A GEORGE III BRASS AN IVORY ORRERY
Prospective purchasers are advised that several co… Read more THE PROPERTY OF A DISTINGUISHED EUROPEAN COLLECTOR (LOTS 1161 - 1166)
A GEORGE III BRASS AN IVORY ORRERY

DUDLEY ADAMS (1762-1830), CIRCA 1800

Details
A GEORGE III BRASS AN IVORY ORRERY
DUDLEY ADAMS (1762-1830), CIRCA 1800
The drum-type orrery signed on the silvered dial-plate Adams London, the geared mechanism in working order, the ivory planets with their satellites include Uranus, supported on a brass column with three folding feet, with an incomplete tellurian accessory
17½in. (44.5cm.) high
Special notice
Prospective purchasers are advised that several countries prohibit the importation of property containing materials from endangered species, including but not limited to coral, ivory and tortoiseshell. Accordingly, prospective purchasers should familiarize themselves with relevant customs regulations prior to bidding if they intend to import this lot into another country.

Lot Essay

A sixth satellite was proposed for Uranus in 1797 by William Herschel to provide us with a terminus post quem for the orrery.

The youngest child of George Adams senior (1709-1772) by his second marriage, Dudley Adams was apprenticed to his brother George to train as a mathematical instrument maker. On his marriage ten years later, his mother gave him the globe plates and tools that had belonged to his father, and in 1788 he opened his own shop at 53 Charing Cross. In 1794, possibly as a result of supplying 28 inch globes for Lord Macartney's mission to China, he was appointed globemaker to George III, a prestigious post previously held by his father. However, he lived well beyond his means, and his bankruptcy in 1817 ended the Adams instrument business, founded in 1734.

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