I. Plate for Cylinder-dials.

where the parallels of the sun's altitude begin. The length of the style (or distance of point C from the cylinder) must be equal to the radius aA of the quadrant in Plate I. The rules for the construction run thus : —
Draw the right line aAB parallel to the top of the paper, and with any convenient opening of the compasses set one foot in the end of the line at a as a centre, and
Portable Sun-dials
127
with the other foot describe the arc AE, Divide it into ninety degrees. Draw the right line AC at right angles to aAB, touching the quadrant at point A. Then from the centre a draw right lines through as many degrees of the quadrant as are equal to the sun's altitude at noon on
Diagram of Construction of Cylinder-dial.
the longest day of the year at the place for which the dial is to serve. (At London it is sixty-two degrees.) Con- tinue these right lines till they meet the tangent line AC. Then from each point of meeting draw a straight line (at right angles to AC] across the paper (sixty-two in this place) all being parallel to line AB. These lines will be
128 Sun-dials and Roses of Yesterday
parallels to the sun's altitude, in whole degrees, from sunrise to sunset, on all the days of the year. These sixty-two lines or parallels must be drawn to the line ED, which must be parallel to AC, and must be as far from it as the intended circumference of the cylinder. Divide the lines AC and BD by parallel lines into twelve equal parts for the twelve signs of the ecliptic ; and place the character of the twelve signs in the divisions as indicated, which is, beginning with Capricorn and ending with Pisces. Divide these spaces again by parallel lines in halves and in quarters if they can be distinct. At the top of this drawing make a scale of the months and days, and place it so that the days may stand over the sun's plane for each of them in the signs of the Ecliptic. The sun's place for every day of the year may be found in any Ephemeris (or almanac). Compute the sun's altitude for every hour when the sun is in the beginning, middle, and end of each sign of the ecliptic. And in the upright parallel lines at the beginning and middle of each sign make marks for these computed altitudes among the horizontal parallels of altitude, reckoning them downward according to the numeral figures set to them at the right hand answering to the like divisions of the quadrant at the left. And through these marks draw the curve hour lines and set the hours to them, as in the figures on Plate I, reckoning the forenoon hours downward and ihe after- noon hours upward. The sun's altitude should also be computed for the half hours. The quarter lines may be drawn by the eye. Cut off the paper at line AC, also at line ED, also cut close to the top and bottom horizontal lines. It is then fit to paste on the cylinder.
I have given these rules in full not only that any curious reader may amuse himself by making a shep- herd's-dial, but to show the wording of the clearest of these old-time mathematical treatises. The drawing
StarBand of Dials, with Compass. From Ferguson's Lectures.
Portable Sun-dials
129
of the lines for a cylinder-dial for the latitude of London were engraved on a sheet of strong paper and sold in large numbers.
The story of James Ferguson, the " self-taught astronomer," the author of these rules, and his con- nection with dial-making is interesting. He was a thoughtful boy, ever occupied in watching the stars
Brass Octahedral Block of Dials.
while he served as a shepherd, and drawing what he called star-papers. His intelligence and application gained the interest of a gentleman's butler named Cantley, who, when the lad was sixteen years old, taught him to make sun-dials. Cantley must have been a remarkable butler, for he was a first-class
130 Sun-dials and Roses of Yesterday
mathematician, a master of every musical instrument save the harp ; knew Latin, French, and Greek ; " let blood extremely well, and could even prescribe as a physician upon urgent occasion." We wonder a bit how the family fared whom he served. He was painting a dial on the schoolhouse wall when Ferguson saw him, and soon taught the eager farm- laddie algebra, astronomy, and dialling. With work- ing in a mill, painting portraits, drawing designs for
embroidery, making clocks and dials, Ferguson soon was as busy as Cantley. The years passed, and suddenly Ferguson had made his name as a writer, lecturer, and inventor in gno- monics. He invented in 1766 a " Universal Dialling Cylin- der," by the use of which all kinds of sun-dials could be easily calculated and made. These he made and sold, as he did orreries, cometariums, astro- nomical clocks, and sun-dials. He had a mechanical rather than a mathematical mind ; and it may uphold us in our mechanical rather than mathematical modes of constructing sun-dials to know that Ferguson never was able to understand Euclid, and his constant method of satisfying him- self of the truth of any problem was by measure- ment with a scale and pair of compasses, not by mathematical demonstration. Ferguson made many
Wooden Block
Dial, with Paper Figures; 1780.
