Accession No

3467

Brief Description

standard metre rule, by Etienne Lenoir, French, 1793 (c)

Origin

France; Paris

Maker

Lenoir, Etienne

Class

weights & measures; metrology

Earliest Date

1790

Latest Date

1800

Inscription Date

Material

metal (brass); wood (mahogany); organic fabric (wool / baize)

Dimensions

box length 1052; breadth 53mm; thickness 20mm

Special Collection

Provenance

Purchased from Harriet Wynter, London, England, 1986.

Inscription

‘Lenoir a Paris Depot general de la Marine’ (top of rule)

Description Notes

Standard metre rule by Lenoir, French, c. 1793

A standard metre length in brass, with scales of inches (36 pouces) and centimetres / millimetres. In fitted gree baize-lined mahogany box.

With inscription: ‘Lenoir a Paris Depot general de la Marine’

Condition good; complete

References

Events

Description
Scale Rule
A straight rule with a scale engraved along the length is the simplest instrument for making linear measurements, and has been used since antiquity. However, scale rules were not commonly used for making scale drawings until around 1550 in Northern Europe. Anthropomorphic dimensions such as the foot were commonly used for the scale.

Scale rules can be straight or folding and often have even scales on one side and diagonal scales on the other, which enable the user to divide any measurement into 100 parts. They were often decorated by the maker, demonstrating artistic as well as mathematical skills (although they became more purely functional from mid 18th century). They were usually made of brass, silver, ivory or boxwood.

FM:39873