Steve, I know that the first statement is accurate. One reference is a paper written by Andrée de Gotteland, now deceased, in Revue #27 of the Association Française des Amateurs d'Horlogerie Ancienne. Mme Gotteland quotes a newspaper (Mercure de France) to the effect that clockmakers are exposed to criticism by the public that their clocks are not accurate because they disagree with the local sundial which tells Civil (legal) time. The association of clockmakers apparently adopted the motto: "Solis mendaces arguit horas" (the Sun's hours are deceptive).
This paper was also cited in Christopher Daniel's excellent and definitive monograph on the Equation of Time and invention of the Analemma, published in the BSS volume 17. Jack Aubert -----Original Message----- From: sundial [mailto:sundial-boun...@uni-koeln.de] On Behalf Of Steve Lelievre Sent: Friday, April 21, 2017 3:45 PM To: sundial@uni-koeln.de Subject: Inquiry Hi, I've got a two part inquiry from a third party: 1. Is it true that Louis XIV issued some kind of edict that all clocks manufactured in France were to be Equation Clocks (that is, clocks that showed solar time through a mechanical Equation of Time 'reversal' adjustment). References sought. 2. Can anyone confirm that throughout the 19th centuary (and perhaps into the early 20th centuary?), the French railways system used heliochronometers installed at each station for daily calibration of station clocks? Again, references sought. Thanks, Steve --------------------------------------------------- https://lists.uni-koeln.de/mailman/listinfo/sundial --------------------------------------------------- https://lists.uni-koeln.de/mailman/listinfo/sundial
