actino-hydrometer
Date1861
Inventory Number1998-1-1634b
ClassificationPhotographic Apparatus
Subject
Maker
John Tagliabue
fl. 1838 - 1887
Supplier
Richard W. Thomas
?
fl. 1852 - 1879
Cultural Region
Place of Origin
Dimensionstent fully open in box: 78 x 112 x 84.5 cm (30 11/16 x 44 1/8 x 33 1/4 in.)
box closed: 40 x 84.5 x 48 cm (15 3/4 x 33 1/4 x 18 7/8 in.)
box closed: 40 x 84.5 x 48 cm (15 3/4 x 33 1/4 x 18 7/8 in.)
Material
Accessoriesinstruction manual
Bibliography
DescriptionThis hydrometer, its manual, and tin cap were found inside a storage box on the proper left side of the crate of the portable darkroom of Richard W. Thomas (1998-1-1634).
The hydrometer is made of glass with a bulb filled with mercury. The scale inside the glass tube is paper and runs 0-80 with divisions every 1. The text on the scale reads "ACTINO-HYDROMETER / Entered according to Act of Congress, 1861 / by JOHN TAGLIABUE, 30 North William St., N. Y." The second line is partly covered by the wrapped paper, but is mostly legible and presumed to track the title page of the instruction manual enclosed with the hydrometer in the storage tube.
The storage tube is cardboard covered in black leather with a pebbled finish. The bottom of the tube is wrapped in brown paper strips. The cylindrical cap is leather covered. The place where the cap slides onto the tube is covered in shiny, ivory-colored paper, which is much stained. A label on the tube begins:
ACTINO HYDROMETER / NOTICE: /
The scale of the instrument having been / re-arranged, it is necessary to observe carefully / the Directions, in order to note the alteration / which has been made. /
Each degree now indicates one grain of / nitrate of silver, instead of two, as heretofore. /
An ACTINO HYDROMETER (NO. 2), extending / from the 80 of this to the 80.... [At this point the paper is missing].
-------
The bottom and top of the inside of the tube are lined with cotton.
Also found in the storage box in the portable darkroom:
A cylindrical tin cap with an orange-colored exterior. The cap is filled with shredded newspaper, bits of cotton twill tape, and crumpled paper. This probably covered a tube holding another instrument.
The hydrometer is made of glass with a bulb filled with mercury. The scale inside the glass tube is paper and runs 0-80 with divisions every 1. The text on the scale reads "ACTINO-HYDROMETER / Entered according to Act of Congress, 1861 / by JOHN TAGLIABUE, 30 North William St., N. Y." The second line is partly covered by the wrapped paper, but is mostly legible and presumed to track the title page of the instruction manual enclosed with the hydrometer in the storage tube.
The storage tube is cardboard covered in black leather with a pebbled finish. The bottom of the tube is wrapped in brown paper strips. The cylindrical cap is leather covered. The place where the cap slides onto the tube is covered in shiny, ivory-colored paper, which is much stained. A label on the tube begins:
ACTINO HYDROMETER / NOTICE: /
The scale of the instrument having been / re-arranged, it is necessary to observe carefully / the Directions, in order to note the alteration / which has been made. /
Each degree now indicates one grain of / nitrate of silver, instead of two, as heretofore. /
An ACTINO HYDROMETER (NO. 2), extending / from the 80 of this to the 80.... [At this point the paper is missing].
-------
The bottom and top of the inside of the tube are lined with cotton.
Also found in the storage box in the portable darkroom:
A cylindrical tin cap with an orange-colored exterior. The cap is filled with shredded newspaper, bits of cotton twill tape, and crumpled paper. This probably covered a tube holding another instrument.
Signedon hydrometer: ACTINO-HYDROMETER / Entered according to Act of Congress, 1861 / by JOHN TAGLIABUE, 30 North William St., N. Y.
Inscribedon storage tube: ACTINO HYDROMETER
FunctionThe actino-hydrometer was used to prepare and test the strengths of solutions and silver baths used in a darkroom.
ProvenanceFound inside the portable darkroom (1998-1-1634).
Richard W. Thomas
Date: circa 1861
Accessories: bottle and beaker (1998-1-1634a); hydrometer and manual (1998-1-1634b)
Object number: 1998-1-1634
R. G. Greiner
Date: circa 1850
Accessories: black cylindrical cardboard case
Object number: DW0792
German
Date: late 19th-early 20th Century
Object number: 1998-1-1013
English
Date: 1820-1850
Accessories: glass vase; thermometer with bone scale from 20° to 120°; weights (10); carrying case
Object number: DW0220
F. C. Bridges
Date: 1850
Accessories: 1 Thermometer, 8 weights (9 originally present, 1 missing), 1 cap
Object number: DW0919
Date: 1890-1930
Object number: RS0505
See also/See also
