Accession No

1273

Brief Description

orrery (planetarium) with interchangeable tellurion (aka tellurian) and lunarium, by George Adams Jnr., English, 1789 - 1795

Origin

England; London

Maker

Adams, George (Jnr.)

Class

astronomy; demonstration

Earliest Date

1789

Latest Date

1795

Inscription Date

Material

metal (brass, white metal (silver?), steel); ivory; wood (ebony); paper

Dimensions

diameter 225 mm; height 475 mm lunarium length 281mm; breadth 100mm; height 150mm tellarium length 264mm; breadth 70mm; height 186mm

Special Collection

Provenance

Inscription

G. ADAMS
MATHEMATICAL
instrument Maker
To His Majesty
Fleet Str LONDON
Orbit of Jupiter its period is 4330 days
Orbit of Saturn its period is 10750 days
Orbit of the new Geargian Planet its period is 32850 days
This Comet appeared
in the year 1661
This most remarkable Comet appeared
in the year 1680 its period is 575 years
This Comet appeared in 1682 and
again in 1758 its period is 75 1/2 years
(on globe) A Correct
GLOBE
with the new
Discoveries
(on Lunarium) APOGEE
PERIGEE

Description Notes

Orrery (planetarium) with interchangeable tellurion (tellurian) and lunarium, by George Adams, English, 1789 - 1794.

Orrery with brass body and mechanism. Silvered dial on brass body; supported by brass pedestal and splayed tripod feet. Cogged outer edge to silvered dial; graduated from outer edge with calendar to 1 day. Signs of the zodiac graduated 0-30 x 12 to 1. Orbits of Uranus Saturn and Jupiter with representations of the planets; paths of 3 comets.

The main body can be configured in three ways by interchanging orrery, tellurion, or lunarium attachments:

1273.1 = Standard orrery configuration. Stepped central pillar and push on brass sun. Planets on brass arms to Uranus with 2 satellites, Saturn with 7. All in ivory with one side painted black except Earth. Operated by ivory handle with key into clockwork mechanism in body. Saturn’s ring represented by ivory ring - BROKEN. Half of this ring has broken off, and the broken half is designated as 1273.4 (see below).

1273.2 = Brass clockwork tellarium. Globe. 12 paper gores with Callottes. Hand coloured. Hour circle below graduated clockwise I - XII twice, numbered by I, divided to 15 minutes with pointer. Brass index arm represents a central solar ray. Pointer onto main silvered dial. Milled nut holds all parts rigid on a central pillar.

1273.3 = Brass clockwork lunarium. Operates by cog fitting to outer cog on dial. Ivory Earth and Moon. Tilting ring. Silvered rings graduated with signs of the zodiac and 0-30 x 12 to 1 and 0-29 by 1. Ivory Earth marked with equator and tropics; ebony and ivory Moon. Celestial latitude scale divided 0 - 5 - 0 - 5 - 0, numbered by 1˚, divided to 30´. Circle below marked ‘APOGEE’ and ‘PERIGEE’. Lunar age scale below divided anticlockwise 1 - 29 1/2, numbered by 1. Inside this a zodiac scale divided to named sign, numbered by 10˚, graduated to 1˚.

1273.4 = Broken off piece of orrery. Ivory half piece of Saturn’s ring. Awaiting conservation treatment to reattach.

Condition - fair (lunarium requires attention); complete.

References

Events