Images(2)

inclining sundial

Date1791

Inventory Number7223

ClassificationSundial

Subject

Maker Johann Engelbrecht 1726 - 1807

Collector David P. Wheatland 1898 - 1993

Place of Origin

Dimensionsopen: 6.8 × 13.4 × 10.3 cm (2 11/16 × 5 1/4 × 4 1/16 in.)
closed: 1 × 13.4 × 10.3 cm (3/8 × 5 1/4 × 4 1/16 in.)

Material

AccessoriesNone.

DescriptionEngelbrecht horizontal Inclining sundial
The dial is comprised of a rectangular brass with hinged gnomon that folds flat against the dialplate for storage. The gnomon for the dial supports a plummet that is calibrated with a scale marked 40°-60° in 1° increments by which the dial can be oriented for latitude. The chapter ring is marked IIII-XII-I-VIII with 15 minute subdivisions. There is a notch in the gnomon that casts a shadow on a declination scale marked in 10 day increments. There is no magnetic compass.,rectangular,The notched gnomon with the associated declination scale is unusual.

SignedSigned "Fecit Iohann Engelbrecht Beraunensis. 1791." engraved on dial plate.

Curatorial RemarksAppraisal by Brieux, 9/24/84: $1000.

FunctionAn inclining dial is similar to a horizontal dial, but its plate—and not its style—is adjusted for latitude. The style and the hour lines are fixed for one latitude, in this example 50°. As the plate is raised or lowered for use at other latitudes, it remains parallel to the horizontal plane of its original latitude.

ProvenanceDavid Wheatland purchased from Ernst Weil, London, March 16, 1959 (catalog 27, #309). Donated to CHSI 1985.