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Box (detail), for reflecting circle

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probably made in Paris

Box (detail), for reflecting circle
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Reflecting circles were used to measure angles necessary for finding longitude. This detail shows the brass plate on the wooden box for a 'Borda' type brass reflecting circle. The circle was made around 1800, probably by E. Lenoir, a scientific instrument maker based in Paris.

The brass plate has the inscription 'DEPOT DE LA MARINE/CERCLE A REFLEXION/LENOIR/229'. The box is stamped '229', and the instrument engraved with signature and the same number.

The reflecting circle was devised in the 1750s by the German astronomer Tobias Mayer (1723-62). A number of improvements to the instrument were published by the Chevalier de Borda (1733-1799) and gave it its alternative name.

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