Scientific Instruments

Alpern (A.) & O'Gorman (J.F.): Catalogue of the Andrew Alpern Collection of Drawing Instruments
NEW. xxi + 133 pages, illustrated, 2010. An excellent, well illustrated catalogue of 129 sets of English, European and American drawing instruments made over the last 300 years. This will be a very useful reference book for those wishing to put a date to sets of instruments and to identify their makers. With dust jacket. (Ref: N2428)
Price: £43.00

Archinard (M.): Collection de Saussure
O/P. 32 pages, 18 plates, 1977. A catalogue of the scientific instruments (each one illustrated) at the Musèe d'art et d'histoire, Geneva which belonged to Horace-Bénédict de Saussure an 18th century Swiss scientist. Good copy, card covers. [French language] (Ref: K2448)
Price: £14.00

Baddeley (J.): Nautical Antiques and Collectables
NEW. 160 pages, illustrated, 1993. A good introduction to ship models, navigation instruments, ship fixtures and fittings, marine arts and crafts, ship portraits and ocean liner artefacts. The book also has chapters on caring for marine collectables and a guide to maritime collections open to the public. With dust jacket. (Ref: N519)
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Price: £35.00

Baillie (G.H.), Lloyd (H.A.) & Ward (F.A.B.): The Planetarium of Giovanni De Dondi
O/P. 156 pages, 180 figures, 1974. A translation of early manuscripts describing in detail the planetarium designed and constructed by De Dondi between 1348 and 1364. A good copy, poor dust jacket. (Ref: K729)
Price: £30.00

Bauer (B.): The Sextant Handbook - Adjustment, Repair, Use and History
NEW. 189 pages, figures, 2nd edition, 1995. Written for the mariner, this book is also of use to scientific instrument enthusiasts as it has a brief history of the sextant followed by details of how to use and adjust it. Paperback. (Ref: N2163)
Price: £12.99

Bion (M.): The Construction and Principal Uses of Mathematical Instruments
NEW. 325 pages, 30 plates, 2nd edition, 1995. A facsimile reprint of the English edition of Bion's famous work, translated and supplemented by Edmund Stone and originally published in 1758. An excellent book for researching slide rules, drawing instruments, surveying instruments, telescopes, microscopes, sun dials and more. A good quality reprint, nicely cloth bound, with gilt lettering and tooling to spine. (Ref: N1796)
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Blondel (C.) et al (editors): Studies in the History of Scientific Instruments
O/P. 290 pages, illustrated, 1989. A collection of 25 interesting papers delivered at the 7th symposium of the Scientific Instrument Commission in 1987. [The papers are written in the native language of the presenter, either English or French] (Ref: K2457)
Price: £30.00

Bobinger (M.): Alt-Augsburger Kompassmacher - Sonnen-, Mond- und Sternuhren Astronomische und mathematische Geräte Räderuhren
O/P. 448 pages, illustrated, 1966. An excellent, book on the Augsburg instrument makers with full details of the makers themselves, and their instruments. This book, the best on the subject, is now very hard to find. A very good copy, the dust jacket very worn. [German language]

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(Ref: K1994)
Price: £175.00

Cajori (F.): A History of the Logarithmic Slide Rule and Allied Instruments
NEW. 164 pages, illus., 1994. A reprint of Cajori's classic work which was first published in 1910. Also included in this reprint is Cajori's extensive paper On the History of Gunter's Scale and the Slide Rule during the 17th Century which was first published in 1920. One of the standard reference books on slide rules. Paperback. (Ref: N1797)
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Price: £12.50

Chapman (A.): Astronomical Instruments and their Users: Tycho Brahe to Wiliam Lassell
NEW. xii + 320 pages, figures, 1996. A collection of 17 learned papers reprinted from various scientific journals making the information available to all. Several of the papers investigate the accuracy of scale graduations on the instruments, others discuss their use. As well as Brahe and Lassell there are papers on George Graham, Jesse Ramsden, John Herschel, George Biddell Airy, Jeremiah Horrocks and others. (Ref: N2063)
Price: £70.00

