Posts Tagged ‘Daniel Quare’

FIRST HALF OF NINETEENTH CENTURY
1800-1850
THE year i800 is a convenient date in the history of furniture only in the sense that it marked the begin-
ning of a new century antique hexagon ladles . Apart from that it showed no sudden change in style any more than the start of any other century countries that art deco was very popular . The same king was on the throne and was to live for another twenty years, although for the last ten the Prince of Wales was to act as regent lion feet table . Furthermore, Sheraton, who published his first furniture book in the last decade of the eighteenth century (see p jennens and bettridge . 181), brought out his Cabinet Dictionary in 1803, and lived until 18o6 elephant mahogany antq . Change was taking place, but no more quickly than at any previous period j s henry furniture .
At the same time, the period 1800-1850 is momentous in that it saw the beginning of the industrial age in which the machine began to replace hand labour hinges leaves antique table . At first its effect was scarcely felt, for the machines themselves were crude and unreliable and had not stood the test of time “holland & sons” cabinet . Furthermore, no one had had sufficient experience in their use to use them to the best advantage hammered flatware crest urn . In any case, their early use was largely confined to Government departments such as shipyards 18th century rococo copper candlesticks . Being individually built, they were necessarily expensive 4 foot walnut drop leaf table .
The use of machines speeds up work and reduces costs, and that was largely the reason for their introduction scottish art nouveau inlay furniture . There was, however, another and, in the long run, a deeper-reaching effect 18th century soup urn . This was the influence on design itself circular extending dining table . When you install a machine its first use is invariably to quicken and ease the more back-breaking jobs, such as converting logs, ripping out parts, rough planing them, and so on wileman ironstone coffee pot . Very soon, however, other possibilities are realised, and you see that it can be used for other work which would be difficult or at least expensive by hand craftsman for wooden vitrine . Then comes the idea of adapting the machine for other operations, so that more and more handwork is avoided sheffield plate candelabra . At last hand work becomes a thing to be avoided, and then is born that insidious idea of making the design to suit the machine silver candlestick dated 1750 . In a broad sense this is inevitable because any change in technique of
FIG french drop front desk . 156 antique table porcelain top . MAHOGANY CHAIR WITH BRASS INLAY pre war veneer antique bureau . 18io-i815-
This is of special Interest in that the back legs are not set square with
the front but line up with the slope of the side rails (see plan) brass frame girandole images . This is a
feature not found in chairs of earlier date anglo-chinese furniture . See also F in Fig first antique table de chevet . 157 decorating with a pie crust antique table . Owing
to the pronounced side curvature this results in the bottoms of the legs
converging value of mahogany marble side table .
manufacture is bound to have its repercussions on design, but the evil comes when sound construction and form are sacrificed to suit the limitations of a machine poole pottery streamline coffee sets .
However, up to 1850 there had not been any serious sacrifice in this sense, and during the fifty years we are speaking about there was a great deal of sound and delightful furniture made, especially in the first twenty years of the century brass sideboard gallery .
For those interested in the subject the following few notes
FIG identifying furniture makers bookcase oak . 158 cassone with pastiglia . BLACK JAPANNED CHAIR WITH INLAY two tier rectangular victorian table . Mid antique square to round drop leaf table . i9th century mahogany tea caddy tripod leg .
The entire back is in papier mficU screwed to the
lower framing early tables . The back, legs, and seat rail are
inlaid with mother of pearl dresser with kneehole .
on early machines may be of value antique wood trestle table with leaves . It should be realised, however, that machines were not of necessity power driven black bone inlay dressing tables . Many of them required human labour to turn them aimone mfg co furniture . Even in 1914 some circular saws and bandsaws were still being made which were fitted with handles, and sometimes pedals, which either the operator or an assistant had to work antique maple desks . Some-times larger saws were propelled by horse labour, the animal being yoked to bar which revolved a centre pillar, which in its turn was geared to the saw rh vase austria . Water and wind power too were used antique sideboard with desk .
