France Archives - Page 45 of 51

Comments Off

JULIEN LE ROY’S IMPROVED HORIZONTAL SUNDIAL, French, c. 1740, signed “Jacques Le Maire de La Societe des Arts, au Genie a Paris.” The substantial brass dial plate measures 7-1/4″ x 9-3/4″ (18 x 25 cm) overall, and is set with a glazed compass with fine eight-point rose, a broad 49-degree gnomon pierced with four pinholes and with slots to support the brass plumb on silk cord, and four pommel-headed leveling screws. The compass rose can be rotated by external Read More...

28 Jun

UNUSUAL PORTABLE COMPASS / SUNDIAL

By TESSERACT

Comments Off

UNUSUAL PORTABLE COMPASS / SUNDIAL, French, 1837, stamped “1837 . 30 Aoust” on the brass. This traveler’s instrument is carved from a single block of dense wood (walnut?) 9-1/4″ (23 cm) long, with knob handle and shaped alignment index. It has an inset glazed compass with finely shaped arrow-head needle and with brass compass plate divided every five degrees and offset for 27° west declination. The adjacent horizontal sundial has brass base plate divided every 30 minutes, and small Read More...

22 Jun

Superb 18th century French dividers decorated with dolphins and birds

By Instrumentum

Comments Off

Large (47cm / 18 ½ inch) antique stone mason or carpentry dividers from the early 18th century with square head surmounted with wrought and engraved acanthus leaf pendants. The body of the dividers are engraved with a flower on one side and vine on the other side. The legs feature the heads of parrots (facing up) and the heads of dolphins or fish (facing down) surrounding a heart shaped cut out. The dolphin motif was popular in France because of Read More...

21 Jun

AN ART NOUVEAU STAND

By TESSERACT

Comments Off

AN ART NOUVEAU STAND, French, c. late 19th century. Extending from 9-3/4″ to 11-3/8″ (29 cm) tall, this lovely stand has a rather elegant Art Nouveau style tripod base and recurved limb of tan-enameled cast iron. The other fittings are in contrasting bright lacquered and blackened brass, and feature rack and pinion focus, double objective, “squiggle work” stage, substage wheel of stops, choice of concave silvered mirror or flat white plaster diffuser, moveable slide support, live box, and tweezers. Read More...

18 Jun

PRISMATIC INVERTING OCULAR

By TESSERACT

Comments Off

PRISMATIC INVERTING OCULAR, French, c. 1900, engraved “Nachet” in script in the chemically darkened brass body. Measuring 1-3/4″ (4.5 cm) overall, and with an eyetube outside diameter of 23.3 mm, the ocular has internal lenses and prism to give an upright image of the object when used with an ordinary compound microscope, especially facilitating dissection. Condition is fine noting some spotting to the prism. Nachet advertised this inverting ocular in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and further Read More...

17 Jun

SILVER FINGER RING,

By TESSERACT

Comments Off

SILVER FINGER RING, French, c. second quarter 19th century, with a “poinçon” hallmark punch. The small 1/2″ (12 mm) long solid glass lens is mounted in a silver cell with a twisted wire handle forming a finger ring 1-1/2″ (3.8 cm) in overall height. It provides extremely high magnification at a short working distance, and is in fine condition throughout. The maker was likely the important Noël-Jean Lerebours, working in Paris with his son Noël-Marie (who in 1845 entered Read More...

13 Jun

FRENCH CASE-MOUNTED SIDE-PILLAR MICROSCOPE

By TESSERACT

Comments Off

FRENCH CASE-MOUNTED SIDE-PILLAR MICROSCOPE, c. 1860, signed only on the trade card “F. Barbier, Opticien, rue d’Orleans 1 (to Place Villeneuve 2A), Marseille.” Made of golden lacquered brass the microscope assembles to a total (minimum) height of 10-3/4″ (27 cm) above the beautiful flame-grained wood case. It is equipped with a two-element eyepiece, three interchangeable objectives, stage with fixed spring clips and racked motion from the cylindrical rear pillar, and plane mirror below. Condition is fine noting some wear Read More...

08 Jun

EXCEPTIONAL COILED-TUBE BINOCULARS

By TESSERACT

Comments Off

EXCEPTIONAL COILED-TUBE BINOCULARS, French, c. 1880. These ingenious binoculars are constructed with two gilt-brass main plates supporting not only the 2″ (5 cm) diameter objective lens cells, but also the complex assembly of axle with twin pinion gears engaging the long folding rack-works which drive a thick plate carrying the eyelenses, meanwhile extending the helical coils to form opaque tubes to exclude off-axis light. Materials include gilt brass, steel, horn, and shell. Condition is very fine noting a little Read More...

07 Jun

Impressive dividers – Art Deco period made circa 1920

By Galerie Delalande Paris

Comments Off

Impressive dividers in polished steel with grips in the shape of a turned button. Dimension: length of 28.9 cm. France Art Deco period (around 1920). Read More...

28 May

HENRI ROBERT’S ASTRONOMICAL BALANCE

By TESSERACT

Comments Off

HENRI ROBERT’S ASTRONOMICAL BALANCE, French, c. 1835, signed “henry ROBERT, horloger a Paris. invenit.” The “balance” is constructed with a 20″ (51 cm) long lacquered brass tube fitted to a flat brass suspension bar and two large brass chain links. When suspended, the whole can rotate about the zenith direction, and the tube can pivot in its vertical plane. The tube itself is fitted with a tiny lens and pinhole at one end, and a removable target at the other. Read More...

24 May

REMARKABLE COMPACT ALL-TRIPLE-LENS BINOCULARS

By TESSERACT

Comments Off

REMARKABLE COMPACT ALL-TRIPLE-LENS BINOCULARS, French, c. 1875, engraved “Douze Verres” (for “Twelve Lenses”) and signed in the case “Gregoire Opticien, Quai St. Antoine, 14.” Measuring 3-7/8″ (10 cm) overall and 1-1/8″ (3 cm) thick (closed), they are constructed of gilt brass, with a central knurled focusing knob. Each objective lens, and each eyepiece, is itself a triplet, a sophisticated design to minimize aberrations and permit a compact, short-focal-length instrument. The apparent maker was Gregoire of Lyon, working throughout the Read More...

20 May

Book Astrolabes composed of 2 volumes of 304 pages each

By Galerie Delalande Paris

Comments Off

Please find below some information on the new book of Galerie Delalande : – title : “Astrolabes “ – authors : Dominique and Eric Delalande / Patrick Rocca – one book of two volumes (304 pages each) – written in English and French – 19 astrolabes and related instruments are photographed and described – weight : 3,7 kilos – dimensions : 25 x 30 cm – Summary : Volume 1 : 1) Part 1 : Some Elements about the Knowledge of the Universe (The Birth of the Solar System / The Celestial Mechanisms / The Stereographic Read More...