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Circa 1850 Artificial Horizon By Plath - Very Nice !!!
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Circa 1850 Artificial Horizon By Plath - Very Nice !!!
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is a very rare and unusual maritime instrument that I had an extremely difficult time trying to identify. It is a Artificial Horizon that is used in conjunction with a sextant to determine w the horizon is when obscured. The silver (or silverplated ) bowl is filled with mercury which gives a good reflecting surface and the reflected image of the sun is "brought down" by the sextant to coincide with the image seen through the sextant's optical system.These were definitely not easy to use on the deck of a moving ship and were later replaced by "Spirit Levels." The pictures will show it all. The bowl needs to be polished , but I do not want to touch anything as I do not know the proper methods and do not want to mess anything up for a purist. The triangular wooden piece with the two plastic windows fits over the bowl and the plastic will need to be replaced. The mercury is contained in the wooden container shown and it is nicely clamped into the bottom of the box when not in use. The box is all wood ( it appears to be walnut) and has beautiful dovetailed corners. The top of the box slides on a track and has a plaque reading " Eigentum von Prof. Dr. H. Rosenberg." The only other thing worth mentioning is the screw on leather strap on the box needs replacement. The invention of the mercury artificial horizon is attributed to George Adams around 1738.The firm of Plath has been in existence since 1837. Plath finally sold out to Sperry Marine in the 1900's. T is a company history in "From Sextant To Satellite Navigation " by Friedrich Jerchow , 1987. A good account of the artificial horizon and the sextant is given in"Taking The Stars" by Peter Ifland , published by Krieger , Florida , 1998 , ISBN 1-57524-095-5. Fixed S/H in the CONUS will be $20.00.
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