'Rotula Arithmetica' (piece)

This brass plate is from the 'Rotula Arithmetica', a device for simple addition, subtraction, multiplication and division, invented in 1699 by a dissenting minister, George Brown (1650-1730). The rest of the instrument does not survive.

The plate is inscribed 'for the right Honble Patrick Earle of Marchmont / Lord High Chancelour of/ Scotland / Feb 28. 1699'. It is doubtful that Brown himself made the rotula: he probably employed an engraver.

Sir Patrick Hume (1641-1724), the first Earl of Marchmont, was a powerful political figure: all of the surviving examples have different dedications, and Brown was clearly searching for an influential patron.

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Online ID:	000-100-044-673-C
Image Rights Holder:	National Museums Scotland
Project:	0098: National Museums Scotland Project description \| View all records in project
Ref:	National Museums Scotland T.1979.166
Date:	1699
Material:
Dimensions:
What:	Rotula plate
Subject:
Who:	Earl of Marchmont (Dedicated to the Earl) G. Brown, Edinburgh (Maker)
Where:	Scotland, Midlothian, Edinburgh
Event:
Description:	Plate for G. Brown's rotula, dated 1699 and dedicated to the Earl of Marchmont
References:	Bryden, D. J., 'George Brown, Author of the Rotula' in Annals of Science 28 (1972), pp 1-29
Translations:
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