Cleempoel (K.van) - Editor: Astrolabes at Greenwich - A Catalogue of the Astrolabes in the National Maritime Museum, Greenwich
NEW. 339 pages, 16 colour plates, about 200 b&w illustrations, 2005. A comprehensive catalogue of all the astrolabes in the collecton of the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich. Greenwich has an excellent collection of astrolabes, this is a major reference work on the subject. With dust jacket and slip case. (Ref: N1823)
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Price: £95.00

Cooke (T. & Sons): On the Adjustment and Testing of Telescopic Objectives
NEW. 49 pages, 29 figures, 1980. First published in 1891 this is a reprint of a useful, and scarce, booklet by the famous firm of scientific instruments makers Thomas Cooke & Sons of York. Card covers. (Ref: N1322)

Cotter (C.H.): A History of the Navigator's Sextant
NEW. 226 pages, illustrated, 1983. This excellent book opens with chapters on the seaman's quadrant, the mariner's astrolabe, the cross staff, shadow staffs and reflecting instruments before the sextant. The sextant is studied in detail including developments for coastal navigation and surveying, artificial horizons and sextants for air navigation. With dust jacket. (Ref: N2278)
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Price: £20.00

Davis (J.) & Lowne (M.): The Double Horizontal Dial and associated instruments
NEW. 241 pages, 394 illustrations, 2010. A good, detailed study of the double horizontal sundial devised by William Oughtred. The book reproduces some of the early literature on this type of dial, including Oughtred's original description of 1636, then discusses the development of the instruments and their design. Other sections deal with 17th & 18th century double horizontal dial makers and their dials; and the design and manufacture of modern dials. The book also has a catalogue of all known instruments using the horizontal stereographic projection. Card covers. (Ref: N2298)
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Price: £29.50

Dawes (H.): Instruments of the Imagination: A history of drawing instruments in Britain 1600 - 1850
NEW. 136 pages, 175 illustrations, 2009. A good book, well illustrated in colour, about British instrument makers and the use of their instruments in mathematics, drawing, architecture and perspective. A useful reference book for collectors of drawing instruments and all those interested in British scientific instruments. With dust jacket. (Ref: N2323)
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Price: £33.50

Dibner (B.): Early Electrical Machines
O/P. 57 pages, 1 folding plate, illustrated, 1957. The experiments and apparatus developed between1600 and 1800 that led to the triumphs of the electrical age. A very good copy. Card covers. (Ref: K2466)

Drake (S.): Galileo Galilei Operations of the Geometric and Military Compass
O/P. 95 pages, illus., 1978. This is an English translation, with introduction, of Galileo's first publication printed in 1606. Galileo developed the sector (Galileo's "compass") into a useful calculation instrument sufficiently accurate to solve military problems associated with fortification and artillery as well as problems of proportion. A fine copy. Card covers. (Ref: N1966)
Price: £8.50

[Exposition Universelle de 1900]: Catalogue de l'exposition collective Allemande d'instruments d'optique et de méchanique de précision
O/P. 245 pages, illustrated, reprinted 1984. The catalogue of the German scientific instrument exhibitors and exhibits at the World Fair in Paris in 1900. A very useful guide to German scientific instrument making at the start of the 20th century. A fine copy. [French language] (Ref: K2467)
Price: £35.00

Flamsteed (J.) : The Preface to John Flamsteed's Historia Coelestis Britannica
NEW. 222 pages, 26 figs., 1982. An English translation of the substantial preface to John Flamsteed's 'British Catalogue of the Heavens', edited and introduced by Allan Chapman. First published in 1725 Historia Coelestis Britannica was a major landmark in practical astronomy, Flamsteed used new instruments, achieved a new level of accuracy and established the reputation of the Royal Observatory, Greenwich. Card covers. (Ref: N2383)
Price: £11.00

Glasemann (R.): Erde, Sonne, Mond & Sterne
O/P. 166 pages, illustrated, 1999. A catalogue of the 96 globes, sundials, astronomical and other scientific instruments in the Historischen Museum, Frankfurt am Main. A fine copy, card covers. [German language] (Ref: K2002)
Price: £15.00

