Dip stick (detail)

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This is a detail of an excise officer's folding dip stick made in the mid 18th century, and retailed by John Gilbert of London. The stick is four feet long and made of wood and brass.

The detail shows the maker's stamp, 'GILBERT'.

In brewing and distilling, it was necessary for excise officers to work out the tax due from the volume of barley malted and from amounts of liquor held in casks. Calculation of the total and partial content (or ullage) of casks was aided by specially designed slide rules. Dip sticks such as this one took the diagonal depth when a cask was standing on its end or lying on its side, speeding measurement.

Record details

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• Online ID: 000-190-002-212-C
• Image Rights Holder: National Museums Scotland
• Project: National Museums Scotland
  Project description   View all records in project
• Ref: National Museums Scotland  T.1974.66
• Date: Mid 18th century
  
• Material: Excise rod
  
• Dimensions:
• What: Excise rod
  
• Subject: 19. MATHEMATICS (Departmental Classification)
  
• Who: John Gilbert, London (Maker)
  
• Where: England, London
  
• Event:
• Description: Excise rod made of wood and brass, by John Gilbert of London, mid 18th century
  
• References:
  • Charles Leadbetter, The Royal Gauger, London, 1739. 
  • For the Gilbert family, see Gloria Clifton, Directory of British Scientific Instrument Makers 1550-1851, London, 1995, pp 112-3 
  • Peter Delehar, 'Notes on Slide Rules', Bulletin of the Scientific Instrument Society, No. 3 (1984), pp 3-10 
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