It seems to be nearly impossible to find information on Henry Spencer Spackman, the author of The Timepiece of Shadows: A History of the Sun Dial. New York : W.T. Comstock, 1895. This book is available online at https://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/100773424 and https://archive.org/details/cu31924031362142 .
The review and the annotation of the book in Book News Vol. 13, July 1895, p. 457 and p. 480 (available online in Google Books, but outside the USA only through a proxy server) do not say anything about the author. There was a Reverend Henry Spencer Spackman (1811-1875) in Philadelphia, but he ccould hardly be the author. The latest year mentioned in the book is 1887, so even if we assume that the book was edited and printed posthumously (e.g. by his wife, who was still living in 1920), the year 1887 in the text makes this assumption improbable. About this reverend, see http://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/legis/BiosHistory/MemBio.cfm?ID=5516&body=S A better candidate would be the engineer and officer of the same name, who also lived in Philadelphia and was still alive in 1920. But I could not find any proof that he was really the author of the sundial history book. Both persons were also called Henry S. Spackman. Ernst Zinner (Alte Sonnenuhren an europäischen Gebäuden. 1964, p. 222) cites the book as: SPACKMAN, H. Spencer: The Timepiece of Shadows. A History of the sundial. New York 1895 But this is the only case that the author was called "H. Spencer Spackman", and there is no single trace of such a person. Zinner was not always precise in his data. Here is something about the engineer Henry Spencer Spackman: Encyclopedia of Pennsylvania Biography, Vol. 13, 1921, p. 55-56 (not availabe online, the following texts are from Google snippet view): "SPACKMAN, Henry Spencer, World War Veteran. Henry Spencer Spackman, lieutenant-colonel, Corps of Engineers, United States Army, and a Chevalier of the Legion of Honor, has long been numbered among the leading citizens of old Philadelphia. Lieutenant-Colonel Spackman was president of the Henry S. Spackman Engineer-Company, of international reputation, and is quietly but potentially identified with the most essential interests of his home city. Henry Spencer Spackman was ..." "Lieutenant-Colonel Spackman was recognized as an authority on both the manufacture and use of Portland Cement and contributed many articles to the technical press. In politics Lieutenant-Colonel Spackman is a Republican. He is a director of the Ardmore National Bank. The organizations in which he is enrolled include the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, the American Society of Testing ..." (The Encyclopedia of Pennsylvania Biography is not available in Germany, so if someone in the USA can have a look at this volume, this may be helpful. Perhaps the sundial book is mentioned and dates of birth [and death?] are given.) American Legionnaires of France: A Directory of the Citizens of the United States on Whom France Has Conferred Her National Order, the Legion of Honor, 1920, p. 380: "SPACKMAN, HENRY SPENCER. Engineer. Born in Williamsport, Pa.; educated at Episcopal Academy, Philadelphia. President, Henry S. Spackman Engineering Company, Philadelphia ..." Who's who in the Construction Division of the United States Army, 1920: "SPACKMAN, HENRY S., Lieutenant Colonel, Engineers; entered service and commissioned Major, July 19, 1917; promoted to Lieutenant Colonel, September 21, 1918. ..." (The complete text is available through the World Biographical System Online, free of charge for people living in Germany. I may send it offlist on request, but it is of no help for the question whether he was the author of the sundial book and does not give dates of birth and death.) The sundial book (or a second one?) was also announced as "The Timepiece of Shadows; or, How to Build Sun Dials. By Henry Spencer Spackman" (e.g. in Country Life, Vol. 1, 1901, p. xxxii and in House & Garden, vol. 16, 1909, p. 185), but no library has such a book, and it seems that the second part of the title was given differently just by mistake. (Or to see it more easily.) I could not not find any other person of the name Henry Spencer Spackman. Regards, Wolfgang --------------------------------------------------- https://lists.uni-koeln.de/mailman/listinfo/sundial