As early as the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries machine saws had been devised, these generally being reciprocating saws worked by cranks antique gate leg tables . They were exceptional, however, most cutting being done by pairs of sawyers over a saw pit italian 18th century cabinet makers .
FIG satin birch bow chest . 160 jacobean antique furniture . FULLY UPHOLSTERED COUCH sheraton period cutlery urn . About i85o marquetry tray brass handles .
This sketch was taken from a small model made about the middle
of the 19th century, and is typical of the period 18th century amboyna card table .
No doubt the reason for the development of woodworking machines in the nineteenth century was largely due to the tremendous importance of wood as a basic material for all purposes was there a change in arts in italy between 1920 and 1940 . It was needed for ships, vehicles, houses, some bridges, engineering, agricultural appliances, furniture, and so on antique continental porcelain . It was in fact in Government shipyards that the first serious and really practical machines were made american 19th century side boards .
Samuel Bentham developed the rotary system of cutting as distinct from the reciprocating, and designed saws, planers, boring machines, tenoners, and veneer-cutting machines antique swedish armchairs . These were mostly patented between 1791 and 1793, but it would have been many years after that such machines became generally available to the woodworking industry generally art deco harlequin fine china . Marc Isambard Brunel had also much to do with early machines, and had in fact patents on circular saws in 1805 and i8o8 czechoslovakia vases . A bandsaw was patented by Newberry in 1808, but its success was hampered by poor quality saws, and it did not become really practicable until 1850 when reliable saws were made round oak table dragon legs . Many planing machines were invented in the first fifty years of the nineteenth century, some in U antique gateleg table small .S antique divans .A pictures of expensive antiques . Most early machines had wood frames chinese qing porcelains . It was, in fact, not until the turn of the mid-century that all-metal frames were made 18th century marquetry bow front commode .
The refined and somewhat delicate style as exemplified in Sheraton’s works continued during the opening years of the century craftsman for wooden vitrine . The deterioration in his last designs, as shown in his Encyclopedia, 1804-1807, mentioned in Chapter X, was little more than a pandering to a passing fashion, and it is fortunate that the more grotesque items were not made in greater numbers antique william and mary oak dining room sets .
Other influences were at work, however, and to trace these we have to turn to France, where the Consulate and Empire periods in which Napoleon was the dominant figure was producing a marked style known as Empire russian chair lion . This is dealt with more fully in Chapter XV, but it had its counterpart here in a style sometimes known as English Empire wedgewook stonewear white . Its chief exponent was Thomas Hope, who published his Household Furniture and Interior Decoration in 1807 19th century lion claw pedestal table . This, like the French Empire, went back to Greek and Roman forms for its inspiration, and produced some rather severe designs, mostly in mahogany with brass mounts in the form of vases, laurel wreaths, helmets, honeysuckle, lyres, and so on antique oak draw leaf table . The style owed little to tradition, however, and, although much of it was well made and of good proportions, it seems to strike a foreign and somewhat jarring note antique writing box . Many of the shapes, especially chair and settee legs, seem curiously unsuitable for making in wood antique refectory tables .
An attractive chair of about 1810 is that in Fig french word for chasing . 155, and shows a high degree of skill in its manufacture pedestal dumb waiter . The shaping of the members at the back, which necessarily have compound curvature owing to the plan curving combined with the elevation shaping, is beautifully worked out gate leg vintage drop leaf tables . The back-ward curve of the front legs is characteristic of the period and suggests Hope influence biedermeier antique de .
Another chair of about ten years later in date and of somewhat similar style is that in Fig aristide colotte . 156 and is given because it embodies a feature not found in chairs of earlier date drop leaf table rectangle vintage . If any of the earlier chairs are examined, it will be seen that if a section is taken through the back legs at seat level the wood from which they are cut is invariably square with the front king george iv side board .

FIG bambocci antique . 161 drapery designs for dressing table . CIRCULAR DINING TABLE OF ROSEWOOD, BRASS
MOUNTED antique oval dutch table .