Portable Sun-dials iji
dials of various kinds to use in his lectures on dial- ling. An interesting one of his inventions is shown on a succeeding page.
The astrolabe was well known in Persia, Arabia, and India at an early day. Originally the word was
Brass Equinoctial Dial.
applied rather vaguely to any flat circular instrument used for observation of the stars ; then it was re- stricted to the kind called the astrolabe planisphere, — I will not describe an astrolabe, as reference to any scientific dictionary or cyclopaedia will afford an exact description. With various contrivances to use
132 Sun-dials and Roses of Yesterday
as a gnomon, they served as portable dials for many centuries ; such was the astrolabe of Chaucer.
I suppose no one to-day ever reads Chaucer's Treatise on the Astrolabe, or Bread and Milk for Babes, save the painful editor, Rev. Mr. Skeat. But a su- perficial -glance at his rendering of it shows a very gentle and pleasing trait of our beloved poet ; a side of his character not unexpected to those who love his works, but in some way unexpected in its power of moving your sentiment. We are bidden to be- lieve that the English of that and the two succeeding centuries showed much severity to their children ; but the absolute memorials which we have of inter- course between parents and children do not, to me, prove the assertion.
Chaucer was pleased and proud of the progress of his little son in mathematics, which, with " the Lan- guages," formed the substance of schooling in that day. He had previously given the child a small astrolabe as a reward, and the child wished to learn about it ; and as Latin treatises were hard to com- prehend, the father wrote one suited to the child's mind. Here are his own words : —
" Litell Lowys my son, I have perceived well by certain evidences thine abilitie to lerne sciencez touching nombres and proporcions ; and as well, I consider thy bisi preyer in special to lern the tretis of the Astrelabie. Than, for as much as a philosofre seith, he wrappeth him in his friend that condescendeth to the rightful preirs of his friend, there- for have I given thee a sufficient astralabie for owr orizonte [horizon] compared after the latitude of Oxenford upon which by inditecon of this litel tretis, I propose to teach a
Armillary Sphere Dial at Brockenhurst, New Forest, England.
Portable Sun-dials 133
certain nombre of conclusions apporteying to this instru-
ment."
His conclusions are interesting : that the astrolabe was the most noble of instruments ; that they were too little known ; and that all treatises upon them were " too hard to thy tendre age of X years to con-
ceive."
" I wil showe litle reules & naked words in Englissh since Latyn he kanstow yet but smal, my litle son.
u And I pray trewly every discreet person that redith this litle tretis to have my rude endyting excused, and my su-
Brass Block Dial made in Styria, Austria, 1691.
perfluietes of words for two causes. In the first for that curious enditing & hard sentence is ful hevy atones for swich a child to lern. & the second cause is this ; that sothly me seemeth better to write unto a child twice a good sentence than he for-get it once."
134 Sun-dials and Roses of Yesterday
After all this declaration of his determination to write simple rules, it is a disappointment to read the rules themselves. I cannot see how any child of ten could have possibly understood them, even a fifteenth century child. The description of the astrolabe is, however, very clear.
There is shown and described on pages 105 and 1 06 the most interesting English portable dial known. It was made by Nicholas Kratzer for Cardinal Wol- sey, and is now owned by Lewis Evans, Esq.