Hopp (P.M.): Joint Slide Rules: Sectors, 2-foot 2-fold and similar slide rules
NEW. 202 pages, over 100 illustrations, 2009. The 2-foot long 2-fold carpenters rule was a long-lived device which with a slide added in one leg, became a slide rule for calculation as well a rule for measurement. This book is a comprehensive account of joint slide rules and contains detailed information about their makers. Calculating devices that preceded the slide rule such as sectors and timber rules are also included. Card covers. (Ref: N2317)
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Price: £30.00

Hopp (P.M.): Slide Rules Their History, Models, and Makers
NEW. 310 pages, 25 figs., 18 tables, 1999. An excellent reference book on slide rules, their makers, manufacturers and retailers. The book includes brief descriptions of thousands of slide rules as well as a comprehensive bibliography. Card covers. (Ref: N1802)
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Jezierski (D. von): Slide Rules - A Journey Through Three Centuries
NEW. 126 pages, 55 figs, 2nd edition, 2000. The history of the slide rule, its development and adoption worldwide in the 19th and 20th centuries. Slide rules have become very collectable since their demise in the mid 1970's. Card covers. (Ref: N1803)
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Kaye (G.R.): A Guide to the Old Observatories at Delhi, Jaipur, Ujjain , Benaras
O/P. 108 pages, 15 plates, 1985. A facsimile reprint of a book first published in 1920, about the monumental observatories built by Jai Singh of Jaipur in India in the early 18th century. The large masonry instruments include the world's largest equinoctial sundial; another instrument is the world's largest brass astrolabe - over 2 metres in diameter. A good copy with dust jacket (one small tear). (Ref: K2020)
Price: £35.00

Kaye (G.R.): The Astronomical Observatories of Jai Singh
O/P. 151 pages, 26 plates, 67 figs., folding map, reprinted 1982. Maharaja Jai Singh of Jaipur was born in 1686 and died in 1734. This book originally written in 1918 is an archaeological record of the observatories Jai Singh built in India together with illustrations and descriptions of the known metal and masonry instruments (mainly astrolabes and dials). A good copy with one bruised corner, card covers. (Ref: K1975)
Price: £65.00

King (H.C.): Geared to the Stars, the Evolution of Planetariums, Orreries & Astronomical Clocks
O/P. 442 pages, well illustrated, 1978. An excellent book, that is always in demand by clock enthusiasts, with a wealth of information worthy of careful study. A good copy with good dust jacket, the latter faded on spine and with wear to corners.

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(Ref: K801)
Price: £350.00

King (H.C.): The Background of Astronomy
O/P. 254 pages, 1957. The history of astronomy from its obscure beginnings in the Near East to its position at the close of the sixteenth century in Western Europe. A very good copy, the dust jacket good but with two small tears. (Ref: K2474)
Price: £10.00

Knight (D.C.): Copernicus
O/P. 232 pages, illustrated, 1965. A biography of Nicolaus Copernicus the famous astromomer who discovered that the earth orbited the sun. Boards worn. (Ref: K2475)
Price: £5.00

Korey (M.): The Geometry of Power - Mathematical Instruments and Princely Mechanical Devices from around 1600
NEW. 64 pages, 79 colour illustrations, 2007. An interesting book about the 16th and 17th century instruments collected by the rulers of Saxony, now in the Mathematisch-Physikalischer Salon, Dresden. The items include globes, sundial, astrolabe, odometer, encryption devices, clocks and automata. Card covers. (Ref: K2528)

Kugel (A.): Spheres - The Art of the Celestial Mechanic
O/P. 254 pages, profusely illustrated in colour, 2002. An excellent hardback catalogue of an exhibition held by Jacques Kugel in Paris in 2002. Each of the 7 celestial globes, 11 terrestrial globes, 15 armillary spheres, 13 mechanical spheres and 6 astronomical ring dials are described in detail, each with several photographs. A very good copy of the English language edition, with very good dust jacket. (Ref: K178)
Price: £95.00

