probably made in Paris

Box (detail), for reflecting circle

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.

Record details

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Online ID:	000-180-001-172-C
Image Rights Holder:	National Museums Scotland
Project:	0504: National Museums Scotland Part 2 Project description \| View all records in project
Ref:	National Museums Scotland T.1939.1
Date:	Around 1820
Material:	Brass circle / wooden box. Inscription: No. 229
Dimensions:	11.00" / 6.00" / 12.50" x 12.50" x 3.50"
What:	Reflecting circle / telescope / box / accessory
Subject:	9. NAVIGATION (Departmental Classification) 22. PHYSICS, Light (Departmental Classification)
Who:	Borda (Eponym) Lenoir, Paris (Instrument maker)
Where:	EUROPE: France, Paris
Event:
Description:	Borda reflecting circle, No. 229, by Lenoir, Paris, with brass circle, 6 inch telescope and removable handle, in a wooden box containing a variety of accessories
References:	Daumas, M., Scientific Instruments of the 17th and 18th Centuries and their Makers. London: 1972, pp 129, 183-7, 318-9 Edinburgh Encyclopaedia 1830 Vol VI pp 484-92 Turner, A. J. From Pleasure and Profit to Science and Security: Etienne Lenoir and the transformation of precision instrument-making in France 1760-1830. Cambridge: 1989, pp 30, 51-60
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