VERY SCARCE ARTILLERY QUADRANT IN EXCELLNT CONDITION COMPLETE WITH PLUMB BOB OR “PLUMMET”

VERY SCARCE ARTILLERY QUADRANT IN EXCELLNT CONDITION COMPLETE WITH PLUMB BOB OR “PLUMMET”

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$1,500.00

Quantity Available: 1

Item Code: 2026-9005

Shipping: Determined by Method & Location of buyer

To Order:
Call 717-334-0347,
Fax 717-334-5016, or E-mail

This original Civil War artillery quadrant is made of wood, making its survival particularly remarkable, and even retains the small plumb bob (or “plummet”) and part of its cord in a small covered compartment in the base of the arm. This measures 23-5/8” overall and is in very good condition with legible markings along the curved edge on one side. The wood has a pleasing, medium brown color with some stains, a few scratches and a hairline through the rivet for the cord at the top, but is solid and stable.

These were the earliest tools for determining elevation in cannon, and were still in use with mortars at the time of the Civil War. We show Gibbon’s entry for them in his 1860 Artillerist’s Manual in the listing. The most relevant portion is: “The first instrument used for giving the elevation to a piece of artillery was the common quadrant, made either of wood or metal. This is now used only with mortars, or in giving large degrees of elevation to long pieces, for which the ordinary breech-sight and tangent scale is not sufficiently developed. It consists of a quarter of a circle fixed to a long arm. The edge of the circle is divided into degrees, and the inclination of the arm to the horizon is determined by a plummet which is fastened at the center of the curve.”

This is a great example of a tough-to-find Civil War artillery instrument.   [sr][ph:m]

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