Linked bySCIENCE

Our 25th Anniversary catalogue, A Measure of Time, was so well received last year by our friends and clients that the idea of producing a Newsletter on a regular basis was born. We plan to keep you informed about new and interesting stock as it arrives, and the services we offer. We shall also draw you into our St James's circle, by providing news on the London scene, past and present: where to stay, eat, shop, and what to see and do. History will feature largely, for we know that antique collectors love to learn more about the past, and a flavour of science will also be added. We hope you will tell us what you would like to read about.

One urgent question, once the Newsletter plan was agreed, was what to call it. In defiance of Shakespeare's famous question, "What's in a name?", every advertiser knows how important it is to choose an appropriate and meaningful title for any new venture. So we finally came up with the idea of using the latitude of London, 51 degrees, 30 minutes, to emphasise our worldwide clientele, and our scientific bias, through the sale of the superb scientific artifacts of the past.

Globes, from the pocket variety to the splendid library models, are perhaps the most popular items in our gallery. The instruments used by the seaman and the astronomer, as well as those wonderful tools of the 18th and 19th century scientist, the microscope and telescope, also come high on our stock list. But we are exclusive only in the quality of what we sell. Anything unusual and finely crafted is likely to find its way into 75a Jermyn Street.

With Christmas approaching, and the present hunt on, we remind you that we offer all year round a range of small items that are ideally suitable as gifts. A selection of these is listed below.

A DESSERT SERVICE Astrolabio,by Piero Fornasetti

It is rare to find tableware with a scientific decoration. This remarkable set of 2 large (10in.) and 13 small (8in) dessert plates is exceptional both in its theme and in its quality. The artistic appeal of that most elegant of instruments, the astrolabe, has been fully realised by one of the most remarkable artists of this century.

Piero Fornasetti (1913-1988) worked in Milan, and from the 1940s was recognised as an exceptional designer on an international scale. His style was influenced by illusionism and architectural perspectives, and the images he juxtaposed in his designs are as various as those in stream of consciousness writing, and thus very typical of his period. His decorative technique was applied to an astonishing variety of objects, and he used the whole gamut of media, from sculpture to ceramics and textiles.

A unique COMPOUND MICROSCOPE

Signed G.Adams, No 60 Fleet Street, London

The stand of this microscope is fundamentally a variation on that of George Adams Junior, figured in his Essays on the Microscope (London 1787), plate 4, figure 2. Adams Junior died in 1795. The differences in the foot (here a folding tripod with scroll legs), the mounting of the optical tube, and the curved stay to avoid vibrations, suggest that it was made for a serious microscopist, and that these features are unique because they were bespoke.

Another unusual feature of this fine, instrument in its mahogany carrying case is the provision of two mirrors to fit a bracket at the bottom of the limb, one concave, one convex. Six of the possible eight objective lenses are present, as are six large ivory slides with a hand-written listing of the specimens they contain. There are many other accessories.

Possibly added to the kit around 1800 is a diamond ruling on a strip of speculum metal, measuring two inches by half an inch; on the reverse is the signature: W.HARRISON. The micrometer is contained in a box covered in polished shark skin, dyed green, the interior lined in red velvet.

Pair of 21" LIBRARY GLOBES

by J & W Cary

This splendid pair of globes is of special interest because they were made by the brothers John and William Cary, who had separate businesses but carried out some projects in partnership, as here. Globes bearing the partnership name are rare. The Carys ran a two-generation business in London, working across the turn of the 18th to 19th centuries, and continuing to the 1850s. They had premises at various numbers in the Strand, and in St James's. No 181 Strand is the address given on these globes.

On fine mahogany stands incorporating magnetic compasses, the celestial globe is dated 1st March 1799 and the terrestrial 1st March 1815, with additions and corrections to 1835. This spans the period when the Carys were London's leading globe makers.

GEOMETRICAL QUADRANT

by Erasmus Habermel, c.1598 Signed: PRAGÆ FECIT ERASMVS HABERMELIVS

Erasmus Habermel was appointed astronomical and geometrical instrument maker to the Emperor Rudolf II in Prague from 1583. By that time he must have been an established and successful maker in order to win a position at a court noted throughout Europe for its artists and craftsmen, under the patronage of one of the greatest collectors of all time. Habermel's work is remarkable for the delicacy of the engraved lettering and the beauty of the decoration, reminiscent of goldsmith's work. His legacy of over 100 instruments speaks for itself, and most are housed, because of their quality, in museums. To find a signed Habermel instrument out of captivity, as it were, is most unusual.

This superb instrument is intended for surveying, and has the fittings to attach it to the head of a tripod. It could be used in two ways with the frame verticle or horizontal. As a clinometer, in the vertical plane, the side marked umbra versa is set upright, and a plumb line would be used. Set horizontally as a geometrical quadrant, a levelling device, not present, would be needed.

A similar, larger quadrant is in the Paris Observatory. It is signed in exactly the same way, and is dated 1599. Habermel signed like this from 1596 to 1600, judging from seven of his known instruments made during these years. It is reasonable, therefore to date this quadrant to c. 1598.

A Large, Mid-19th Century GEARED TELLURIUM

The tellurium was one of a series of astronomical models, designed to show in three dimensions the movements of the Earth, Sun, Moon and planets. The tellurium demonstrated the effect of the motion of the earth and the obliquity of its axis in causing the alternation of day and night, and the succession of the seasons. These models were popular from the 18th century through the 19th both for teaching and as library pieces.

This fine example dates from around 1865, and is in brass, with elaborate gearing driven by a handle. The 10-inch earth globe is signed "Newton & Sons". This instrument is remarkable in that it bears the name of the inventor and patentee, as well as the maker. The skill in these astronomical models lay in the gearing, to ensure that the motions of the heavenly bodies are exactly reproduced. The inventor here was Joseph Lionel Naish, while the maker was Gr.(probably Graham) Adams of Lambeth.

FIFTY ONE THIRTY.

Issue 1. December 1998

© Trevor Philip and Sons