FOLDING “PALMO DI ARCHITTETTO” RULE
Stock Number: 9209
$1450.
"Architect's Foot" Measure in 18th c. Italy
Dimensions
brass rule opens to 8-13/16 inches (22 cm)
Circa
18th century
Country of manufacture
Other
Description
FOLDING “PALMO DI ARCHITTETTO,” Italian, 18th century. Constructed as a sector, the brass rule opens to 8-13/16″ (22 cm). The circular hinge is engraved with a rosette on each side, and there is a central stabilizing strip. The front is labeled “Palmo di Archittetto,” and this “architect¹s foot” of 12 short inches is divided and labeled every inch, the terminal inches divided into tenths and quarters respectively. Each inch is approximately 18.6 mm long. Condition is very fine, with traces of silvering, perhaps, and complete with the original wood case bound in dark leather and lined in green chamois.
We find very little reference to the terminology on this rule but, for example, Baldassarre Orsini writes of this scale in his Della Geometrie e Prospettiva in 1771. Most unusual.
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Dealer information
TESSERACT
David and Yola Coffeen both have enjoyed academic careers, as planetary astronomer and as linguist/educator. But since 1982 (yes, 1982!) they have been full-time dealers in early scientific and medical instruments, under the name Tesseract. Selling primarily by catalogue (over 100 issued so far) they also have a web presence at www.etesseract.com, and can be contacted at [email protected].
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