In the latest edition of Mrs. Gatty's (now Mrs. Eden's) Book of Sun-dials is a valued addition, a chap- ter upon Portable Sun-dials, written by Mr. Evans. Certainly no one else could be so well fitted to write on this subject as he, since he possesses the finest collection of portable dials in the world. His work on Mrs. Gatty's book has been equalled by his kindness to me in my writing of portable dials in this book, both in furnishing me with illustrations and in giving me the history of special examples. We have in America at the National Museum at Washington, D.C., a small but good collection, of which the best are displayed in this book, through the kindness of various members of the staff at the Smithsonian Institution, who had special photo- graphs taken for me. Mr. Evans owns over 450 port- able sun-dials besides astrolabes and like instruments. He turned to collecting dials, since they seemed to be the only thing that was not being collected in his family. Among the objects are British, Greek, and Roman coins, flint and bronze implements, etch- ings, china, posey-rings, stamps, bank notes, shells
Portable Sun-dials
'35
— land, fresh water, and sea shells, butterflies, moths, birds' eggs, fossils, etc. His elder brother, Arthur John Evans, F.R.S., is the head of the famous Ash- molean Museum at Oxford, and collects all such objects, and in addition Greek and other engraved gems. The taste for collecting rarely runs in a family ; few sons care for the collections of their fathers, so the extent and vehemence of this family trait is surprising. Mr. Evans has the finest library on the subject of dialling that has ever been gotten to- gether. Over four hundred books and pamphlets upon dial- ling ; these in many languages. His interleaved copy of Mrs. Gatty's Book of Sun-dials must be a wonderfully interesting thing. There is another collection of dials in Eng- land, owned by a Mr. Fry of Bristol. Mr. Kent, the artist, has a collection of garden-dials at Hay- ward's Heath.
The British Museum has the best public collection of portable dials; the Victoria and Albert Museum at Kensington has also a few dials. The best col- lection in Germany is at the Physical Museum at Dresden, and the German Museum at Nuremberg; in Italy, the Galileo Room of the Institute of the
Thevenot Sun-dial.
136 Sun-dials and Roses of Yesterday
Studii Superior! in Florence, and the College Romano at Rome. There are a few dials in the Musee Cluny, also one fine private collection in Paris. I know no
Brass Universal Ring-dial, set for Use ; owned by Author.
private collection of portable dials in America save the few I own.
Readers of this book owe to Mr. Evans a debt of cordial thanks ; for through his generosity I am enabled to make this chapter the most fully illus-
Portable Sun-dials
137
trated chapter on portable dials ever printed in Eng- lish, or I believe in any language ; and illustrated, too, with the rarest and most beautiful examples of their kind. Many are unique ; and all would be beyond any possi- bility of examina- tion and compari- son, save for his thoughtfulness and kindness.
An ancient form of portable dial was called the ring-dial ; it is old as Shake- speare's day. These varied greatly in size. Mr. Evans has seen but one English ring -dial small enough for a ringer ring; though he has them of the size proper to use on a watch fob or as a seal. These were from i-| inches to 2^- inches in diameter and were made in large numbers in Sheffield throughout the eighteenth century. In this form they were simply a flat ring with the hour lines drawn diagonally across the narrow surface of the ring. Through a tiny hole drilled in one side the sun's rays sent a shining spot of light upon the hour lines.
Brass Universal Ring-dial, Flat for carrying ; owned by Author.
ij 8 Sun-dials and Roses of Yesterday
On page 136 is shown, full size, a " universal ring- dial," owned by the author. This is a very good example of a common form of this dial, which was greatly used in England in the seventeenth and eigh- teenth centuries. It is, as may be seen in the illus- tration, a kind of armillary sphere showing the circles of the equator and the meridian together with the polar axis (the bar across the centre), which is marked with the names of the months and has on it a sliding gnomon with a tiny hole in the centre. The whole is pivoted to- gether in such a manner that it can be flattened out (and is thus shown on page 137) and can be car- ried conveniently in the Universal Ring-dial, with Disc pocket. The meridian
/^ Y1 C
ring is marked with de- grees, and the suspending clip is movable so it can be placed in proper position according to the latitude. When in use, it is held up by the ring and turned until a little line of light falling through the hole in the gnomon strikes on the centre line of the hour circle, and thus tells the correct time. This hour circle is marked with two sets of nume- rals, one for forenoon and one for afternoon. The gnomon must of course be carefully set to the
Portable Sun-dials
139
position proper for the month of the year, as shown on the table of months marked on the axis. Another form of ring-dial is on the opposite page.
Three full-sized figures of interesting ring-dials owned by Mr. Evans is given on this page. One
Three Brass Ring-dials.
is a brass ring-dial 2-| inches in diameter, made about 1760 by Proctor, and inscribed: —
Set me Right
Use me Well
And I Time tell
Number 2 is a smaller brass ring i-| inches in diameter, called a seal-dial. This is an English dial dating about 1560. The seal has the initials A. P. and an oak branch. Number 3 is a German dial, date, 1698, differing from the ring-dial care- fully described, in that it has no sliding ring, but has two holes opposite each other, one for use in
140 Sun-dials and Roses of Yesterday
or
'A
winter, one in summer. On this page is shown an English signet ring of silver, of about 1620. The crest is a dog. The dial is less than an inch in diameter.
