Accession No

3430

Brief Description

half-metre standard rule by Stanley

Origin

London; England

Maker

Stanley

Class

weights & measures; metrology

Earliest Date

1800

Latest Date

1950

Inscription Date

Material

metal (2 white metals, brass); wood; cloth (velvet)

Dimensions

length 544mm; breadth 19mm; thickness 5mm; case length 598mm; breadth54mm; height 26mm

Special Collection

Provenance

Purchased from King’s College, London, England, 10/1986. Purchased with the assistance of a grant from PRISM Fund.

Inscription

‘Stanley, London’ (obverse)

Description Notes

White metal rule marked with a scale divided 0 - 50 cm, subdivided to 1mm. Scale is positioned centrally on rule; there is some unmarked area of rule at either side. Reverse has a few division lines marked (possibly just as a test). Velvet-lined fitted wooden box with brass hook fasteners and hinges (white metal screws).

Condition good (some pitting and marking of rule); 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:40265