Early American Scientific Instruments and Their Makers Part 6

This early type of wooden clock is a.s.sociated with Benjamin Cheney (1725-1815), a clockmaker of East Hartford. The early or "Cheney" type of wooden clock was produced in Connecticut as late as 1812. A later form of the wooden movement began to appear about 1790, and was probably introduced by Gideon Roberts (1749-1813) of Bristol. Roberts had lived in the Wyoming Valley of Pennsylvania before 1790, and it is conjectured that he became familiar with the wooden clocks produced by the German settlers of that region.[75]

It is not surprising that the wooden clock had its colonial origins in Connecticut, so completely was it adaptable to the pioneer conditions in that colony. The materials were the abundant native woods-cherry, apple, oak, and laurel. The parts were made with simple carpenter tools and a wooden foot lathe, using the methods of the cabinetmaker. Although it has been suggested that some relations.h.i.+p may have existed between the makers of wooden instruments in England, and the makers of wooden clocks and scientific instruments in the New England Colonies,[76] a careful study has failed to reveal any connection, and there appears to be little if any parallel between the two groups. Basically, the use of wood for making some mathematical instruments in New England resulted from the native familiarity with this material, which was also employed to a considerable degree for the construction of domestic and agricultural implements, and from the fact that many of the early clockmakers had been trained as or by cabinet makers, carpenters, and even dish turners. Random examples of a few of the more prominent clockmakers are Joseph Hopkins, a wood turner; Chauncey Jerome, who had been apprenticed to a wood turner; and Silas Hoadley, who had worked with a cabinet maker.

Perhaps a basis for the prevalence of wood in these trades is to be found in the lines from a familiar poem:

The Yankee boy, before he's sent to school, Knows well the mystery of that magic tool, The Pocket knife.[77]

But, from the technical point of view, it should be noted that those craftsmen who produced clocks and instruments and did not have their own bra.s.s foundries probably found that a good piece of straight-grained hardwood was as stable for holding its dimensions with the grain as a piece of bra.s.s. Shrinkage was at right angles to the grain; hence, for fixed linear stability wood was as good as bra.s.s. For rigidity per unit weight, wood was better than bra.s.s; and for availability and ease of working, wood was superior to bra.s.s.

It has often been ventured that wooden clocks were first produced in Connecticut, because of the scarcity of bra.s.s for this purpose during the years between the beginning of the Revolution to the end of the War of 1812. The claim is made that bra.s.s was not being produced in the Colonies and that it was imported exclusively from England during this period. Certainly, the wholesale price index of metal and metal products shows a steady increase during this period, and a considerable jump during the period of the War of 1812, making bra.s.s an extremely expensive material. This may explain why the makers of clocks and instruments who made and sold bra.s.s clocks and instruments were producing the same products at the same time in wood which, as we have seen, was both plentiful and a satisfactory subst.i.tute.

It can be surmised, therefore, that surveying instruments, as well as instruments for other purposes, were produced in both bra.s.s and wood simultaneously by many of the New England makers in order to provide suitable instruments in a flexible price range to meet the demands of the trade. Whereas today modern manufacturing methods make it possible to produce instruments in a wide variety, both in quality and price, to suit the needs and capabilities of every prospective purchaser, the production facilities of the 18th century were much more limited. The constant factor of skilled hand labor was costly. Metal was expensive.

As evidenced in the records of Daniel Burnap, for instance, it was possible to produce surveying compa.s.ses in bra.s.s in two grades, presumably one more elaborate than the other. Yet Burnap's prices ranged between six pounds and four pounds for the metal instruments, making them still well out of reach of many of the would-be surveyors.

Accordingly, Burnap--and presumably numerous other instrument makers of the period--produced from wood an economy model that sold for not more than two pounds, thus placing the item within the reach of the nonprofessional surveyor.