1810-1820 antique dealer furniture iron louis xvi .
The lyre motif of the centre pedestal was a common feature of the period egyptian figurine manufacturer in spain .
The ” strings ” are brass rods drop leaf table gate leg . A brass line is inlaid around the top
an inch or so from the edge antiquevenercoffeettableclawfeet . The latter is cross-veneered; also the
framework edging arabesque vertical plate racks - 2 tier .
Thus the chairs in Fig william france furniture maker . 4o are as shown at A, Fig what antique furniture maker marks under drawer front with number . 157 bureau bookcase writing desk display cabinet 1930s . Even when curved as in Figs 18th century plate racks . 77 or 107 they are still set square as at B and C, Fig fiddleback walnut louis xiv reproduction desk . 157, any convergence at the feet being arranged by reducing the length of the seat rail and cutting the shoulders at an angle sauce boats . Much the same applies to the chairs in Fig antique carved trestle table . 142 and to that in Fig neo-rococco cabinet . 155 tulip porcelain chamber pots . The only exception is in some Adam and Hepplewhite chairs, which have either round, oval, or hooped-shaped seats (see Fig antique half round side table mermaid . 132) chiffonier 19th century . In such chairs, owing to the shape, the rails are tenoned into opposite sides of the leg instead of into adjacent sides as in all other examples sheffield plate candelabra . As a consequence the back legs, owing to their backward curvature, are further apart at the bottom than at seat level forks and spoons in the 18th century . This is made clear at E, Fig french dining draw leaf table stretcher . 157 plain serving table .
Turning now to the chair under discussion, Fig colbolt blue plates and antique . 156, note from the plan that the legs are not square with the front, but are parallel with the sloping sides as at F, Fig marquetry roll top desk . 157 antique refrectory trestle table . As a result the legs are closer together at the feet than at the seat,
FIG chamberpot flap . 162 american oak drop leaf table antique . VICTORIAN DINING TABLE IN WALNUT queen anne antique dressing table . Mid johnstone and jupe table . 19th century 18th century metal chamber pot .
The top is veneered with figured walnut arranged in a quartered pattern cage leg antique table .
A huge bolt passes through the centre, Joining the tripod stand to the
pillar and sub-top framework art deco and exotic leather .
this being produced without any side curvature in the leg antique gothic table grotesque . The shape looks more elaborate than it actually is, the shaping being confined to the side elevation of the back iron and wood refectory tables .
The chair in Fig wedgwood keith murray slip two tone . 158 dates from about I85o and is more interesting than beautiful photo antiquities furniture in france . The entire back is in papier mftche, this being compressed to shape and fixed to the back of the seat, probably with screws antique sheffield piece marked “royal sheffield” . There is in fact considerable dishing and shaping in the back and, when it is realised that it is no more than I in scandinavian art deco furniture . to $9 in antique wrought iron candle sticks . thick in parts, it becomes obvious that such a back would be impracticable in wood “art deco” “dining table” french walnut extension . It is, in fact, an early example of a mass-produced chair and bears the marks of deterioration in design four pillar trestle table . As a matter of passing interest, note how the rails are tenoned into opposite sides of the back legs owing to the hooped shape, hence the divergence at the feet (see also E, Fig age of jazz shelley vases . 157) walnut gaming table with pillar legs .
A couch showing the classical influence of Greece is that in Fig antique replica, french victorian mahogany empire desk writing table . 159 napoleon leather and steel campaign chair . It belongs to the Hope period of the early
FIG heal and russell art deco antique furniture . 163 16th century small tables . SOFA TABLE VENEERED WITH AMBOYNA AND
MARQUETRY hongwu copper red .
About 1815 delatte nancy .
