Accession No
0716
Brief Description
Wheatstone’s heliochronometer, by Elliott, English, 1860 (c)
Origin
England; London; 30 Strand
Maker
Elliott
Class
dials
Earliest Date
1858
Latest Date
1863
Inscription Date
Material
metal (brass, copper, silver); glass
Dimensions
height 290mm; breadth 142mm; depth 155mm
Special Collection
Robert Whipple collection
Provenance
Purchased from T.H. Court in 03/1933.
Inscription
‘Wheatstones Heliochronometer
ELLIOTT, 30 Strand, LONDON’
Description Notes
Universal equinoctial heliochronometer.
3 levelling screws with knurled heads. Tribrach legs with bubble level; pillar support. Latitude quadrant divided 0 - [105˚], numbered by 10˚, subdivided to 1˚; declination scale divided [40˚] - 0 - [40˚], numbered by 10˚, subdivided to 1˚; both with clamps. Latitude arc adjusts whole instrument; declination scale only adjusts telescope. Aperture at the base for the gunpowder. Clock dial on polar axis divided I - XII numbered by I, subdivided to 15 minutes, and 1 - 12 anticlockwise.
incomplete, probably missing lense.
References
Events
Description
R.S. Whipple spent his life working with scientific instruments. After starting his career at Kew Observatory and then the instrument maker L.P. Casella, Whipple moved in 1898 to join the Cambridge Scientific Instrument Company. Here, he rose through the ranks to become its Managing Director and Chairman. Along the way he began acquiring historic instruments and books as a hobby.
This Wheatstone's heliochronometer is one of those instruments. Once adjusted for latitude and solar declination, the clock dial will read the time when the sighting tube is in line with the sun.
07/10/2025
Created by: Hannah Price on 07/10/2025
FM:39952
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