This theory is supported amply by the discovery that several of the instrument makers who worked in bra.s.s also made instruments of wood during the same periods. In addition to the evidence in the records of Daniel Burnap, there are the surviving surveying instruments in bra.s.s and wood made by Samuel Thaxter, Thomas Greenough, and John Dupee, leaving little if any doubt that the reason for producing surveying compa.s.ses and similar items of wood during the 18th century was to satisfy the need for reasonably accurate yet inexpensive instruments.

Surviving Instruments

The fact that the surviving examples of the wooden instruments were produced only in New England seems to indicate merely that the New England instrument makers were more familiar with the use of wood as a material, and had greater facility in working with it.

Undoubtedly other instruments produced by the 18th-century American makers have survived in addition to those already found. Quite likely examples of these wooden instruments still remain hidden in unexplored attics and other repositories. Yet, if the few thus far discovered is any criterion, the number ultimately recoverable will probably be but a fraction of the great number produced by the 18th-century makers during the half century or more in which they worked. Even allowing for those probably destroyed in the natural course of events, one cannot help but wonder what has happened to the remainder.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Figure 32.--Wooden graphometer used by Rev. Eleazar Wheelock (1711-1779) about 1769 for surveying the area of Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hamps.h.i.+re. The hardwood block is covered with a bra.s.s plate with bra.s.s sighting bars mounted on a swivel and a spirit level under a bra.s.s strip on edge of instrument. The instrument is 8-5/8 in. long, 4-5/8 in. wide, and 7/16 in. thick. In collection of Dartmouth College Museum.]

A list of the surviving wooden instruments is given in the Appendix (p.

153). Many of these wooden instruments bear signatures or other marks that permit identification of their makers, but a number of specimens have been found that are not signed. In most instances they show evidence of professional workmans.h.i.+p, and they may have been the work of known craftsmen. One or two examples are obviously homemade by unskilled amateur pract.i.tioners.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Figure 33.--Wooden surveying instrument, maker not known.

Compa.s.s dial is of metal, painted green, with degrees marked to 90 with metal punches and the letter "N" to designate the north point. The instrument is 12 in. long; diameter is 8 in. In collection of Dartmouth College Museum.]

Several unsigned wooden instruments of professional quality are in the collection of the Dartmouth College Museum. Of particular interest is a semicirc.u.mferentor (fig. 32) that belonged to the Reverend Eleazar Wheelock (1711-1779) who founded Moor's Indian Charity School at Lebanon, Connecticut, which subsequently developed into Dartmouth College. It is claimed that it was with this instrument that the area of the college was surveyed when it moved to Hanover, N.H. The instrument is actually a graphometer consisting of a block of hard wood faced with a bra.s.s plate with a trough compa.s.s; it is tentatively dated about 1769.

The ident.i.ty of the maker is unknown, but it may have been the product of Hagger, who made a similar instrument, ill.u.s.trated here, or it may have been produced by any one of the other makers noted. The type of instrument is an old one. It is described in John Love's _Geodaesia, Or the Art of Surveying and Measuring Land_, published in London in 1688.

Abel Flint[78] also commented on this semicircle as being sometime used, as well as the plane table and perambulator--

... but of these instruments very little [use] is made in New England; and they are not often to be met with. For general practice none will be found more useful than a common chain and a compa.s.s upon Rittenhouse's construction.

Another of the unusual wooden surveying instruments in the collection of the Dartmouth College Museum is a wooden surveying compa.s.s (fig. 33) in which the sighting bars appear relatively close to the dial. A metal plate, painted green, is stamped with the degrees marked to 90. A single N for the north point is stamped into it, presumably with steel punches. The instrument is relatively primitive, and is sufficiently different from the other examples noted to merit mention. There is no maker's name, nor any clue to the date or place or period of origin.