The flaps were invariably supported by brackets pivoted on knuckle or
finger joints cut in wood drop leaf table with pembroke leg value . The legs were usually dovetailed to the base,
and it was common practice to strengthen the joints with metal plates
screwed to the underside 19th century regency dwarf parlor cabinet value .
nineteenth century 19th century leather chest . Fig george speight porcelain . 16o shows the rather heavy and stuffy appearance of a fully-upholstered couch in the middle of the century antique serpentine swedish chest of drawers .
An interesting contrast in dining tables made within about thirty to forty years of each other is shown in Figs drop leaf sofa table . 161 and x62 lyre based sheffield candlesticks . The former, of the Regency period, has a certain grace and charm about it empire sideboard antique value . Here again we see the old classical Tables of the Mid-Nineteenth Century
influence in the lyre motif wooton chest . Light though it looks, the table is strongly built since the lyre-shaped pillar is not pierced right through, but is recessed at the surface only antique red stoneware spittoon . The legs are dovetailed to the base john widdicomb desk . The whole top pivots, so that the table takes up little space when not in use longcaseclocks chinoiserie 18.century .
In Fig vintage wooden handled three tined dinner forks . 162 we pass to a typical Victorian table of about 185o which, whatever one may think of the design, is beautifully made ashtray daum nancy france antique . To us it may lack the refinement and grace of the earlier table, but it is an interesting speculation as to what folk of A daniel quare 1674 tortoiseshell case pocket watches .D pilaster bookstand price . 2oo0 may think of it 17 century english stoneware . For years it has been the practice of people to speak of Victorian furniture with something like contempt (though no one really familiar with it would ever deny its soundness of craftsmanship) furniture canape antiques italian . Already, however, it is appearing in antique shops, especially early Victorian pieces, and it is quite on the cards that folk of the future will see beauty in what we now call heaviness and vulgarity 1925 antique floding desk . Fashions change, and nearly all generations are contemptuous of the works of their immediate forbears “myott son & co”+oriental . Presumably the Victorian designers did not intentionally design things they knew to be ugly—and for a matter of that who are we to talk in these middle years of the twentieth century r
A type of table popular during the period under discussion was the sofa table, an example of which is given in Fig antique pier tables . 163 name a piece of furniture that begins with v . It was a type made popular by Sheraton and had hinged flaps at the ends supported by pivoted brackets furniture + finmar ltd . There were invariably drawers beneath the top standing silver mirror candlestick styles . As the table was intended for use away from the wall the ” back ” frequently had dummy drawer fronts small dressing table with cupboard and drawers . Its form during the Regency period is shown in Fig queen mary mother ship tea dish antiques . 163, which shows the Greek influence of the period in the ornament antique 17th century gentleman’s dresser .
The Regency version of the sideboard generally had cellaret pedestals reaching down to the floor and joined by a centre table portion quite open beneath torror in france . There was generally a drawer beneath the top as in Fig small antique french writing cabinet . 164 yabu furniture . Tapered pedestals too were becoming popular, and the scrolled back shows the beginning of a feature which was often to assume quite gigantic proportions in the late Victorian period, and was often surmounted by an elaborate piece of carving, frequently of extremely fine craftsmanship antique wash stands .
Bedsteads in the late eighteenth century were generally of the four-poster type, but by the turn of the century two SIDEBOARD IN ROSEWOOD WITH BRASS INLAY
1810-X820 staffordshire figure home .
The tapered form of pedestal was popular in the Regency period how much is an oak butler’s tray table worth . The relatively large size of room in which
it would have been used is shown by the great depth, which is 29 in greek neoclassical porcelain . over the centre portion, and 251 in richard ginori doccia 1924 platter .
over the pedestals art deco console table black .
Bedsteads of the Nineteenth Century
kinds developed rectangular drop leaf sofa table . In the one the head-posts with abbreviated tester were retained and the foot-posts eliminated early ming porcelain . Frequently head curtains were used, and these could either be drawn right back or pulled a foot or so down the bed antique tilt top dinner table photos 1800 century . The other type owed its origin to the Empire style of France english refectory table . In this the bed was intended to stand with its side to the wall vintage wooden handled three tined dinner forks . There was a head and foot often sloped and having rather the appearance of a couch—the couch in Fig chinese porcelain shards . 159 is in fact suggestive of the general form, though this is necessarily on a smaller scale 19 century inventions . In some cases curtains were carried on to a shaped tester art nouveau origins .
