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University Collections

Collection

Close up of a large brass wheel on a steel axel resting on four smaller wheels.

Equatorial telescope. A brass telescope mounted on a set of large, ornate brass wheels with finely graduated scales on them.

Equatorial telescope.

Made by Jeremiah Sisson (1760-1777) modified by Jesse Ramsden (1782)

ABDNP:200001a

Achromatic telescope. Long brass telescope with smaller viewfinder telescope on a tall mahogany stand with three legs.

Achromatic telescope.

Dollond & Co., London

(1781-1783)

ABDNP:200006a

Hadley's octant. An triangular ebony frame shaped like a section of a circle, with an ivory scale along the curved outer edge. A brass arm with a small scale and a screw at the end reaches from the point of the frame to the outer edge and can be rotated along it. There are three black glass discs in hinged brass frames on one side and the whole instrument stands flat on small brass legs.

Hadley's octant.

Maker unknown

(1803)

ABDNP:200044a

Dr. Lorimer's dipping compass. An octagonal wooden box from out of which projects four intersecting brass rings perpendicular to each other and incised with degree scales. Suspended in the innermost ring, which is oriented upright, is a needle which can rotate freely inside the ring.

Lorimer's dipping compass

Dr. John Lorimer

(1764)

ABDNP:200013a

Table compass. A compass, eleven centimetres wide, in an octagonal wooden frame with a glass cover bordered by brass. The compass needle sits above a disc of paper printed with an anthropomorphic sun in the centre and directions and degrees around the edge.

Table compass.

D. Adams, London

(1799)

ABDNP:200325a

Proportional compasses. A pair of long brass rectangles with numbers inscribed up their length, each with a long steel point at one end a short point at the other. They are screwed together with an ornate knob.

Proportional compasses.

C. Lunan

(1782)

ABDNP:200340a

Azimuth compass. A compass with a rotatable ring-shaped brass frame around it mounted on a heavy brass stand. The frame is marked with degree scales. Four removable rectangular plates of brass, each with a rectangular hole, a slit and three small circular holes in them, project vertically from the frame equidistant from one another.

Azimuth compass.

Dudley Adams, London

(1790-1817)

ABDNP:200369a

McCulloch's mariner's compass. A large compass consisting of a wide ring of card printed with directions and a degree scale, covered with glass and fixed on a steel strip screwed to a conical projection underneath. The compass is on a brass gimbal mount in a wooden box.

McCulloch's mariner's compass.

McCulloch, London

(1792)

ABDNP:200371a

Standard foot. A brass ruler, a foot long, inscribed 'J. Sisson London'.

Standard foot.

Jeremiah Sisson

(1760-1785)

ABDNP:200341a

Dip quadrant. A long steel needle mounted on a brass stand allowing it to rotate in one direction. An arc of brass projects from the base of the stand in the same direction as the rotation of the needle. The arc is marked with a degrees scale.

Dip quadrant.

Maker unknown

(1790-1840)

ABDNP:202091a

Pulleys. Large wooden frame, about half a metre square, suspended from which are six brass pulleys and weight systems, ranging in complexity from a single pulley with a weight to six pulleys with a single weight.

Pulleys and weights in various arrangements.

W & S Jones, London

(1800-1810)

ABDNP:200018a

Double windmills. Two sets of four brass vanes on an axel with a leaf spring connected to it, on a brass and wooden stand. The vanes are facing the direction of rotation on one set and are twisted away from it on the other set.

Windmills demonstrating air resistance.

Made by John King

(1781-1789)

ABDNP:200041a

A wooden cube with two brass and turned wooden handles projecting diagonally backwards from the sides, and a small brass plate projecting backward from the top. The plate rests on a stand with a point. The cube balances perfectly upright.

Balancing cube demonstrating centre of gravity.

Made by Patrick Copland

(1790-1810)

ABDNP:200206a

Dotchins. Small wooden boxes shaped like guitars with long necks, containing quills marked with scales from which metal dishes are suspended with string.

Dotchins (Chinese scales).

Maker unknown

(1780-1820)

ABDNP:200030a - d

Diving bell model. A glass bell with a brass fitting on top out of which a rubber tube projects. A length of string is tied to the fitting. Inside the bell is a rubber ring by the opening, suspended by wire from the top of the bell.

Model diving bell.

