Ronald Phillips Ltd More dealer details
A mid 19th century Scottish mahogany stick barometer by Adie & Son, Edinburgh (4488111) ( Scotland c. 1770 )
ADIE & SON OF EDINBURGH (c.1835-1880)
Dimensions:
21.50cm wide
(8.46 inches)
89.00cm high
(35.04 inches)
5.00cm deep
(1.97 inches)
Description / Expertise
A highly unusual mid 19th century mahogany bow fronted stick barometer with rectangular moulded top and rectangular cistern cover with well-figured mahogany to the case, the barometer and thermometers with finely engraved silvered brass register plates signed by the makers ‘Adie & Son, Edinburgh’, the barometer plate with a double vernier, adjustable by a bone turnscrew to mark readings for ‘yesterday and today’, with a further turnscrew at the top of the case to adjust the settings.
This distinctive barometer has apparently never been restored, and it appears to have the original cistern and tube. The ‘yesterday and today’ settings for the double vernier are extremely rare and may even be unique in this style of barometer.
Alexander Adie was born in 1774 and was the son of John Adie, a printer from Edinburgh. He was apprenticed to his uncle John Miller (see item 23) in 1789, and went on to become a leading optical, mathematical and philosophical instrument maker who was held in very high regard. He traded from various Edinburgh addresses between 1804 and 1858, and he and his second son, John, were the only two instrument makers to be elected members of the Royal Society of Edinburgh. Adie died in 1858, and the Society recorded the following tribute to him: ‘Mr. Adie’s . . . attention to business, with his skill as a mechanic, his quick inventive powers, led to him being employed by all kinds of inventors, to give their schemes a practical form.’
Price
gbp10000.00-50000.00 (Pound Sterling)
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Status
FOR SALE