CABINET WITH BOULLE MARQUETRY empire furniture.com .
Louis XIV antique tea table glass serving tray .
The work is carried out in brass and tortoiseshell, and is
decorated with some particularly fine mounts of brass 19th-century swedish table . The
top is of marble antique chippendale breakfast table . The accommodation consists of a centre
cupboard with door and four drawers at each side 19th century, federal mirror .

Watches
Pocket watches
The first pocket watches, made during the second half of the 16th century, were powered by a three-wheel train, a fusee, and a verge escapement. By the beginning of the 17th century the familiar four-wheel train was introduced when it was realized that a higher wheel count effected a smoother transmission of power. Distinctively, watches of this early date have only one hand – this was typical until the late 17th century. Reflecting the puritanical climate of the period, British mid-17th-century 7th-century watches are usually either very plain or decorated only with simple engraving. Continental watchmakers created watches with highly coloured and beautifully painted enamel cases. Watches pre-dating BEFORE 1800
By the end of the 17th century Britain was producing the finest and most innovative watches. A particular feature of watches before c.1720 is the chanzpleve dial, made of metal inlaid with black wax; after c.1720 enamelled dials were more popular. A watch with a champleve dial, verge fusee movement, and pair cases (inner and outer cases) can be dated to the late 17th or early 18th century. Minute hands were introduced during this period and provided more accurate time readings. Watches at this time were mostly the preserve of members of the court and wealthy merchants.
During the second half of the 18th century, watches became more generally accessible, as the methods of production became more advanced. The pair-cased verge watch was the most common. Component parts were largely unchanged from the late 17th century; although usually made of silver, they were also made of gold.
AFTER 1800
The general construction of the watch did not change until the very beginning of the 19th century when watchmakers in continental Europe started to produce slimmer watches, often still using the traditional verge escapement. High-quality, decorative, enamelled cases are often a feature of watches of c.1800; some were produced with novelty cases in the shape of violins, beetles, pistols, and snuff-boxes.
During the mid-19th century the keyless watch with winding as an inbuilt mechanism was introduced, and by the 1870s most pocket watches were keyless. Watches became slimmer in design and several different
types were introduced, the most common being open-faced (glazed front, hinged back cover), half-hunting-cased (hinged front cover with small glazed aperture, chapter ring, and hinged back cover), and hunting-cased (hinged covers at both the front and back). During the 19th century the two dominant types of escapement were the cylinder and the lever. The cylinder, although widely used, was eventually superseded by the more efficient lever.
While complicated and precision watches
have been produced throughout watchmaking history, these were often one-off pieces or regarded as scientific instruments rather than practical, everyday watches. Toward the end of the 19th century, however, a great variety of special features was added to more standard pocket watches, including repeating mechanisms that sounded the hours, quarter hours, and sometimes also the minutes, calendarwork, chronograph (stopwatch) mechanisms, and moonphases. Such watches typify the high-quality Swiss work produced at the end of the 19th century and are highly collectable.
