Object Details
Description
This unmarked 5-1/2" wooden right triangle has angles of about 30° and 60°. The corners of the instrument have broken off, and some drawing triangles were neither 30°-60°-90° nor 45°-45°-90°, so it is not possible to know the original dimensions of the object. (For triangles with other angle measurements, see 1990.0690.01 and MA.323412.) Users held the object in place by putting their thumbs in an 11/16" circle cut from the center. Compare to 1979.0876.02, 1983.0238.01, and MA.304826.137.
The dating of other objects from this donor suggests the triangle was made around 1900. The Eugene Dietzgen Company sold a 5-3/4" 30°-60°-90° cherry triangle for 8¢ in 1904, while Keuffel & Esser offered a triangle with the same dimensions but in pearwood for 10¢ in 1909.
References: Catalog of Eugene Dietzgen Co., 7th ed. (Chicago, 1904), 194; Catalogue and Price List of Keuffel & Esser Co., 33rd ed. (New York, 1909), 223.
Location
Currently not on view
Credit Line
Gift of Eunice L. Hoffman
date made
ca 1900
ID Number
MA.335331
catalog number
335331
accession number
305958
Object Name
triangle
Physical Description
wood (overall material)
Measurements
overall: 7.9 cm x 13.9 cm x .3 cm; 3 1/8 in x 5 15/32 in x 1/8 in
See more items in
Medicine and Science: Mathematics
Squares and Triangles
Science & Mathematics
Data Source
National Museum of American History
Subject
Mathematics
Drawing Instruments
Link to Original Record
Record ID
nmah_904232