Object Details
maker
Schoenner, Georg
Description
This mahogany case is lined with maroon satin and velvet. It has a lock, but the key is missing. A tray lifts out and holds the following instruments:
1) 6-1/4" German silver and steel dividers with two removable legs, needle point, extension bar, pencil point, and pen point. The pieces are each marked: 11. The central screw on the dividers is marked: D.R. PATENT (/) No 44741.
2) 5-1/4" German silver and steel dividers with one removable leg. The central screw on the dividers is marked: D.R. PATENT (/) No 44741.
3) 4" German silver and steel dividers with two removable legs, pencil point, pen point, and needle point. The central screw on the dividers is marked: D.R. PATENT (/) No 44741.
4) 3-1/8" bow dividers, bow pen, and bow pencil.
5) 1-3/4" brass cylinder with seven pencil leads.
6) 1-1/4" metal cylinder with seven pencil leads.
7) Two steel, German silver, and ivory drawing pens (4-5/8", 5-3/8"). The ivory handle for the longer pen is no longer attached to the metal portion.
Georg Schoenner (1821–1899) of Nuremberg received the German patent mentioned on the dividers on February 5, 1888, for the construction of the hinge on dividers and compasses. He opened his workshop in 1851 and added his son as partner in 1877.
According to the donor, Charles S. Stones of St. Louis owned the instruments. From the early 1890s until the beginning of World War I, he used the set in his work building stairs. In order to get a building job in St. Louis at that time, Stones had to learn German. After the war, demand for showy stairways lapsed. Stones then used the instruments to draw house plans until about 1928.
Reference: Georg Schoenner, "Zirkelgelenk" (German Patent 44741 issued February 5, 1888), http://worldwide.espacenet.com/publicationDetails/originalDocument?CC=DE&NR=44741C&KC=C&FT=D&date=&DB=EPODOC&locale=en_EP; accession file.
Location
Currently not on view
Credit Line
Gift of Victor L. Stones
date made
ca 1890
ID Number
1977.0279.01
catalog number
1977.0279.01
accession number
1977.0279
catalog number
335933
Object Name
drawing instruments, set of
Physical Description
wood (overall material)
fabric (overall material)
german silver (overall material)
steel (overall material)
ivory (overall material)
Measurements
overall: 6.5 cm x 27.2 cm x 18.7 cm; 2 9/16 in x 10 23/32 in x 7 3/8 in
place made
Germany: Bavaria, Nuremberg
See more items in
Medicine and Science: Mathematics
Science & Mathematics
Drawing Instruments
Data Source
National Museum of American History
Subject
Mathematics
Drafting, Engineering
Carpentry
Link to Original Record
Record ID
nmah_1122190