Before 1800
• CASES in the 16th and early 17th centuries, most cases were single and either plain, engraved, or enamelled –when decoration is present it is usually of a religious nature; later cases were typically pairs and of silver, gold, or gilt metal
• DIALS engraved metal was popular until the mid-17th
i
champleve dials were typical in the late
century
17th and early 18th centuries
• HANDS most clocks featured a single hand until the late 17th century; two hands were typical thereafter, usually in the “beetle and poker” design
• MOVEMENT most watches from the 18th century were fitted with a verge escapement
• COLLECTING even 19th-century copies of early watches are reasonably valuable
After 1800
• DESIGNS watches were slimmer after c. f800 especially in continental Europe; by the 1870s the majority of pocket watches were keyless
• CASES most are decorative and of painted enamel; novelty shapes popular in the early 19th century; from the mid-19th century cases were of three principal types: open-faced, half-hunting-cased, or hunting-cased
• DIALS enamelled dials are typical; many watches also feature several subsidiary dials
• MOVEMENTS various escapements were used, including verge, cylinder, and lever mechanisms
• COLLECTING watches with chronographs, repeating mechanisms, moonphases, and calendars are especially collectable
Important makers
British: Thomas Tompion ( 1638-1713); Daniel Quare (1648-1724); George Graham (1674-1751); L.J. Dent: 1790-1853; Charles Frodsham (1810-71); French: Abraham-Louis Breguet (1747-1823); Vacheron & Constantin (est. 1755)
Wristwatches
The watch was first worn on the wrist in the early years Of the 20th century. Early wristwatches were in the form of small pocket watches that had been converted to wristwatches either by the addition of wire strap lugs Soldered on to the case or by the use of a leather pocket, designed to hold the watch and fix onto the wrist with a strap. Such watches are easily identifiable as they are usualдн profusely chased and engraved on the reverse and the dial is not positioned in the usual wristwatch manner. These early wristwatch conversions are historically interesting but generally of low value. The first true wristwatch was produced by the Parisian
firm of Cartier c.1904 for the aviator
Alberto Santos Dumont; this design
became known as the “Santos” and is
still in production today. The Swiss firm
of Rolex, at the forefront of watch
production, began to manufacture
wristwatches as early as 1911. With the
Outbreak of World War I, wristwatches
were issued to servicemen, and many
interesting variations of these watches can
be found. The “Trench” watch is one of
these and is readily identifiable by its
pierced grille, intended to protect the glass
and dial. Until the 1920s watches were
generally of plain circular form with either
silvered or enamel dials, Swiss movements,
and either chrome, silver, or gold cases.
AFTER 1920
During the 1920s the range of wristwatch styles broadened to include rectangular, square, oval, and octagonal shapes. Most designs featured simple clean lines and bold numerals. During the 1930s case and dial designs became more abstract, numerals were more exaggerated and elongated, and two-colour cases and
bold Odeonesque features were introduced. Watches from the 1920s and 1930s are among the most sought after by collectors: a classic style coupled with a maker renowned for high standards such as Patek Philippe, Rolex, Cartier, Jaeger le Coultre, Audemars Piguet, and Vacheron & Constantin would be especially desirable.
In the I 940s watch styles resembled jewellery, designs of the period with styles such as the “cocktail” watch being typical. After the outbreak of World War II standard wristwatches were issued to members of the armed forces. These watches can be identified by their robust steel construction and their characteristic black dials and luminous numerals. The British Government property mark in the form of an arrow on the back of the case can also help to confirm the identification of British watches. Since military wristwatches were made by most eminent makers, including Longines, I.W.C., and Omega, collectors are taking an increased interest in these watches.
From the late 1940s into the early 1950s wristwatch design captured the futuristic look that was popular at the time: hands and baton numerals were severely pointed and streamlined and lugs were typically in exaggerated teardrop shapes. The inclusion of such features as calendars, moonphases, and chronographs was also highly characteristic of the period.
The following decade, the 1960s, produced many abstract and interesting watch designs, which are instantly recognizable as products of their age. While these characteristically bright-coloured watches in new synthetic materials are currently of little interest to the serious watch collector, they are avidly sought after by followers of modern design. Most wristwatch collectors today seek the classic designs from the 1930x, 1940s, and 1950x. When assessing value, the style, maker, model, and complexity of a watch are vital considerations, as are condition and any replacement parts.
Wristwatches of recent manufacture are also sought after when made by one of the exclusive designers.