Its companion is a brass ring-dial, either Swiss German ; inches in diam- eter, and the ring is •§- of an inch wide. This dif- fers also from the common type in having only one set of hour lines, stamped on an extra piece of brass, curved, within the ring. Posies suitable
Brass Ring-dial and Silver Dial-ring.
for rings were deemed also well fitted as mottoes for ring-dials. Mr. Evans has in his collection dials with these familiar old lines : —
" A Ring is Round and Has No End So is My Love Unto My Friend."
" The Love is True : That I O V As True to Me : Then C V B."
" As Time and Hours Pass Away So Doth The Life of Man Decay."
In Exeter Museum is a ring-dial with the motto which I have seen on an old stoneware Georgius Rex jug : —
Portable Sun-dials
141
" If My Master Use Me Well I'll Try All Others To Excel!."
"A Stitch in Time Saves Nine "
would seem incongruous for a dial, had I not also seen it on a tea-pot.
Mottoes are, however, comparatively rare on ring- dials, for there was scant space for such engraving, especially when a list of large cities with their sev- eral latitudes was given.
This form of ring-dial has been used in an en- larged size, but of same general shape, fixed on a block to stand on a window-sill or table; one with base and adjustable screws is shown on this page. Modern ones, such as the one on page 142, are now sold in London at the shop of F. Bar- ker & Son, Clerkenwell Road. Larger still, in one case with rings a yard in diameter, this form of dial has been seen as a garden-dial. One such, symbolizing the earth, is borne on the head of an Atlas of stone at Oakley Park in Shropshire. A very beautiful adap- tation of this form is seen in the garden-dial at
Universal Ring-dial, with Base and Feet with Screws.
142 Sun-dials and Roses of Yesterday
Brockenhurst, New Forest, shown on a later page.
Another is at Clumber, the home of the Duke of
Newcastle, and still another at Holland House.
The shadow of the nodule on the axis falls on the
inside of the circular band, which is elaborately lettered and numbered, often in gold. This great armillary sphere, seen against the green background of trees in a beautiful garden, is a most noble sight. I have always longed to have in my library a splendid great revolving globe, such as are seen in our higher schools ; equally do I covet one of these sun-dials patterned upon the armillary sphere. An equally delightful mathe- matical instrument, one which makes us know the beauty of numbers,
Globe Window-dial. F. Barker & Qf pure mathematics, is Son, London. o i • r» J
a Sunshine Recorder; a
sun-dial which records every second of sunshine. Their beautiful great clear globes are a joy to behold, and have all the mysterious charm of a Chinese crys- tal globe. They are costly, for they are perfect things of exquisite workmanship. One from the firm of
Portable Sun-dials 143
F. Barker & Son has just been set up In Washing- ton.
It has been frequently asserted that George Washington was in the habit of carrying a pocket- dial instead of a watch, and I have seen a silver pocket-dial which was given him by Lafayette. He certainly had watches in plenty, as we know by the many well-authenticated ones still existing which once were his. I also know of a pocket-dial that was
French Pocket-dial, with Compass. Le Maire.
carried by Rochambeau. They were evidently the mode among Frenchmen of rank and station of that day. There is also in the collection of the Wash- ington Association of New Jersey, in their spacious house at Morristown, New Jersey, a very dainty, elegant pocket-dial of silver, the card label of which is marked : —
u Silver pocket Sun-dial used by a French officer in the Revolutionary War, made in Paris in 1673. Presented by Mr. Henry W. Miller."
144 Sun-dials and Roses of Yesterday
Silver Portable Dial, French.
On page 143 is shown a French pocket-dial of different shape, — a silver pocket-dial with compass, made by Le Maire in Paris two hundred years ago. When a plummet is added, this is deemed by modern dial-makers the best of all the pocket- dials, for use by soldiers, colonists, and travellers. It is so hinged that it can be folded very flat and thin, and takes but small space in the pocket. The names of various towns with their latitudes are given, and the arm is so marked that the proper angle for the dial-face is easily found.
