antik.it/Nautical-antiques/8453-Ship-Log/
Code 8453
EUR 1800.00
In stock
1769870827Code 8453 Ship LogBrass nautical log or speedometer in the shape of a harpoon, signed MASSEY'S Anchor Ship Log No. 1 E.M.P. This is the first model to go into production around the first half of the 19th century. The log is a very rare ancient nautical instrument with a characteristic harpoon shape that measured a ship's distance and speed. It was thrown overboard and dragged behind the ship; the rotational motion of the propeller transmitted the number of revolutions made to three dials on an enameled metal plate located in the center of the log. The dials reported the measurements in miles from 0 to 100 in tens, from 0 to 10 in units, and from 0 to 1 in quarters. The data was then read every hour to calculate the speed.
In good condition, fully functional and mounted on a custom-made wood and brass base.
Measurements 54 x 13.5 x 14 cm – 21.2 x 5.3 x 5.5 in.
Edward Massey was a prominent London nautical instrument maker active between the late 18th and mid-19th centuries. He was the first to patent an onboard device for measuring the distance traveled by a ship called a mechanical ship's log, with British Patent No. 2601 of March 24, 1802, considered the first commercial example of this type of instrument. Ship's logs produced by Massey were marked "MASSEY'S Anchor Ship Log.
In past centuries, attempts to measure the speed of ships were severely hampered, especially by the unavailability of sufficiently precise time-measuring instruments: by throwing a piece of wood into the sea from the bow of a ship and measuring the time it took to reach the stern, it was possible to obtain some information about the ship's speed, 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 (1768–1852), uncle of Thomas Walker, who took over the business.
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Nautical antiques
Code 8453 Ship Log
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