at the base of the gnomon; 3 hour scales ‘pour’ 49, 45 & 42 deg. of latitude and calibrated IIII-XII-VIII, 4-12-8, V-XII-VII, by 1 to 1/4, 1/2 and 1/2 hour.
Inset compass with 8 point rose; fleur de lys north, 8 cardinal points; marked 12 1/2 deg. W for magnetic variation. Decorated ‘bird’ gnomon adjustable for latitude over a scale 40-60 by 5 deg to 1 deg.; verso a list of towns and latitudes (see file).

Condition: fair.

References

Events

Description
The Butterfield dial was named after the man who popularised this kind of sundial. His name was Michael Butterfield, and he was an instrument maker in Paris, though he originally came from England.

Butterfield dials are a type of horizontal dial, normally octagonal or oval in shape, and are quite small. They have several different hour scales marked out on them, each of which is used at a different latitude. However, the gnomon also needs to be adjusted for the latitude. Butterfield designed an elegant scale for the gnomon adjustment, in the form of a bird. The beak of the bird marked the place on the latitude scale of the gnomon, which was lifted up or down until it was at the correct latitude. A compass in the bottom of the dial was used to make sure that it was pointing in the right direction.

This kind of sundial was not very accurate, but they were made in very large numbers, so they were obviously very popular. Most of the existing ones came from France, where many different makers produced them.

FM:39832