A gilt brass pair of one-handed dividers with quadrant, its outer edge fretted with a strap-work design, legs heavily engraved, iron pointers let in to brass, slit leg with two dovetailed slots filled in with brass strips, the obverse of the quadrant is marked out with a shadow square LATVS VERSAM-LATVS RECTVM, the scale is divided 0-60-0, over a degree scale 0-90o, horary quadrant marked with hours, signs of the zodiac and a calender scale, and the names of the months in Latin, the first point of Aries is at about 20 March, and the curves are drawn for the latitude of 50.5o,: the reverse is marked with three density scales for stone, iron and lead Lapis, Ferrum, Plumbum, seven scales for linear measure corresponding to the opening of the points at the ends of the legs, labelled with intials to the left, and running above each set of divisions, the name of the measure in mirror-image lettering -- 9 7/8in.(225mm)length

Details

A gilt brass pair of one-handed dividers with quadrant, its outer edge fretted with a strap-work design, legs heavily engraved, iron pointers let in to brass, slit leg with two dovetailed slots filled in with brass strips, the obverse of the quadrant is marked out with a shadow square LATVS VERSAM-LATVS RECTVM, the scale is divided 0-60-0, over a degree scale 0-90o, horary quadrant marked with hours, signs of the zodiac and a calender scale, and the names of the months in Latin, the first point of Aries is at about 20 March, and the curves are drawn for the latitude of 50.5o,: the reverse is marked with three density scales for stone, iron and lead Lapis, Ferrum, Plumbum, seven scales for linear measure corresponding to the opening of the points at the ends of the legs, labelled with intials to the left, and running above each set of divisions, the name of the measure in mirror-image lettering -- 9 7/8in.(225mm)length

Lot Essay

The measures are the foot (semipes) or half palm (semipalmus) for seven European towns: Venice, Paris, Antwerp, Brussels, Naples, Genoa. The scales have been checked by measuring the opening, and calculating the length in millimetres for one complete foot or palm. There seem to be some errors, the Venetian foot should be longer, the Rome shorter, and the Paris foot is more properly placed at the position where Venice now stands

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