NavList:
A Community Devoted to the Preservation and Practice of Celestial Navigation and Other Methods of Traditional Wayfinding
Re: Old Sextant pictures
From: Bill Morris
Date: 2008 Jul 22, 13:34 -0700
From: Bill Morris
Date: 2008 Jul 22, 13:34 -0700
What lovely instruments, and thank you, Jeremy for sharing your photos. George has already commented about the C20 ones, which I think are by Heath and Co, a noted English maker, and about the early C19 ebony one. That leaves the mid C19 one, Sextants_4. I find these interesting because, although there appears to be a multiplicity of makers, there is relatively little variation in the individual parts. Instrument makers I think were often instrument assemblers, just as contemporary clock makers were for the most part clock assemblers. For example, there was probably only a handful of people casting the frames in bell metal, a high tin bronze, not brass which did not cast well, and another handful finishing and dividing the arcs; and there is practically no variation in the construction of the wedge-shaped boxes. The "maker" would then probably put all the bits together, engrave his name on the limb and put it in the shop window. Occasionally, one sees a noted maker, apparently jealous of his reputation making it clear who made and who sold, e.g. "Crichton for A. Balarie, Sunderland." Bill Morris On Jul 23, 3:27�am, Anabasi...@aol.com wrote: > Im not quite sure how to make a new post with attachments, so I am going to � > try and see if this works. > > I was at the Long Island (NY, USA) Maritime Museum and a local nautical � > antiques dealer (_www.greatsouthbay.com_(http://www.greatsouthbay.com) ) had a > number of �items on display. �Included in this array were several sextants from > the �second decade of the 20th century, one quintant (175 deg total) and one � > octant. �I was interested in seeing that the sextants didn't �have micrometer > drums but rather magnifiers to read the tiny engraved �markings on the arcs. � > I wasn't allowed to touch them, but did take some �photographs for the list to > look at and comment. > > There are more pictures and prices on their website. �I see that he �lists > his quintant as a "pentant". > > I did ask at the museum about navigation, but they were more concerned with � > oyster and clam boats then navigation. > > Jeremy > > Ebony/Ivory Octant c 1830 > > I think this is the German Quintant > > Jeremy > > **************Get fantasy football with free live scoring. Sign up for > FanHouse Fantasy Football today. � � � > (http://www.fanhouse.com/fantasyaffair?ncid=aolspr00050000000020) > > �Octant2.jpg.JPG > 124KViewDownload > > �Sextants_1.JPG > 118KViewDownload > > �Sextants_2.JPG > 118KViewDownload > > �Sextants_3.JPG > 110KViewDownload > > �Sextants_4.JPG > 58KViewDownload > > �Sextants_5.JPG > 117KViewDownload --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ Navigation List archive: www.fer3.com/arc To post, email NavList@fer3.com To , email NavList-@fer3.com -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---