The choicest silver dials made in France were often furnished with shagreen or fish-skin cases to protect them, as were the watches of those days.
These fine French pocket-dials came in various shapes, - -oval, round, oc- tagonal, oblong; and in Italy, a cross- shaped dial was made, holding a reliquary.
At Nuremberg in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries portable dials were made in great num- bers, a favorite form This is of brass and
Brass Portable Dial, German.
being that shown on this page.
has a compass and string gnomon, and elaborately
Portable Sun-dials 145
engraved astronomical tables. It bears the motto Omnia pervertit secli mutabilis or do 1571.
Other noted dial-makers were Alexius and Ulricus Schneip. On page 146 are two by these makers, and on this page one by V. S., dated 1572, probably Ulricus Schneip. These are all of gilt-brass, but vary decidedly in construction, and form quite a study. The one with raised standard with plummet is dated 1578, and is made by Alexius Schneip. The other on same page is dated 1553. It will be noted that all the many portable dials printed in this book have each some peculiarity of con- struction : no two are alike, many are unique, no others are known, and nearly all are here made public for the first time. They merit a fuller description, but any accurate accounts would fill a book rather than a chapter. Brass Portable Dial-
• V S 1 572
An odd German dial (date about 1780) is given on page 130. The maker is D. Berin- ger. A hollow wooden block i^ inches square is supported on a standard. The lines and figures of the dial-face are printed on paper and pasted upon the block.
A brass octahedron is shown on page 129, a block with seven dials on its various faces. The horizon- tal dial on the top has no motto ; the other mottoes read : —
OMNIA FIT JETAS, Time does all things.
'O HAIO2 HANTA MEPEI, The sun divides all things.
146 Sun-dials and Roses of Yesterday
FAC DUM TEMPUS OPUS, Work while it is day. IIANY ANA EPEI XPONO2, The sun brings all things. NULLA DIES SINE LINEA, No day without its line. 'O KAIPO2 OIKETAI, The moment passes.
Such dials are very rare, especially in this size, about 7^ inches in length. It is a portable dial, not a pocket-dial, as are most of these examples.
A very unusual block-dial is owned by Mr. Evans and shown on page 133. It was made in Styria,
Two Gilt-brass Portable Dials, 1578, 1553.
Austria, and has a decoration on one side of the arms of Pal/a Styria.
Blocks with dials on several faces could be set in true position without the use of a compass ; for if all these dials were accurately drawn for use in the same latitude, they would be in their true position when they all showed the same hour. Still more beautiful were the pocket-dials of ivory ; with their delicate engraving and mellowed tint they seem an exquisite curio rather than a scientific instrument.
Portable Sun-dials 147
One now in the United States National Museum is shown on this page. It is an equinoctial pocket- dial, 3^- inches by 4^ inches in size. It has a compass, plummet, and string gnomon; and is elaborately engraved in colors with scales for length of days, lunar epacts, etc. The names of twenty
Ivory Portable Dial.
towns with the latitude of each are also engraved on this instrument.
On page 148 are two ivory folding-dials. The larger is a beautiful French dial of about 1660; it is octagonal in shape ; 3^- inches by 2^ inches. Outside the cover there is an equinoctial dial. In- side are three silver discs : one is for using the dial by moonlight ; the other two form a nocturnal dial.
148 Sun-dials and Roses of Yesterday
Within the lid is the common string gnomon, dial, and compass, and silver calendar disc. Number 2 is the tiny folding-dial shaped like a book, — only ijJg- inches by i ^ inches in size. It is ornamented with brass bosses. The pin-style dial shows the
Ivory Book-dial, 1630, and Octagonal Dial, 1660.
old German hours from sunrise. Its date is about 1630. On page 149 are three other ivory portable dials. The largest is a beautiful trinket as well as an object of use. It is oval in shape, 4^ inches by 3^ inches complete, with a chain to use as a chate- laine ; I wonder what German Frau wore this pretty
Portable Sun-dials
149
thing at her waist, and held it up and turned it round to the sunlight three hundred years ago. It was made by Hans Ducher in 1595, and is marked with his device, — a wriggling serpent between the initials H. and D. Hans Ducher or Tucher was a famous Nuremberg dialler who had a wonderfully pretty taste dials and mottoes. We can say of him as an
in
Ivory Pocket-dials.