Layton (C. & E.): C. & E. Layton's Improved Arithmometer, formerly known as Tate's Arithmometer ....
NEW. 16 pages, 1 illustration, 1989. A reprint of a very scarce instruction manual (originally published circa 1890) for the English version of Thomas de Colmar's successful mechanical calculator. Paper covers. (Ref: N1323)
Price: £5.00

Le Syndicat des Constructeurs en Instruments D'Optique & de Précision: L'Industrie Française des Instruments de Précison Catalogue 1901 - 1902
O/P. 271 pages, illustrated, reprinted 1980. A very useful guide to French scientific instrument making at the start of the 20th century. A fine copy. [French language] (Ref: K2476)
Price: £75.00

McConnell (A.): Instrument Makers to the World - A History of Cooke, Troughton & Simms
NEW. 116 pages, illustrated, 1992. An excellent book about the history of Thomas Cooke & Sons of York and Troughton & Simms of London. The firms merged in 1922 and were eventually absorbed by Vickers Instruments Ltd. Thomas Cooke & Sons made turret clocks and several regulators as well as all kinds of optical instruments. Troughton, later Troughton & Simms, were one of the leading instrument makers of the 19th century. Soft covers. (Ref: N398)
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Price: £16.00

McConnell (A.): Jesse Ramsden (1735 - 1800) London's Leading Scientific Instrument Maker
NEW. 318 pages, illustrated, 2007. An excellent biography about the life and work of Jesse Ramsden who made scientific instruments for the major European observatories as well as private clients. This is a detailed account of the scientific instrument trade, in London, in the second half of the eighteenth century. The book also has a chapter on Ramsden's successors - Matthew Berge, James Allen and Nathaniel Worthington. With dust jacket. (Ref: N1517)
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Price: £65.00

McConnell (A.): R B Bate of the Poultry 1782 - 1847
O/P. 74 pages, 13 illustrations, 1993. The life and times of Robert Brettell Bate, a London scientific instrument maker and chart agent to the Admiralty. An excellent monograph. A very good copy, card covers. (Ref: K1177)
Price: £25.00

Matthews (L.G.): Antiques of the Pharmacy
O/P. 120 pages, 88 plates, 1971. A comprehensive guide to all the ceramic, metal, glass and wooden items, all now obsolete, to be found in old pharmacy and druggist shops from the 16th to the early 20th century. A good copy with poor dust jacket. (Ref: K2478)
Price: £15.00

Mennim (E.): Transit Circle: The Story of William Simms 1793 - 1860
NEW. 303 pages, illus., no date. A biography of William Simms senior who entered into partnership with Edward Troughton in 1826. Troughton & Simms made all kinds of scientific instruments but are best remembered for their optical instruments which were sold to observatories around the world. Soft covers. (Ref: N399)
Price: £9.50

Middleton (W.E.K.): A History of the Thermometer and its Uses in Meteorology
NEW. 249 pages, figures, originally published in 1966 this is the recent paperback reprint. An interesting work on thermometers and thermometer scales and also a learned tome for weather buffs. Paperback. (Ref: N1801)
Price: £25.00

Millburn (J.R.): Adams of Fleet Street - Instrument Makers to King George III
NEW. 420 pages, illustrated, 2000. An excellent study of the scientific instrument business founded by George Adams in 1734 and continued by his sons George junior and Dudley until 1817. Adams made some of the finest instruments of the 18th century and wrote several technical books. This book reproduces several catalogues by Adams and has a detailed list of publications by the family. With dust jacket. (Ref: N1373)
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Price: £80.00

Millburn (J.R.): Wheelwright of the Heavens - The Life and Work of James Ferguson, FRS
NEW. 328 pages, 59 figs, 1988. James Ferguson is an interesting 18th century character who designed clocks with astronomical and tidal dials, designed and made orreries and globes and wrote books on astronomy, mechanics, horology and electricity. Ferguson also lectured on 'popular science' in the mid-Georgian period. With dust jacket. (Ref: N1240)
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Moe (H.): The Story of the Microscope
NEW. 256 pages, well illustrated in colour and b&w, first English language edition, 2004. An excellent book on the history of the microscope over the last 400 years, with good descriptions of the component parts and how they were used. This is a high quality publication written by a practising microscopist and illustrated with photographs of microscopes in the Medical Historical Museum, Copenhagen. With dust jacket. This is one of the best books on the subject. This book is now out of print.
(Ref: N1929)
Price: £85.00

