An 18th-Century German gilt equinoctial compass dial,

Details

An 18th-Century German gilt equinoctial compass dial,
signed I G V, the folding hour ring with engraved numerals III - XII - IX, with spring loaded folding gnomon, folding latitude arc graduated 20°-80°, the octagonal gilt horizontal plate with engraved decoration, the compass with engraved, silvered rose and blued steel needle with brass cap, the underside engraved with the latitudes of 11 European cities, in contemporary silk-lined, leather-covered case -- 2 1/8in. (5.2cm.) long; together with an instruction sheet, the recto titled Gebrauch dises Compasses with the maker's name at the foot Johann Georg Vogler, Compass-Macher in Augsburg, the verso titled Elevatio Poli, and listing the latitudes of 157 European cities (folds a little worn)

See Illustration (2)

Literature

Ernst Zinner Deutsche und Niederländische Astronomische Instrumente des 11.-18. Jahrhunderts (Munich, 1972)
Dirk Syndram Wissenschaftliche Instrumente und Sonnenuhren (Munich, 1989)

Lot Essay

Johann Georg Vogler (1720-65), brother of Andreas Vogler (cf. lot 188) worked as a maker in Augsburg between circa 1745 and 1765. Syndram illustrates and describes two equinoctial compass sundials by Johann Georg Vogler as items 84 and 85, both, like the preasent example, signed on the underside "I G V". Zinner notes that: "Er machte sich bekannt durch seine Reisesonnenuhren" (p. 572), and lists further examples signed "I G V".

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