An unsigned semicirc.u.mferentor made of wood is owned by Mr. Roleigh Lee Stubbs of Charleston, West Virginia. The instrument measures 3-3/4 in.

by 7-1/2 in. by 1 in., and there are sighting bars 3 in. high on a swinging bra.s.s bar pinned at the center of the base. It has a trough compa.s.s, and the gradations around the edge of the semicircle are marked with tiny bra.s.s pins. The date "1784" is stamped into the wood with the same type of figures as appear in the degree markings, probably with small steel punches.

A surveying compa.s.s of the conventional type, also made of wood, is in The Farmer's Museum at Cooperstown, New York. The wood is ash or oak, 12-3/4 in. long and 6-1/2 in. in diameter, with the sighting bars 5 in.

high. The compa.s.s card consists of cut-out printed letters pasted upon a printed compa.s.s rose, and the fleur-de-lis at North is inked-in by hand.

This may be a homemade replacement of the original card. The instrument is believed to date between 1760-1775.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Figure 34.--18th-century semicirc.u.mferentor. Inscribed bra.s.s plate is mounted on a mahogany block; bra.s.s sighting bars are mounted on a swivelling bar. The trough compa.s.s is on a silvered dial.

In collection of the writer.]

Of equal interest is a large semicirc.u.mferentor made by an unknown American instrument maker in the second half of the 18th century. The instrument (fig. 34) consists of a plate of hammered bra.s.s attached to a quarter circle block of mahogany, with a gla.s.s covered trough compa.s.s within a silvered opening, and the gradations stamped into the bra.s.s.

The bra.s.s sighting bars are attached to a swivelling bar that can be fixed in place with a set screw underneath the block. The instrument, which is in the collection of the writer, is not signed with a maker's name. Its workmans.h.i.+p is excellent, and professional.

On the basis of a comparison of these instruments with those produced by known professional makers, it becomes apparent that all of them were made professionally. The possibility that some of these wooden surveying compa.s.ses may have been produced by the farmer or local surveyor for his own use is extremely unlikely. Homemade instruments such as those described below were unquestionably the exception instead of the rule.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Figure 35.--Homemade wooden surveying compa.s.s carved from block of maple entirely with a jackknife; painted in red. In collection of Preston R. Ba.s.sett, Ridgefield, Connecticut.]

An exception to this generalization, and an extremely fine example of the whittler's art, is a surveying compa.s.s (fig. 35) in the collection of Mr. Preston R. Ba.s.sett of Ridgefield, Connecticut. This is a comparatively small instrument made of maple; the body was painted red.

It is carved entirely by means of a jackknife, and the sighting bars are also whittled to shape and mortised permanently into the frame. A lid covering the dial is carved from soft pine. The compa.s.s dial is handdrawn in black ink, and the North point is painted in the form of a decorative fleur-de-lis in red and green. A homemade ring of pewter surrounds the compa.s.s rose at needle level. This is graduated in degrees, with every 10 marked, stamped with steel punches. The ring is set into the base by means of wooden pegs. The steel needle is nicely cut, and it is probably the only part purchased by the maker.

This is unquestionably a homemade instrument produced by a skillful whittler early in the 18th century.

Compa.s.s Cards

A fact that becomes apparent in a comparison of the surviving examples of wooden surveying compa.s.ses made in New England is the similarity of the compa.s.s cards used by makers in the seaport cities (see fig. 36).

The compa.s.s card in each of these instances is the type designed for a mariner's compa.s.s, bearing a star of 32 rays to mark the 32 points of the heavens. The North point is designated with an elaborate fleur-de-lis, and the East is emphasized with scrollwork. These are features which were not designed primarily for land surveying.

Presumably, these makers had a quant.i.ty of engraved or printed compa.s.s cards that they used in both marine and land surveying compa.s.ses. This is true in the case of the compa.s.ses made by James and Joseph Halsy, Greenough, Clough, Warren, Thaxter, Dupee, Breed, and Bowles. On the other hand, the dial of Huntington's compa.s.s was painted directly on the wood, and the semicirc.u.mferentors do not utilize the marine compa.s.s card. Obviously these makers resorted to this practice for reasons of economy--to reduce costs of engraving and printing, and using the same card for both types of instruments that they produced.