English lout of a farm boy said of Shakespeare. It was near Stratford, and a friend of mine spoke to the lad who was driving some conveyance for her through the country, wondering whether he knew of the great man, and what he knew. "He may ha' been very learned and all," drawled the boy, " but he didna know enough to spell his own name aright."
150 Sun-dials and Roses of Yesterday
Ducher spelled his name with all the ingenious vari- ety of which the sixteenth century was capable. This chatelaine dial was planned for ready reference : the points of the compass are engraved outside the lid, while the needle was visible through a tiny hole when the dial was closed. Around the face are these mottoes : Hie marinus compassus semitam terra marique ostendit ; and, Der spodter sol nichts veracbten, den er kans besser macbten. On the bottom is a disc
for using the dial by moonlight. On page 149 are two other ivory pocket-dials. One is an octagonal folding-dial i finches by i T7g- inches, marked L. M., with a device, for Lienhart Miller, who manufactured dials from 1602 to 1643 in Nuremberg. The larger fold- ing-dial is 3^- inches by i^ inches; the work of Paulus Reinmann at Nuremberg, 1578. Two charming little ivory book-dials may be seen on this page. One is 3^ inches by 2|- inches; the other 2-| inches by 2^ inches. The first was made by Hans Troschel and has the fine motto Hora fug it Mors venit. The second is dated 1586 and has the motto Sic transit Gloria Mundi. The cover bears on one side the engraving of an armed man with a standard ; on the other, a female saint holding a cross.
Another form of portable dial is known as a quadrant dial. In them the principal circles of the
Ivory Book-dials.
Portable Sun-dials
sphere are projected upon a plane, instead of being indicated by rings or bands. The time is often shown by an adjustable bead which can be moved up and down upon a movable string, --a plumb- line. There were many shapes of these quadrant dials, some being of great quaintness and beauty, such as the " ship-dial ' - made in the form of a turreted ship with a slider on the ship's mast and an ingenious arrangement for adjustment. A lyre- shaped hori- zontal and an- alemmatic dial belonging to Mr. Evans is pictured on this page. Its date is 1763. Another of unusual shape, with a mova- ble gnomon, is given on page 135. This is the Thevenot dial. Hinged gnomons are found on many portable dials.
A very fine equinoctial universal dial owned bv the
.1 • , Filippo et Haves
author is dated 1764 and marked ^ \r •,- 0.
JhratelJi di Bianchy.
These dials were very costly, and were sometimes ordered by foreign governments for battleships or royal vessels. A similar one owned by Mr. Evans is given on page 152. This was made by Thomas Wright, Instrument-maker to the King (1720-1750).
Lyre-shaped Horizontal Analemmatic Dial.
152 Sun-dials and Roses of Yesterday
Mr. Evans says of it, " It must have been a very costly instrument." I can say of my own dial, that it is one of the most exquisite pieces of brass work I have ever seen. The engraving is as beautiful as on the
bridges of old verge-watches. These dials, and other of the costly dials have screws at the corners, by which they can be firmly attached to some fixed surface. A portable dial of special construc- tion for latitudes The maker was
Augustin of Vienna. This is the only dial I ever saw of this form.
When metal workers were both artists and crafts- men, as they were two hundred years ago, hand- wrought articles varied more in construction and shape than to-day. None of the parts of a dial were turned out in vast numbers, as to-day of simi- lar instruments ; hence the variety, and hence the delight in collection.
A very odd and lovely portable dial was made at Nuremberg and perhaps elsewhere, what is called a goblet- or chalice-dial. This is a metal goblet marked within the bowl with the lines and numerals, while the gnomon is a perpendicular wire in the centre of the bowl. I had a great disappointment a few
Dial made by Thomas Wright.
35°— 90° is given on page 153
Portable Sun-dials
'53
months ago in purchasing a metal dial dated 1624, which was described to me in so extraordinarily and minutely accurate a manner that I felt sure I had se- cured a chalice-dial ; but upon opening the package a horizontal dial was seen in which the lines and nu- merals had been cut upon a pewter plate or shallow porringer, and the so-called date, 1624, on the base was, I fear, simply a tradesman's mark. Thus was added another to the many disappointments of a collector.
