000-100-044-625-C
© National Museums Scotland |
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Barometer, made by James Watt
This barometer was made around 1760 in Glasgow by James Watt (1736-1819). It is one of the very rare pieces surviving from the instrument-making period of James Watt's career.
The stick barometer has a wooden casing and a brass pointer and scale. It consists of a glass tube with mercury, which moves up and down according to variations in atmospheric pressure.
Although Watt is famed as an engineer, he trained as a scientific instrument maker, initially in Glasgow, then for a year in London. Glasgow University appointed him as its mathematical instrument maker between 1757 and 1763.
Record details
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| Online ID: |
000-100-044-625-C |
| Image Rights Holder: |
National Museums Scotland |
| Project: |
0098: National Museums Scotland
Project description | View all records in project |
| Ref: |
National Museums Scotland T.1975.51 |
| Date: |
Around 1760
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| Material: |
Brass scale, wooden cistern and case. Inscription: James Watt Glasgow
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| Dimensions: |
886 mm H
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| What: |
Barometer, cistern tube
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| Subject: |
10. METEOROLOGY (Departmental Classification)
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| Who: |
James Watt, Glasgow (Maker)
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| Where: |
Scotland, Lanarkshire, Glasgow
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| Event: |
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| Description: |
Cistern tube barometer signed by James Watt of Glasgow
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| References: |
- Clarke, T.N., Morrison-Low, A.D. & Simpson, A.D.C. Brass & glass scientific instrument making workshops in Scotland as illustrated by instruments from the Arthur Frank Collection at the Royal Museum of Scotland. Edinburgh: NMS, 1989. pp 164-173
- Goodison, N. English Barometers 1680-1860. London: 1977
- Hills, Richard L, James Watt’s Barometers, Bulletin of the Scientific Instrument Society No. 60 (1999) pp 5-10
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