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Edmund Culpeper 6" Equinoctial Ring Dial
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50028
Edmund Culpeper 6" Equinoctial Ring Dial:
London ca. 1725. This instrument is made entirely of brass, and is 6" in diameter, excluding the shackle. Weight is 371 g. It is signed on the meridian ring: Edm Culpeper Fecit. This was Edmund "1" Culpeper, the celebrated scientific instrument maker, working in London between 1700-1737. Edmund "1" Culpeper apprenticed to Walter Hayes in 1684, and was made free of the Grocers company in 1713/14. He appears to have made instruments under his own name well before this time however. He set up shop in Moorfields, London at the sign of the "Cross Daggers" and worked at this location from 1700-1731. From 1731 to 1737 his shop is recorded at Cornhill, London, near the Royal Exchange (1). The Cross Daggers is a well known trademark used by Culpeper, and it appears prominently on his trade card. Edmund Culpeper produced many types of scientific instruments. Inspection of his trade card reveals illustrations of a screw barrel microscope, a quadrant, various drawing instruments, and a nocturnal, among many others. The ring dial illustration is strickingly similar, if not identical, to the present example. When Culpeper's instruments are found, most are of high precision and well executed. He is mainly known for "Culpeper" type tripod microscopes, housed in pyrimidial boxes, and screw-barrel microscope outfits. Some instruments made by Culpeper are signed with: "EC" and/or an engraving of the Crossed Daggers (2). In some instances, unsigned instruments can be attributed to Culpeper by the engraving style alone. When instruments surface with Culpeper's signature, or any of these markings, they are considered quite rare and are highly sought after by collectors.
Curator's Footnote:
• There was an identical 6" equinoctial ring dial signed "Edm. Culpeper fecit" in the Time Museum (Inventory No. 704) before it was auctioned by Sotherby's (3). This dial also had the vernal equinox set to MAR 20th, implying the use of the Gregorian calendar in its manufacture. This suggests that the dial was made for a customer outside of England since the Gregorian calender was not adopted in England until SEP 1752. The general style of this instrument, i.e. early 18th century, makes it very likely as being manufactured by Edmund "1" Culpeper, the elder.
Condition:
Fine quality and high precision. Well preserved. No damage or replacement parts. An early 18th century dial, in original, as found condition, by a much sought after English scientific instrument maker. Very rare considering Culpeper's output of horological instruments.
Bibliography:
1. Clifton, Gloria (1995) Directory of British Scientific Instrument Makers 1550-1851. ISBN [0 302 000634 6] p. 73.
2. Several variations on Culpeper's signature are known: Edm Culpeper; E. Culpeper Fecit; EC; Edm Culpeper Londini Fecit; etc. Please see objects in "The collection of Historical Scientific Instruments" at Harvard University, The Science Museum, London, The Museo Galileo, Florence, Italy.
3. Sotheby's New York (2004) Masterpieces From The Time Museum, 13-14 OCT; Lot: 774.
4. The Edmund Culpeper advertisement is reproduced here, for use in this forum, by permission from the Science Museum.
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