French Sun-dial.
"As high as we had mounted in delight In our dejection did we sink as low."
A unique and beautiful casket-shaped dial be- longing to Mr. Evans is shown on page 154. The
base is 8^ inches by 6 inches ; the top 5 inches by 3! inches ; the height 4 inches. The sides are sil- vered, the ornamental margins gilt. The corners of the bottom plate have four hemi- spherical recesses i^ inches in diameter, in which are the heads of four levelling screws. At the top and on the four slop-
Brass Equinoctial Dial, Augustin.
154 Sun-dials and Roses of Yesterday
ing sides are five sun-dials, showing both Italian time (reckoned from sunset to sunset) and the ordi- nary hours. The gnomons of these dials are in the figure of a boy with outstretched finger. Each " time-boy " wears an encircling ribbon, on which is a motto. That on the top was missing, so Mr. Evans added an appropriate motto, namely, — Opera manu- um nostrarum dirige super nos. Other mottoes read :
Casket Dial.
A soils ortu usque ad meridiem Intervalla Ipsa diet que cum ilia gradior. Vesper e cum els parlter et mane In eodem die ostendere non deferam. Rxpecto donee venial lllumlnatlo me a ut cum aliis inservire v a learn. This casket was made in the year 1770; and I have noted a similar date on two or three Italian dials, of various makers, and I believe portable dials were much used at that time.
Portable Sun-dials 155
On one side is also the inscription, which can be read in the photograph. Within the lid is a hinged plate ; on its outer face is a long inscription, giving the name of the owner and maker.
When the hinged plate is turned up, an inscrip- tion in Italian can be read, giving a full description of the use of the instrument. Within the casket are two cross-bars; one carries a compass, the other a plumb-level.
The introduction of the mariner's compass into Europe afforded a wonderful aid to the perfection and simplicity of the dial ; and soon in the thir- teenth century compass-dials appeared, and have continued in use to this day.
All portable dials of these general forms such as dials inscribed on quadrants, astrolabes, and flat plates of varied shapes, can be used without a com- pass and tell the time by the sun's altitude, not by its position. But more exact dials have a compass attached to them, and some have a spirit-level and a plummet ; and some have set screws also. By these means a perfect adjustment can be made. Some have an ordinary dial-plate fitted with a quadrant and in such a way that the dial can be adjusted to suit the various latitudes.
It is said that all English soldiers have till this day the custom of taking a pocket sun-dial and com- pass as part of an outfit, since the latter will stand any climate and are not liable to the sudden derange- ments to which all watches are subject. Such are, I know, for sale in many London shops, but I think they are seldom found in America. Messrs.
156 Sun-dials and Roses of Yesterday
Barker & Son make a large number of pocket sun- dials.
Finger rings were made with tiny compass and dial with a hinged cover. One was sold in New York two years ago, with an accompanying descrip- tion saying that the gnomon was made of human
hair which had grown on the head of " Bonnie Prince Charlie." It was suspected to be of very modern manufacture. There are several of these rings at the British Museum.
A dial of unusual shape is in the National Museum at Washington ; it is given on this page. The maker is G. F. Brander. Its construction is singular, but
Brass Portable Dial. Maker, G. F. Brander. its action Very
accurate. A nee-
dlelike gnomon is mounted on a cross-bar, and casts its shadow on a semicircular sheet of brass beneath it.
In dialling the Chinese never accomplished any- thing, for they had scant and very deficient knowl- edge of astronomy and mathematics, though they had for forty-five centuries — according to the Shu-king — made instruments analogous to the quadrant and armillary sphere. Sun-dials came to them, and knowledge to make them, from the West, from the
Portable Sun-dials
157
Mohammedans, not through the Jesuits, as some writers have supposed. A few modern dials may be seen in public offices, all made under the direction of missionaries of the Roman Catholic Church.
From remote antiquity the manufacture of pocket compasses has been held exclusively by a family
Chinese Sun-dials.
named Wang living in Hiri-wing-hien, in the prov- ince of Nyanhwai. Many of these compasses have a sun-dial attached ; these are in the German type, with a thread for a gnomon. Another portable dial used by clock-makers is marked with notches, one for each month, thus giving the gnomon varied
158 Sun-dials and Roses of Yesterday
angles. The pocket-dial of the Japanese exceeds that of the Chinese in every respect.