KEY FACTS
Before 1920
• DESIGNS these were usually of plain circular form with wire strap lugs and enamel dials; the “Trench” watch, distributed to soldiers in World War 1, featured a protective grille over the glass dial-cover
• DIALS these were often unsigned – check the movement for the maker’s signature
After 1920
• DESIGNS unusual case shapes were typical; most military wristwatches from World War II are slightly larger than average, with black dials
• COLLECTING calendars, chronographs, moonphases,
and repeating features can add value; automatic
wristwatches are more sought after than manual-wind watches; British military watches are usually inscribed on the reverse with a Government issue arrow
Collectable makers
Patek Philippe, Rolex, Cartier, Vacheron &_ Constantin, Audemars Piguet, Jaeger Ie Coultre

Barometers
The barometer – an instrument for measuring atmospheric pressure – was invented by the Italian philosopher and mathematician Evangelista Torricelli in 1643-4. Torricelli discovered that the height of mercury in a glass tube immersed upside down in a cistern of mercury is dependent on atmospheric pressure. The British scientist Robert Boyle was the first to relate changes in the height of the mercury to variations in the weather, and the first domestic barometers were made from the 1670s. Barometers were often fitted with a thermometer, calibrated with the Royal Society scale from 0 to 90 degrees until c.1725 and the Fahrenheit scale thereafter.
STICK BAROMETERS
The stick barometer, the earliest and simplest type, consists of a long, straight, glass tube of mercury immersed in a glass cistern full of mercury. Late 17th-century British examples are mounted on a wooden walnut-veneered frame, decorated with Baroque-style twist pillars and fretted scrolls, and have a solid walnut cistern cover and a silvered-brass graduated scale (the “register plates”) at the top with a recording pointer. Made by clockmakers, most follow the form of contemporary clocks.
The closed-cistern stick barometer is usually attributed to Daniel Quare (16491724) in 1695: being sealed, it was more easily transportable. Most early 18th-century barometers found today are of this type. Made mainly in London, they are similar to late 17th-century models but tend to have shorter hoods, gilt finials, and plainer cases. Mahogany veneer was used from c.1740.

While earlier barometers followed clock styles, later 18th-century examples were influenced more by furniture. After the mid-18th century cases became plainer, the engraving on the register plates less ornate, and trunks narrower; the influence of long-case clocks disappeared. From c.1750 the Vernier scale, accurate to one-hundredth of an
inch, was used for mercury readings, and the principal weather indications of “fair”, “changeable”, and “rain” were standardized. Hinged glass doors to protect the register plates appeared at the end of the 18th century.
In the early 19th century finely crafted barometers featured stringing in dark ebony or lighter woods. From c.1840 rosewood as well as mahogany was used for cases, and ivory or paper for the register plates. The “Admiral Fitzroy” barometer, a popular design by the British meteorologist Admiral Robert Fitzroy (1805-65), featured a glazed, rectangular oak case, paper register plates, a thermometer, and a storm glass – a bottle of crystals in a camphor solution that supposedly forecast weather changes. Two recording pointers allowed atmospheric pressure to be recorded on successive days.
The stick barometer went out of fashion in favour of the aneroid barometer in the early 20th century, but earlier designs were reproduced on a limited scale.
ANGLE BAROMETERS
The angle or “signpost” barometer uses the same principle as the stick barometer, but the upper part of the tube is bent. Invented in the 1670s and made until c.1880, this design was intended to give a more accurate reading,
as the mercury moved over a greater length in the upper part of the tube. However, it was less accurate than hoped and never widely popular because of its expense and its unwieldy shape. Rarer than other types, angle barometers are particularly collectable today.
Barometer-makers invented new designs to obscure the awkward form: in the early 18th century the maker John Patrick mounted the angle barometer on a square or rectangular wooden frame with a large mirror in the centre and a thermometer on the other side to balance the design. To reduce the horizontal part of the arm without reducing the scale, some makers used two or three tubes, set side by side and angled at different heights, so that the tubes would cover the full scale.
