antik.it/Nautical-antiques/7908-Harpoon-Ship-Log/
Code 7908
EUR 1800.00
In stock
1721492366Code 7908 Harpoon Ship LogBrass harpoon-shaped nautical speed log or log, signed T. Walker's Patent Harpoon Ship Log A 1 London, from the second half of the 19th century. It is an ancient nautical instrument, very rare and with a characteristic shape, which measured distance and the speed of a ship. He was thrown overboard and dragged behind the ship itself; rotating thanks to its propeller, it transmitted the number of revolutions made on itself to the three quadrants made on an enamelled metal plate placed in the center of the log; the dials reported the measurements in miles from 0 to 100 in tens, from 0 to 10 in ones, from 0 to 1 in quarters. The data was then read every hour to also obtain the speed. In good condition, fin replaced, perfectly functional and mounted on a custom-made brass wooden base. Measurements length 54 cm – 21.2 in, propeller diameter 13 cm – 5.1 in.
In past centuries the attempt to measure the speed of ships was greatly hindered above all by the unavailability of instruments for measuring time with sufficient precision: throwing a piece of wood into the sea from the bow of a ship and measuring the time it took to reach at the stern, it was possible to obtain some information about the speed of the ship itself, but with many errors and inaccuracies. The principle of the mechanical log was illustrated to the Royal Society in 1699 by Robert Hooke, but the first model produced for commercial use was patented only in 1802 by Edward Massey, uncle of Thomas Walker, who took over the business.
Thomas Walker patented his first Walker log in 1861, patenting the Harpoon A1 log two years later. His son, Thomas Ferdinand Walker, patented the Cherub log in 1897, which provided a much more accurate reading. Formally established in 1912, Thomas Walker & Son LLC moved its headquarters to Oxford Street in Birmingham, and the business continued under the leadership of Thomas Walker's grandson, Thomas Sydney Walker.
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Nautical antiques
Code 7908 Harpoon Ship Log
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