Trade Signs

An interesting sidelight in the study of the makers of scientific instruments is the advertising they used, particularly the design of their signboards. The most popular symbol appears to have been the quadrant, as the phrase "At the Sign of the Quadrant" is found repeatedly in advertising in several of the seaport cities of the 18th century.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Figure 36.--Unsigned wooden surveying compa.s.s, with an interesting example of a mariner's compa.s.s card.]

In Providence, William Hamlin used the designation in the first part of the 19th century, while Philadelphian John Gould featured the sign at the end of the 18th century. During an even earlier period, William Hinton designated his address to be "At Hadley's Quadrant" in New York City. Both Gould and Hinton were English, which may have had some bearing on their selection of the quadrant as a symbol of their merchandise.

Other signboards were as colorful, such as Jonathan Dakin's "Sign of the Hand and Beam," James Youle's "Sign of the Cross-Knives and Gun," and Charles Kugler's house in Philadelphia with its "Sign of the Seven Stars" (that is, Great Bear), which housed the shops of several instrument makers.

The two most interesting and significant of the instrument makers' trade signs were those advertising the shop of Samuel Thaxter. The first of these was the carved wooden figure of "The Little Admiral," which was a favorite landmark at No. 1 Long Wharf in Boston for almost a century and a half. It was the handiwork of John Skillin, the 18th-century woodcarver of Boston, upon whose death on January 24, 1800, the _Chronicle_ commented that "he was for many years the most eminent of his profession." John Skillin and his brother Simeon worked in Boston from about 1777 and produced most of the figureheads that issued from that port during that period, as well as a number of other notable ornamental wooden figures.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Figure 37.--"The Little Admiral," trade sign used for almost a century and a half in Boston, first by William Williams and later by Samuel Thaxter. Reputed to have been carved by John Skillin of Boston. In collection of the Bostonian Society.]

According to Mrs. H. Ropes Cabot of the Bostonian Society, the figure of "The Little Admiral" (fig. 37) had been carved for William Williams, who brought it with him to Boston from Marblehead in 1770 when he established his shop. The figure was installed in front of the Crown Coffee House, and Williams's shop was thereafter designated by this symbol. The trade sign survived through the years of the Revolutionary War. When the original building of the Coffee House was burned, the carving was saved and installed on the new building erected in its place. In an account of Boston landmarks, Porter[79] related the figure to the Admiral Vernon Tavern at the eastern corner of Merchants Row. He was proved to have been in error, however, since the trade sign of that public-house was a portrait bust of Admiral Vernon and the place was known as the Vernon Head Tavern for half a century, even after the end of the Revolution.

When Samuel Thaxter purchased the business from Williams's estate he acquired the figure as well, and he moved it to each new location for his shop. The figure of "The Little Admiral" continued to designate the firm even after Thaxter's death, until the firm finally went out of existence at the beginning of the 20th century. When the old store was torn down in 1901, the figure was preserved, presumably by the last owner's family. In 1916 it was acquired for the Bostonian Society by several of its members, and the figure has been preserved in the Society's Council Chamber since that time.

The other interesting trade sign utilized by Samuel Thaxter is a carved figure of Father Time that is credited to John Skillin (see fig. 38).

The figure is believed to have been commissioned by Thaxter during the last decade of the 18th century and installed by him in the interior of his shop. It is an important example of the American woodcarver's art, and is equivalent to the best work of the Skillin brothers.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Figure 38.--"Father Time" trade sign used by Samuel Thaxter in his shop in 18th and 19th centuries. Made of wood, it was carved by John Skillin of Boston. In collection of the Bostonian Society.]

The Makers

Surprisingly, the names of the craftsmen who produced wooden instruments are not noted among the instrument makers. With only one or two exceptions, their names are hitherto unknown in the history of American science, and for that reason it has been considered advisable to present all available information that could be acc.u.mulated about them.