Maker unknown

(1780-1800)

ABDNP:200063a

Aristotle's watering pot. A small tin watering can with small holes perforated in the base.

Aristotle's watering pot.

Made by Patrick Copland

(1780-1800)

ABDNP:200119a

Metal hearts. A wooden box with five heart shaped cavities inside which are an iron, a copper, a brass and a lead heart. One is missing.

Box with metal hearts.

George Adams Jnr.

(1780-1795)

ABDNP:200118a

Oscillating prism. A small glass prism connected to a brass mechanism with a crank.

Oscillating prism.

Maker unknown

(1790-1890)

ABDNP:200393a

Magdeburg hemispheres. Two dark brass hollow hemispheres which fit together, with bright brass handles projecting from the top of each hemisphere. One has a short handle, the other has a long handle with a valve.

Magdeburg hemispheres.

Maker unknown

(1790-1820)

ABDNP:200317a

Suction pump. A glass tube with a small brass fitting covering the top and a larger one on the bottom. Hinged on to the bottom fitting is a brass plunger with the end wrapped in fabric, operated with a lever. A small pipe also projects from the bottom fitting.

Suction pump.

Maker unknown

(1790-1905)

ABDNP:200535a

Clock movement. A small brass contraption consisting of wheels, cogs, plates, and a spring.

Clock movement used in a vacuum.

C. Lunan

(1815)

ABDNP:200358a

Cohering plates. Two thick brass discs about eight centimetres wide, one slightly larger than the other, with handles.

Cohering plates.

Maker unknown

(1780-1822)

ABDNP:200323a

Electrostatic generator. A green glass ball mounted on a spindle with a crank in a wooden frame, with a cushion pressing against the bottom of the ball.

Electrostatic generator.

Maker unknown

(18th century)

ABDUA:18382

Spark or flicker tube. A glass tube with bulbous brass ends and a spiral of silver metal dots running along the inside.

Spark or flicker tube.

Maker unknown

(1780-1810)

ABDNP:201762a

Discharging tongs. Two metal rods with balls on the end fixed to a glass rod with a wooden handle. The metal rods are mounted on wheels allowing them to be rotated together or apart.

Discharging tongs.

Made by Patrick Copland

(1780-1810)

ABDNP:200471a

Head of Despair. A small wooden head with bared teeth, red lips and covered with flaking paint, with long white hair.

'Head of Despair', model head with hair which stands on end when electrified.

Made by Patrick Copland

(1780-1810)

ABDNP:200112a

Insulating stand. A thin brass disc about 15 centimetres wide on a glass pillar with a turned wooden base.

Insulating stand.

Maker unknown

(circa 1800)

ABDNP:201397a

Combustion tube. A glass tube about 40 centimetres long with brass fittings and turned wooden knobs on either end. On one end the knob can be pulled or pushed to operate a plunger inside the tube.

Combustion tube.

Maker unknown

(1780-1810)

ABDNP:201763a

Graham's deadbeat escapement model. Brass model of an escapement consisting of a 60 second clock face behind which is a toothed wheel which is struck alternately by the ends of a curved brass arm connected to a spindle. The spindle would have a pendulum attached to it.

Model of Graham's deadbeat clock escapement.

Made by John King

(1781-1789)

ABDNP:200022a

Arnold's compensated escapement model. A large brass and iron contraption, on a wooden base, consisting of a wheel with two arcs of metal terminating in brass balls around the outside, on an axel with another smaller brass wheel. Underneath is another axel with a toothed wheel and a small wooden barrel on it. An irregularly bent strip of metal curls over the top axel.

Model of Arnold's compensated clock escapement.

Made by John King

(1781-1789)

ABDNP:200364a

Diagonal machine. A small square wooden frame, about a foot wide. A slightly smaller frame slides horizontally out. A brass ball on a string and attached to a pulley on the smaller frame moves diagonally upwards as the frame is slid horizontally.

'Diagonal machine' demonstrating sum of compound motions.

Made by Patrick Copland

(1780-1790)

ABDNP:201403a

A large brass wheel sitting on four smaller wheels, in a brass frame on a circular wooden stand. The smaller wheels spin at a much slower rate when the large wheel is spun.

Low friction bearing, originally part of an Atwood machine.

Made by Patrick Copland

(1780-1800)

ABDNP:200205a

Copland webpage footer.jpg

Collection