Two Chinese dials are shown on page 157. Num- ber i is a little Chinese folding-dial and compass, in a wooden case. It was bought by Mr. Evans in a shop in Chinatown, San Francisco, 1877. The sec- ond is a Chinese dial with compass and plummet. On this page is shown a circular silver box contain- ing a compass and dial. This is Japanese.
There are many fanciful " conceits ' for portable dials. The human hand is made into one by hold- ing it upright and thrusting a small stick between the thumb and forefinger, and turning the loose end about until the shadow of this gnomon falls on "the line of life." I make also an amusing
Japanese Pocket-dial. i- i T P
little toy sun-dial,
using as materials a plain glass cylinder-shaped tumbler, a knitting needle, and a slip of cardboard. This is a surprisingly accurate timekeeper.
Some very fine and exact portable dials are manu- factured to-day. Flechet's universal sun-dial, shown on page 159, is of great value to a traveller or explorer. It will be seen by any student of dials to be a general gnomonic form which has long been made, but in addition the curve of the mean time has been traced upon the circle H in such a manner that by an adjustment of the horary circle and an inclina-
Portable Sun-dials
'59
tion of the axis, the latitude of the plane can be determined ; then of course the instrument can be adjusted to give the exact time of that place.
A very interesting dial is sold in London which was devised by General Oliver, and the portable form is known by his name. It indicates mean time or clock time, which may differ from apparent time as much as sixteen min- utes. This time-adjust- ment is accomplished simply by an enlarge- ment of a section of the rod which is the gno- mon. Thus a curved shadow is thrown in- stead of a straight one. The meridional and equatorial arcs are ad- justable, and have screws for fixing them at any given altitude. The shadow of this perfected gnomon falls on the equatorial circle. This dial and gnomon are an adaptation of the principle used in the cannon- dial shown on page 49.
An ingenious card-dial dates from the early part of the seventeenth century. It was sometimes called The Capuchin from a fancied resemblance to a Capuchin cowl thrown back. A noted mathe- matician says of it : —
Flechet's Universal Sun-dial.
160 Sun-dials and Roses of Yesterday
u This card-dial deserves to be looked upon as something more than a mere toy. Its ingenuity and scientific accuracy give it an educational value which is not to be measured by the roughness of the results obtained."
This card-dial, calculated for the latitude of Lon- don, was patented by James Ferguson in 1759, and
apparently was sold in large numbers. It was on a card 4^ inches by 3 inches, with a tiny green silk cord as a marker. This could be carried in a pocketbook. It has been republished in this country, for the latitude of New York, by a true "dialler," Captain John S. Bailey of Buckingham, Penn- sylvania. I give a figure of his card on page 161.
Of course, there are in the United States many houses that manufacture optical and mathematical instruments and also make sun-dials. There are also those who make and sell very pretty brass dials, made to look well, and absolutely regardless of the shape of the gnomon or drawing of the hour lines. I know no individual, however, save Captain Bailey, who makes accurate sun-dials for all latitudes. His picture, taken in his workshop, is shown opposite
German Portable Dial, Brass. Owned by Lewis Evans, Esq.
Portable Sun-dials
161
page 162. He was originally a house-builder, then a clock seller and mender, then gradually drifted into dial-making. He has made and sold over three
BAILEY&
DIAL TIME CARD
CALCULATED FOR LATITUDE 40°
Bailey's Time Dial.
hundred dials; some of them have been very hand- some and costly; his simple metal, horizontal dials have had a steady sale. His books of instruction
M
1 62 Sun-dials and Roses of Yesterday
were Leadbetter's Dialling and Ferguson's Lectures, the same book from which George and Robert Stephenson, the great railroad engineers, constructed the vertical dial which may still be seen on the humble cottage at Killingworth, which was their early home. Father and son learned from Fergu- son's book how to make the necessary calculations for the latitude of Killingworth, near Newcastle, and together hewed, carved, polished, and set in place the dial-stone.
John S. Bailey, Dial-maker, in his Workshop.