Morris (P.J.T.) & Staubermann (K.): Illuminating Instruments
NEW. 174 pages, illustrated, 2010. The 7th volume in the Artefacts series - a collaboration between the Smithsonian Institution, the Deutsches Museum and the London Science Museum. This volume sheds new light on scientific instruments ranging from the 18th century solar microscope to the electron capture detector of the 1960's. With dust jacket. (Ref: N2330)
Price: £24.95

Morrison (J.E.): The Astrolabe
NEW. 438 pages, illustrated, 2007. The Astrolabe is a complete treatise on the astrolabe and includes the description, history, use, theory and design of all types of astrolabes and several related devices. The book is not about specific historical instruments but covers the principles and design details of each instrument type as well as the application of computers to astrolabe design and practical advice on making an inexpensive working astrolabe. Card covers. (Ref: N2277)
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Price: £45.00

Morrison Low (A.D.): Making Scientific Instruments in the Industrial Revolution
NEW. 408 pages, illustrated, 2007. A well researched book looking at the growth of scientific instrument making in London and the English provincial centres (principally Birmingham, Bristol, Liverpool, Manchester and Sheffield) from the start of the Industrial Revolution to the Great Exhibition in 1851. The book has an excellent bibliography for further reading and a detailed listing of scientific instrument makers in the 5 provincial cities mentioned above. With dust jacket. (Ref: N1374)
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Price: £65.00

Mörzer Bruyns (W.F.J.) & Dunn (R.): Sextants at Greenwich
NEW. A Catalogue of the Mariner's Quadrants, Mariner's Astrolabes, Cross-staffs, Backstaffs, Octants, Sextants, Quintants, Reflecting Circles and Artificial Horizons in the National Maritime Museum, Greenwich.
323 pages, 694 photos (22 in colour), 76 figs., 2009. The first section of the book gives a general overview of the history of celestial navigation with an emphasis on the instruments that were developed and used for that purpose, between about 1450 and the 1970's. The second part of the book is a catalogue of the 347 instruments in the National Maritime Museum collection. With dust jacket and slipcase. A companion volume to Sundials at Greenwich and Astrolabes at Greenwich, which we also stock.

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(Ref: N1932)
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Price: £120.00

Negretti & Zambra: A Treatise on Meteorological Instruments
NEW. 176 pages, reprint of a book first published in 1864. A detailed work describing the principles and construction of barometers, hygrometers, rain guages, anemometers, ozonometers and other meteorological instruments. Paperback. (Ref: N224)
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Price: £7.95

Padgitt (D.L.): A Short History of the Early American Microscopes
O/P. 147 pages, 69 figs., 1975. A useful study of American microscope makers and their work from the first maker - Charles A. Spencer - in 1840 up to about 1900. One corner of all pages with watermarks. (Ref: K2481)
Price: £30.00

Pedersen (K.M.) & De Clercq (P.) editors: An Observer of Observatories - The Journal of Thomas Bugge's Tour of Germany, Holland and England in 1777
NEW. 220 pages, illustrated, 2010. Bugge, a Danish astronomer kept a journal of his 1777 tour; this book is an English translation of the journal with Bugge's drawings, complemented by photographs of buildings and instruments seen by Bugge and portraits of astronomers and instrument makers mentioned in the journal. (Ref: N2532)
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Price: £25.00

Raistrick (A.): Quakers in Science and Industry
NEW. 361 pages, illus., 1993. A reprint of a book first published in 1950 and still in demand. The book charts the origin and rise of Quakers as citizens and businessmen in the United Kingdom with chapters on Ironmasters, Merchants, Miners, Clockmakers, Doctors, Botanists and Bankers. The clock chapter includes information about Thomas Tompion, George Graham and Daniel Quare. Soft covers. (Ref: N400)
Price: £10.00

Ratcliff (J.): The Transit of Venus Enterprise in Victorian Britain
NEW. 220 pages, 15 figs., 2008. The interesting story of the British attempts to measure the distance of the earth from the sun during the transit of Venus events of 1874 and 1882.

