Accession No
1197
Brief Description
horizontal dial, by Baker, late 19th Century
Origin
Maker
Baker
Class
dials
Earliest Date
1900
Latest Date
1900
Inscription Date
Material
wood (mahogany); metal (brass, silver, steel)
Dimensions
Case length 74mm; breadth 75mm; thickness 12mm; compass 47 mm; dial plate 27 mm
Special Collection
Provenance
Transferred from the Museum of Archaeology and Ethnography, University of Cambridge (now Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology) in 1953.
Inscription
‘BAKER’ (on dial plate)
Description Notes
Mahogany case with brass fittings; Glass dome missing. Silvered dial plate set over an inset compass, divided 4 - 12, 1 - 8, numbered by 2, subdivided to 30 minutes. Compass offset 15° W for variation; (?gold) gnomon for 53˚ N. Compass with 8 lettered points on a metal rose, degree scale divided 0 - 30˚ W from N, numbered by 10, subdivided to 1˚, star marked at 23˚ W. Rising lever to stop compass needle movement. Compass needle missing (16-4-1997) and gnomon detached.
Condition: fair.
References
Events
Description
The horizontal dial is the most common form of sundial. The portable version proved very popular with the upper classes during the 19th Century. During this period it could best be described as the wristwatch of its day.
The hour lines are engraved onto a horizontal surface, with a gnomon (pointer) in the centre. Seasonal variations (caused by the earth’s orbit being elliptical, not circular) have to be compensated for, as they can affect the raw reading by up to 18 minutes.
18/10/2002
Created by: Saffron Clackson and Boris Jardine on 18/10/2002
FM:40337
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