and Their Makers SILVIO A. BEDINI SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM BULLETIN 231 WASHINGTON, D.C. 1964 Publications of the United States National Museum The scholarly publications of the United States National Museum include two series, Proceedings of the United States National Museum and United States National Museum Bulletin . In these series are published original articles and monographs dealing with the collections and work of the Museum and setting forth newly acquired f

The writer wishes to acknowledge his great indebtedness to the various compilations relating to clockmakers and instruments which have been consulted in the preparation of this work, and which have provided an invaluable basis for it. He is especially grateful for the generous and interested assistance of the many who have cooperated in making this work possible. Particular credit must be given to Mrs. H. Ropes Cabot of the Bostonian Society; Mrs. Mary W. Phillips of the Department of Science an

Within recent years fairly exhaustive studies have been made on many aspects of American science and technology. For example, there have been numerous works relating to clocks and clockmakers, so that the collector and horological student have a number of useful sources on which to rely. More recently there has been a series of publications on the development of American tools and their makers. Until now, however, no systematic study has been attempted of the scientific instruments used in the U

Development of the sciences in the American Colonies was critically dependent upon the available tools—scientific instruments—and the men who made and used them. These tools may be separated into two groups. The first group consists of philosophical instruments and scientific teaching apparatus produced and employed for experimentation and teaching in educational institutions. The second includes the so-called "mathematical instruments" of practical use, which were employed by mathematical pract

Notable among the American practitioners was David Rittenhouse (1732-1796) of Norristown and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, who was established as a clockmaker and surveyor in Philadelphia by 1749. He surveyed the boundary between Pennsylvania and Delaware in 1763 with instruments of his own design and construction. Six years later, in 1769, he successfully calculated the transit of Venus and later observed that planet with astronomical instruments he had constructed himself. In the following year,

According to present evidence, only a few makers of metal instruments emigrated from England to the Colonies before the beginning of the Revolutionary War. A slightly larger number emigrated after the war had ended. In almost every instance, the immigrant instrument makers settled in the major cities, which were the shipping centers of the new country. The reason is obvious: in these cities there was the greatest demand for nautical and other instruments. One of the earliest immigrant instrument

An interesting fact concerning the instruments produced by 18th-century craftsmen is the relatively high incidence of instruments constructed of wood instead of brass or other metals. A significant reference to this use of wood is found in Alexander Hamilton's "Report on the Subject of Manufactures," published in 1821, [71] which refers to such items of wood as "Ships, cabinet-wares and turnery, wool and cotton cards, and other machinery for manufactures and husbandry, mathematical instruments,"

The beginning of the 19th century saw increased trading and shipping resulting from the economic development of the new republic, and the westward surge brought increased preoccupation with the settlement of communities and the development of land areas. As a consequence, the demand for instruments likewise increased. Whereas during the 18th century and until some time after the end of the Revolutionary War probably not more than a dozen instrument makers and dealers are known to have emigrated

Early American Scientific Instruments and Related Materials in the United States National Museum, Listed by Makers and Users Adams, George ; Fleet Street, London. (See Ellicott, Andrew; Surveying Instrument.) Bardin , W. & T. M.; 16 Salisbury Square, Fleet Street, London. (See Priestley, Joseph: Globes.) Bennet , N. (fl. 1777); Middleboro, Mass., or Middleboro, Pa. Alidade , plane table, scale 7-7/8 in. radius, compass 5-3/8 in. long. Brass scale and sights with compass in wooden box. In

(Asterisk denotes information unavailable) Alphabetical List (Asterisk denotes information unavailable.)...

Geographical Listing (Categories based on specific designations noted in advertisements) ASTRONOMICAL Caritat, H. (fl. 1799), New York. Chandlee, Goldsmith (c.1746-1821), Winchester, Va.; also made surveying instruments and clocks. Ellicott, Andrew (1754-1820), Baltimore; also made surveying instruments. Folger, Walter, Jr. (1765-1849), Nantucket, Mass.; also made surveying instruments. Greenough, Thomas (1710-1785), Boston; also made mathematical, surveying, and nautical instruments. Hamlin, Wi

Adams, George . Mathematical and geographical essays . London, 1791. Abbott, Katherine M . Old paths and legends of New England . New York: G. P. Putnam's Sons, 1909. Babb, Maurice J . David Rittenhouse. The Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography (July 1932), vol. 56, no. 223, pp. 193-224. Barton, William . Memoirs of the life of David Rittenhouse, L.L.D., F.R.S . Philadelphia, 1813. Bedini, Silvio A : A compass card by Paul Revere (?). Yale Library Gazette (July 1962), vol. 37, no. 1, p