** Special purchase, publishers price £60.00, our price £25.00 **

(Ref: N2505)
Price: £25.00

Russo (T.A.): Antique Office machines: 600 Years of Calculating Devices
NEW. 224 pages, illustrated, 2001. This book opens with a history of calculating devices from the abacus to the electronic computer, but is mainly about mechanical adding machines, counters and calculators developed in the late 19th and first half of the 20th centuries. There are also chapters on slide rules, the early electronic calculators and early computers. (Ref: N2316)
Price: £32.50

Schuitema (IJ.) & Herwijnen (H. van): Calculating on Slide Rule and Disc
NEW. 156 pages, illustrated, with CD, 2002. An interesting book by two Dutch slide rule collectors about the production of unusual slide rules in Holland and other countries. The book is complete with a computer CD (PC platform) containing photographs of 452 linear and circular slide rules related to the books contents. Card covers. (Ref: N2321)
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Price: £16.95

Stimson (A.N.) & Daniel (C.StJ.H.): The Cross Staff Historical Development and Modern Use
NEW. 26 pages, 7 figs, 1977. A useful history of the cross staff, reprinting instructions for its use first written by Andrew Wakeley circa 1650. The modern use of the instrument, using a replica staff, on the 1974 Golden Hinde voyage from Plymouth to San Francisco is also documented. Card covers (Ref: N1324)
Price: £5.00

Takacs (K.): Compass Chronicles
NEW. 176 pages, 507 illustrations most in colour, 2010. A guide to the wide range of pocket magnetic compasses made between the late 1700's and the 1940's with special emphasis on those from the mid 19th century onwards. The book includes a history of the development of the compass and its use, with details of the compasses, their cases and country of origin. With dust jacket. (Ref: N2246)
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Price: £32.50

Taylor (E.G.R.): The Mathematical Practitioners of Hanoverian England 1714 - 1840
O/P. 503 pages, 12 plates, reprinted 1989. One of the pioneering works on scientific instrument makers and still a very useful reference book. The first part sets the social and historical context of the period, the second part is a catalogue of over 2,200 makers or users of instruments with biographical details where known. Covers worn, binding a bit loose. (Ref: K2485)
Price: £17.00

Turner (G.L'E.): Collecting Microscopes
O/P. 120 pages, illustrated, 1981. This is a very useful and good introduction to a fascinating subject, covering British and European microscopes from the early 17th century to the late 19th century. A good copy with dust jacket. (Ref: K416)
Price: £32.00

Turner (G.L'E): Elizabethan Instrument Makers
NEW. 305 pages, well illustrated, 2000. The book covers the origins of the London trade in precision instrument making from Henry VIII to Elizabeth I, and describes over 100 surviving Elizabethan instruments including those by Humfrey Cole and Elias Allen. Such instruments were crucial to the professions of navigation, surveying, fortification and gunnery and established London as the centre of precision instrument making for two centuries. With dust jacket. (Ref: N1305)
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Price: £95.00

Turner (G. L'E.): Nineteenth~Century Scientific Instruments
O/P. 320 pages, 30 colour plates, many b&w illus., 1983. An excellent book describing and illustrating all kinds of scientific instruments. I have owned a copy for many years, consult it regularly, and recommend it highly. A very good copy (inscription on ffep) with good dust jacket. (Ref: K2312)
Price: £95.00

Young (A.M.): Antique Medicine Chests
O/P. 77 pages, 43 illustrations, presentation inscription signed by author, 1994. A good guide to the history and evolution of 18th and 19th century medicine chests in Britain and Europe, with sections on the drugs and homeopathy to be found within. A very good copy, card covers. (Ref: K2488)
Price: £30.00