WHEEL BAROMETERS
The wheel barometer, invented in 1663 by Robert Hooke (1635-1703), featured a U-shaped tube with long and short arms. A float resting on the mercury in the short arm is attached to a lighter counterweight by a thread over a pulley wheel, which in turn is connected to a pointer on a dial. The movement of the mercury in the tube raises or lowers the float, rotating the pointer. The wheel barometer was not made in large numbers in Britain until c.1770, when the “banjo” design was introduced by Italian glassblowers and instrument-makers. The “banjo” wheel barometer, [lie most popular type of wheel barometer in the 19th century, consists of a dial and thermometer in a banjo-shaped wooden case. The silvered-brass dial has a blued-steel indicating hand and a brass fixed hand for recording readings. The scale, measured in inches, ranged from
-1 to 79cm (28-31in), the average atmospheric pressure in northern Europe, and was divided into tenths or twentieths of a inch. Later examples are usually equipped with more detailed scales graduated to hundreths of an inch.
Many wheel barometers were also fitted with a spirit lei el at the bottom for checking that the barometer was hung vertically - if it was not level, the float would jam. Another useful device was the hygrometer, indicating
humidity (which, like temperature, affected the height of the mercury): a beard of oats, which curled and uncurled with changes in air moisture, was set on a dial with the indications “moist” (”damp” from c.1800) and “dry”.
Before c.1825 most wheel barometer cases were veneered in mahogany, with the best examples made in Satinwood, maple, or pearwood. From c.1815 to c.1825 “Sheraton shell” inlay, copied from Regency furniture, was especially fashionable as a form of decoration. The mid-19th century saw the appearance of the “onion” or “tulip” top case, and the finest examples were veneered in mahogany or rosewood, inlaid with mother-of-pearl, tortoiseshell, and brass. Later 19th-century cases, influenced by the 1851 Great Exhibition, tended to use solid wood (often oak) cases, with increasingly elaborate carving. The wheel barometer was superseded by the aneroid barometer in the late 19th century.
ANEROID BAROMETERS
Invented by the French engineer Lucien Vidie in 1843, the aneroid (”liquid-free”) barometer completely transformed barometer making. Instead of mercury, it featured a small, vacuumed, metal chamber that rose and fell with atmospheric pressure change. Very accurate and easily portable, by c.1900 it was the most successful type of barometer. Aneroid barometers were initially used by scientists, surveyors, and engineers, but from c.1860 models were made for the home in a wide variety of case designs, from round brass cases to marble mantel ornaments; some were fitted into mantel or carriage clocks. Imitation “banjo” wheel barometers were also Popular. Domestic versions featured silvered-brass or less expensive cardboard dials; marine barometers had enamel or porcelain dials, less likely to corrode in sea air. Pocket aneroid barometers, used by travellers and climbers, were produced c.1860 by the firm of Negretti & Zambra. Most were fitted in leather-covered wooden cases; some also had a scale on the dial for measuring altitude, a curved mercury thermometer, or a compass.
Stick barometers
• DESIGNS the Vernier scale was used from c.1750; register plates were usually made of silvered brass until 1840, bone and ivory thereafter
• COLLECTING ING barometers made in the late 17th to early 18th century are very rare and valuable today
Angle barometers
• DESIGNS some were mounted on a wooden frame with a mirror and thermometer
• COLLECTING few were made after c.1880, and fewer were made than other types, so they highly sought after
Wheel barometers
• DESIGNS the “banjo” shape was the most popular design from the late 18th century; scroll pediments were fairly standard after 1825; “Sheraton shell” inlay was used c.1815-25; convex glass mirrors were put in the centre from c.1840; best later Victorian examples are inlaid with brass, mother-of-pearl, and tortoiseshell
• COLLECTING most British barometers are signed by Italians, who dominated the industry
Aneroid barometers
• DESIGNS case shapes were varied, but the “banjo” style was especially popular; wheel barometer types were made from the 1860s; pocket examples were produced from c.1860