General Information

Serial #

N/A

Part Number

1

Total Parts

2

AKA

N/A

Patents

N/A

General Description

Wood base/ brass index arm and parts/ ivory scales, labels, etc./ glass mirrors, lenses/mahogany wood case.

Dimensions

Note: These reflect the general size for storage and are not necessarily representative of the object's true dimensions.

Length

33.0 cm

Width

30.0 cm

Height

10.0 cm

Thickness

N/A

Weight

N/A

Diameter

N/A

Volume

N/A

Lexicon

Group

Exploration and Survey

Category

Measurement-angles

Sub-Category

N/A

Manufacturer

AKA

SPENCER

Country

England

State/Province

Unknown

City

London

Context

Country

Unknown

State/Province

Unknown

Period

Unknown

Canada

Donated by Mrs. J. MacDonald of Cantley, Quebec. She says that it was used on the ship "Hope", which was an American ship that was involved in the Maritime Fur Trade along the northwest coast of North America and was also involved in the discovery of the Pacific Ocean. According to Mrs. MacDonald, this octant was used during the time of Captain J. E. Hill.

Function

An optical instrument used in navigation to determine longitude and latitude at sea by measuring the angle of the sun, moon or stars. This instrument was called an octant (also known as quadrant) because it was divided into an eighth of a circle.

Technical

Manufactured by Spencer, Browning & Co. Octants had more accurate construction than the previously used backstaffs. Scale reads from -10 degrees to 110 degrees and there is a smaller scale that goes from 0 to 20 units. Octants made it possible to view and measure the angle between two different objects.

Area Notes

Unknown

Details

Markings

Black incised lettering on ivory strip reading: 'SPENCER. BROWNING & CO. LONDON.'/ same strip also incised: 'H. DUREN NEW-YORK'/ incised black lettering possibly reading: 'SBR' ON SCALE/ black numbers & markings on scales/paper labels on case lid interior reading in part: 'S. THAXTER & SON/ IMPORTERSOF AND DEALERS IN/ NAUTICAL & SURVEYING/ INSTRUMENTS, NAUTICAL BOOKS ETC./ 125 STATE ST./ CORNERS OF BROAD ST./ BOSTON' & 'FROM/ H. DUREN/ DEALER IN CHRONO- METERS/ NO. 20 BURLING SLIP,/ BETWEEN FRONT AND WATER STREETS/ NEW YORK...' ETC.

Missing

none

Finish

Ebony wood/ brass coloured metal/ ivory/ mirrored, Clear,and green & dark tinted glass/ varnished wood case.

Decoration

N/A