Butterfield-type sundial with case
Date: circa 1785
Inventory Number: 7040
Classification: Sundial
Dimensions:open - gnomon as found: 6.7 × 10.7 × 11.5 cm (2 5/8 × 4 3/16 × 4 1/2 in.)
closed: 1.8 × 10.7 × 11.5 cm (11/16 × 4 3/16 × 4 1/2 in.)
case: 4.3 × 12.8 × 13.5 cm (1 11/16 × 5 1/16 × 5 5/16 in.)
Accessories: case
DescriptionBrass octagonal dial plate with compass at one end. Three hour scales for latitudes 42, 49, and 55 degrees are numbered in Roman, Roman, and Arabic numerals. Bird gnomon for latitudes 40 to 65.
Wind rose with fleur-de-lys pointing north. "N, E, S, O" mark cardinal points. Four divisions are provided. French initials mark four intermediate points. Seventy-two divisions are provided. There is a magnetic declination scale calibrated in degrees from 0 to 30 degrees West.
The reverse side of the dial plate is engraved with the names and latitudes (in degrees) of 21 European towns. The front of the dial plate includes the latitudes for Paris and London (which is unusal because London's latitude, 51, is not one of the hour scale latitudes). The back of the compas bowl is engraved with a floral design.
The dial is unusually large with three supporting feet. The compass needlehas a lift to protect the pivot. The engraving is fine quality but there is an error in the labelling of the latitude of the inner chapter ring that is partially obscured but visible. Unusually thick baseplate. Scale on gonomon is on the less common side.
Octagonal leather covered fitted case lined with brown cloth. 1 hinge, 2 hinged clasps (1 broken).
Signedon top: Sykes AParis 49
Functiontime-finding : 40-65 degrees
ProvenanceJoseph Drecker, Aachen, Germany, before 1928 (no. 170); Frederik Casparus Wieder, Noordwijk, The Netherlands, 1928; D. P. Wheatland, Topsfield, MA, 1959; given to CHSI, ca. 1987.