Nautical instruments
This part of the collection includes mainly navigational instruments from the early sailing period, the time when ships were made of wood and men were made of steel.
Dry card compass in a linden bowl with lid. With a brass top the rose can move freely on a peg. The inside of the binnacle is painted dirty white with lubber line.
Catalogue: NM.5-30
Date: 1800 – 1830
HW bowl: 10 x 13 cm
D rose: 10 cm
Signed: not signed
Origin: England
Condition: good
Widely used deeplead of 10 lbs with a leadline on a reel to find waterdepth and type of soil. The length of the line is 25 fathoms. The first five fathoms are marked with blue tarlaulin flag around the fathom. Thereafter every two and a half fathom is indicated with a yellow flag.
The bottom of the lead is provided with a hollow to put in some fat. Adhered soil gives an indication of the structure of the seabottom. The reel is made of oak.
Catalogue: NM.6-30
Date: 19th century
LD reel: 53×23 cm
Signed: not signed
Origin: unknown
Condition: perfect, working and wear consistent with age and use
The hand log was first described in 1574 (Sharp, p 5). It consists of a wooden chip with peg, the log line, a reel and a 28 or 14 second sandglass. The chip in the shape of a circle sector and weighted with lead, is fitted with two lines to the peg, the end of the log line forms the third. After a stray line of about thirty meters, the log line is equally divided into parts of 23 feet 9 inches (7.20 meters) to start with a flag or bunting. Thus at every 47 feet 3 inches knots are placed to denote the number of miles. The chip is thrown astern of the ship and remains static whilst the line is paid out and the ship sails away from it. The number of knots sailed out in 28 or 14 seconds indicates the speed of the ship in miles per hour or knots.
With this log a speed up to 12 knots can be determined. The stray line is twenty six meters. The starting point, the zero mile, is indicated with a leather vane. Five knots are marked with a red flag, ten knots with a blue one. From six knots every half knot is indicated by asimple line without knots. It needs a hour glass of 14 seconds.
Catalogue: NM.6-29
Date: ca. 1850
LD reel: 64×20 cm
Signed: not signed
Origin: unknown
Condition: complete and in good and working condition, wear consistent with age and use
Very rare and large deck watch in a solid silver 925 case made by Ulysse Nardin. Stored in a three tier mahogany deck box with key lined with purple baize.
Blue steel hands. The clean white dial displays black Roman numerals, sub-seconds at the bottom and a power reserve indicator. The 24 is marked in red to indicate when the watch should be wound. The movement is hand wounded. Time will be set by pressing the button near 11 o’clock. At sea, having the correct time on board is essential to be able to determine longitude and to make a starfix.
Ulysse Nardin are famous watchmakers in Switzerland. The made made a name as producing extremely high quality and reliable watch chronometers for both international navies and shipping companies.
Catalogue: NM.6-28
Date: 1940
HWL: 7×11.5×13.8 cm
Diam: 65 mm
Signed: Ulysse Nardin, Lockle Swiss,
Lid and inner lid marked: FFBA46, 612938
Dial and clockwork number: 120610
Origin: Switzerland
Condition: excellent, in working condition
Large and heavy electrified taffrail log with plug connection and fly wheel in original case. Cherub rotator used. The enamel scale has three registers.
The large one up to 100 miles, two smaller up to 10 and 1000 miles. Brass and glass guarded face cover unscrews to reveal the dials. Maker’s name engraved. Serial number AF9136. Lid with screws and labels of Walker’s, of the Union-Castle Mail Steamship Co. Ltd. and of Christie & Wilson Ltd.
Catalogue: NM.6-26
Date: ca. 1958
DL: 12×29 cm
Case: 25x53x35,5 cm
Signed: Walker’s Commodore Electric Log, AF9136
Origin: England
Condition: in very good condition, wear consistent with age and use
Dutch seaman’s tobacco box of Pieter Holm, also known as the Dutchman’s Log, with a perpetual calendar on the top of the lid and a ship’s speed table on the bottom.
In a publication of 1748 Holm claims to have devised this table in 1729. The top of the lid is further adorned with simple vignettes portraying Julius Caesar and Pope Gregory XIII, who respectively in 45 BC and AD 1582 introduced the Julian calendar and the Gregorian calendar. The bottom carries a simple vignette of a person with a globe and a pair of dividers with the year 1497 who is tentatively identified as Amerigo Vespucci. On the bottom a short tekst in old Dutch, den eeuwig durenden almanack (the perpetual almanac). And on the frontside, Regt door Zee (Sail a Straight Course).
It’s an original box of 1729, see the lid bottom right.
Catalogue: NM.6-25
Date: 1729
HWL case: 3×15,5×4,7 cm
Signed: not signed
Origin: Netherlands
Condition: perfect condition with small signs of use
Signal flags according to the International Radiotelegraph Conference in Washington in 1930.
During WWII, the international signal book from 1897 was found not to work properly between ships of different nationalities. It was therefore decided to thoroughly revise this book.
The spoked fly wheel is introduced in 1878 by W. Waring. Subsequently applied in large quantities by Walkers and others. This early hand-made brass item is possible made by Waring.
Catalogue: NM.6-18
Date: ca. 1878
D: 22.5 cm
Signed: not signed
Origin: poss. England
Condition: perfect with small signs of use
A finely made ship’s log to measure the distance covered through the water within a certain time. Distance divided bij the time in hours, gives the speed in knots through the water.
A nice and complete Mark III in case with two spare windows, two rotators, hook and gimbal foot. Three dials on ennamel face, the larger registers up to 100 miles, the smaller two register up tot ten and 1000 mile. Two four bladed rotators stamped with anchor motif and initials TW.
The production of the Mark III commenced in 1930 and ceased in 1994. Details and serialnumber suggest a manufacturingdate circa 1940.
Catalogue: NM.6-17
Date: ca. 1940
L log: 24 cm
Diameter log: 11.7 cm
Log signed: WALKER’S CHERUB Mark III, serialnumber AG7722
Origin: England
Condition: good and complete