Images(3)

Pocket compass sundial

Datec 1830

Object number00046751

NamePocket compass sundial

MediumWood, metal, glass, paper

DimensionsOverall: 27 mm, 18.28 g, 55 mm

ClassificationsTools and equipment

Credit LineANMM Collection Purchased with USA Bicentennial Gift funds

Terms

DescriptionThis style of compass sundial was quite popular in the eighteenth century. Each hour is divided into four sections, theoretically making it accurate to fifteen minutes. A common feature was the listing of the latitudes of a number of European cities and towns, for which the time could be determined by use of the sundial. This sundial base was made by the Massachusetts watchmaker Tuxford.HistoryPocket sundials were highly fashionable objects throughout the seventeenth century before the proliferation of clocks and pocket watches. Even in the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries they were still favoured by many because they were more accurate in establishing true time, particularly at sea where mechanical timekeepers were unreliable. SignificanceThis example by the Massachusetts watchmaker Tuxford is highly unusual in that it lists 52 place-names, including a number in the Pacific discovered during Cook’s voyages, ranging from Botany Bay and Norfolk Island to O-why-hee and Nootka Sound.