Telescope stand and compass
Date
c.1780s
Creator
John Smeaton (1724 - 1792, British) , Civil engineer
Object type
Archive reference number
Material
Technique
Subject
Content object
Description
Perspective view of a telescope stand, or tripod [above], and a mariner’s compass [below], no scale given.
The latter image is inscribed ‘Sketch of a Sea Compas in perspective Phil Trans 1750’ and was included in ‘An account of some improvements of the mariners compass […]’ by John Smeaton in Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society, vol. 46, issue 495 (1750).
Original drawing from Designs by the late John Smeaton made on various occasions in the course of his employment as a Civil Engineer from the year 175[?] to 179[?], Volume 4. Containing Designs for Bridges and Buildings. Collected and arranged by John Farey, 1821.
John Smeaton (1724-1792) was a British civil engineer, he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1753.
John Farey (1766-1826) was a British geologist and surveyor, he worked on the published reports of John Smeaton’s work between 1809 and 1812.
The latter image is inscribed ‘Sketch of a Sea Compas in perspective Phil Trans 1750’ and was included in ‘An account of some improvements of the mariners compass […]’ by John Smeaton in Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society, vol. 46, issue 495 (1750).
Original drawing from Designs by the late John Smeaton made on various occasions in the course of his employment as a Civil Engineer from the year 175[?] to 179[?], Volume 4. Containing Designs for Bridges and Buildings. Collected and arranged by John Farey, 1821.
John Smeaton (1724-1792) was a British civil engineer, he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1753.
John Farey (1766-1826) was a British geologist and surveyor, he worked on the published reports of John Smeaton’s work between 1809 and 1812.
Object history
Smeaton’s Designs were received by bequest of Mr Edward Farey in November 1913 as indicated in the copies of outgoing correspondence bound in the New Letter Books of the Royal Society, NLB/49/185 and NLB/49/312.
The collection was originally purchased after Smeaton’s death in 1795 by Sir Joseph Banks, President of the Royal Society and member of the Committee of the Smeaton Society of Civil Engineers. The committee undertook to publish a comprehensive selection of reports on the drawings which was entrusted to John Farey sr (1766-1826) and assisted by his better-known son John Farey jr (1791-1851) mechanical engineer and Fellow of the Royal Society. The work began in 1809 and resulted in three published volumes, Reports of the late John Smeaton FRS, made on various occasions of his employment as a civil engineer, London, 1812.
The collection was originally purchased after Smeaton’s death in 1795 by Sir Joseph Banks, President of the Royal Society and member of the Committee of the Smeaton Society of Civil Engineers. The committee undertook to publish a comprehensive selection of reports on the drawings which was entrusted to John Farey sr (1766-1826) and assisted by his better-known son John Farey jr (1791-1851) mechanical engineer and Fellow of the Royal Society. The work began in 1809 and resulted in three published volumes, Reports of the late John Smeaton FRS, made on various occasions of his employment as a civil engineer, London, 1812.
Associated place