Sextants at Greenwich : a catalogue of the mariner's quadrants, mariner's astrolabes, cross-staffs, backstaffs, octants, sextants, quintants, reflecting circles, and artificial horizons in the National Maritime Museum, Greenwich

A Catalogue of the Mariner's Quadrants, Mariner's Astrolabes Cross-staffs, Backstaffs, Octants, Sextants, Quintants, Reflecting Circles and Artificial Horizons in the National Maritime Museum, Greenwich. Sextants at Greenwich consists of two main sections: The introductory chapters and the catalogue of navigating instruments of the National Maritime Museum. The first section gives a general overview of the history of celestial navigation with an emphasis on the instruments that were developed and used for that purpose, between about 1450 and the 1970s. The instruments in the catalogue form the main thread in these chapters. The catalogue consists of 347 entries of instruments for celestial navigation, the octants, sextants and related instruments preserved in the National Maritime Museum. Each entry includes the place of the object's origin, its maker, the object's date, inscriptions (by the maker and/or relating to an owner), the graduated scale, the instrument's dimensions and a general description that includes details such as used materials and detached parts. Finally the object's provenance (previous owners and/or users) and references to literature on its history and handling are given.

Sextants at Greenwich consists of two main sections: The introductory chapters and the catalogue of navigating instruments of the National Maritime Museum.

The first section gives a general overview of the history of celestial navigation with an emphasis on the instruments that were developed and used for that purpose, between about 1450 and the 1970s. The instruments in the catalogue form the main thread in these chapters.

The catalogue consists of 347 entries of instruments for celestial navigation, the octants, sextants and related instruments preserved in the National Maritime Museum. Each entry includes the place of the object's origin, its maker, the object's date, inscriptions (by the maker and/or relating to an owner), the graduated scale, the instrument's dimensions and a general description that includes details such as used materials and detached parts. Finally the object's provenance (previous owners and/or users) and references to literature on its history and handling are given.

Contents 12 Abbreviations 13 PART ONE: HISTORICAL BACKGROUND 14 1 An introduction to the history of celestial navigation 16 2 The history and development of instruments for measuring altitude at sea before the octant 28 3 The invention of the octant, and its development and diffusion 36 4 The sextant and further improvements in the eighteenth century 50 5 Innovations and production in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries 64 6 Collecting and interpreting navigation at Greenwich 84 PART TWO: THE CATALOGUE 96 Explanation 98 Mariner’s quadrants 101 Mariner’s astrolabes 102 Cross-staffs 104 Backstaffs 107 Octants 116 Sextants 175 Quintants 261 Reflecting circles 277 Artificial horizons 296 Various 308 Appendix 1 The Adams and other significant collections: a checklist 314 Appendix 2 Concordance of inventory numbers 318 Bibliography 322 Index 332 A 332 B 332 C 332 D 333 E 333 F 333 G 333 H 333 I 334 J 334 K 334 L 334 M 334 N 334 O 334 P 335 Q 335 R 335 S 335 T 335 U 335 V 335 W 336 Y 336 Z 336 This book describes the history and development of navigating instruments. Before satellites these were used to measure the altitude of the sun and stars above the horizon, to determine the ship's position at sea. The book also contains a catalogue of 347 mariner's astrolabes, cross-staffs, backstaffs, and octants, sextants and artificial horizons. This text describes the history and development of navigating instruments. Before satellites these were used to measure the altitude of the sun and stars above the horizon, to determine the ship's position at sea. It also contains a catalogue of 347 mariner's astrolabes, cross-staffs, backstaffs and octants, sextants and artificial horizons