Description

PERPETUAL CALENDAR MADE FOR THE COLUMBIAN EXHIBITION, American, 1892, signed “Perpetual Calendar, Patd. 1891 & 1892 by W.W. Kitchen.” Made of aluminum, 1-3/16″ (3 cm) in diameter, the disk bears on one side a raised profile of Christopher Columbus, and on the other a calendar marking every seventh day of each month. At the center is inset a brass volvelle with the days of the week. Setting this volvelle once per year allows direct readout of the day of the week for every date. This is a fine example of the perpetual calendar patented by William Whitney Kitchen, of Rockford, Illinois, on 1 December 1891. It was available at the 1893 World¹s Columbian Exposition held in Chicago to celebrate the quatercentenary of Columbus’ 1492 voyage to the New World.