| Description: | Nairne mahogany stick barometer The flame mahogany of this beautifully proportioned barometer is accented with light maple on the beveled borders. Below the swan neck pediment with brass finial a lockable door opens to the silvered barometer scale engraved “Nairne London”. The left side of the scale ranges from ‘Very Dry’ to ‘Stormy’ and on the right the barometric pressure is indicated with a venire slide to record the pressure at a particular time. The longer lower door opens to a silvered scale with mercurial tube to indicate the temperature 0° - 120° with engraved indications “Blood Heat” at 98, “Temperate” at 55, and “Freezing” at 32 degrees. The barometer tube with boxwood cistern is concealed within the trunk of the barometer with traveling screw at the bottom. Dimensions: 40”(100cm) high, 4 3/4”(12cm) wide Circa 1770 Edward Nairne (1726-1806) was an optical and mathematical instrument maker who published various works on astronomical, navigational, and pneumatic instruments. He apprenticed in 1741 to Matthew Loft, became free of the Spectaclemakers’ Company in 1748, and was Master of the company in 1797. Since Nairne and Blunt worked together but sold under their own names, it is hard to precisely date individual instruments, but examples signed “Nairne London” should most logically be dated pre-1774. A similar barometer to this is listed in an account book dated 1768 at Trinity House, Newcastle. |
| Price: | P.O.A. |
| Stock Number: | ps103 |
