probably made in London

Gauge rule (2 of 2)

This excise officer's gauge rule was made around 1790, probably by Edward Roberts of Old Jewry in London. It is made of wood. The design is a modified version of Thomas Everard's sliding rule proposed by Charles Leadbetter in 1750.

The upper face in the picture is used for calculating square and cube roots, for gauging the volume of all sorts of casks, and for measuring round bodies, such as timber. The edge of the rule is used for reducing to a cylinder casks which are spheroid, parabolic or parabolic conoid.

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 such as this one.

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Online ID:	000-190-002-214-C
Image Rights Holder:	National Museums Scotland
Project:	0098: National Museums Scotland Project description \| View all records in project
Ref:	National Museums Scotland T.1975.83
Date:	Around 1790 c. 1790
Material:	Inscription: E Jenkins London Docks 1810; EJ 1841
Dimensions:
What:	Excise gauge rule
Subject:	19. MATHEMATICS (Departmental Classification)
Who:	E. Jenkins (Inscribed on the rule) Edward Roberts, Old Jewry, London (Maker)
Where:	England, London England, London Docks
Event:
Description:	Excise gauge rule by Edward Roberts of London, c. 1790
References:	Charles Leadbetter, The Royal Gauger, London, 1739. For Edward Roberts, see Gloria Clifton, Directory of British Scientific Instrument Makers 1550-1851, London, 1995, p.234 Peter Delehar, 'Notes on Slide Rules', Bulletin of the Scientific Instrument Society, No. 3 (1984), pp 3-10
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