An amusing puzzle. Alta Vista found just two references to "Vaack" - both being surnames. It seems to be a rare German name, though the 'aa' look like Dutch as in aardvark. There were thousands of "Symmes" both as a name and a place in Ohio, so that is not so helpful.
With a horizontal or vertical sundial you can easily see for which latitude it was made. Just measure the angle of elevation of the gnomon - it is the same as the latitude. If the hour numbers increase clockwise the end of the gnomon points to the north pole, so you can tell for which hemisphere the sundial was made. That then gives you a band around the globe. If your band passes through Germany (47 to 55 degrees N) my bet is that you have found its original location. Until the adoption of standardized times in the last century, sundials marked 12 noon along the meridian line. A more modern sundial may have it offset, so you can calculate the longitude of its location relative to the time zone. Regards Chris Lusby Taylor ======================================================= Chris Lusby Taylor Tel: 44 (0) 118 924 6236 Oracle Corporation UK Limited Fax: 44 (0) 118 924 5561 Email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] ======================================================= The statements and opinions expressed here are my own and do not necessarily represent those of Oracle Corporation. Date: 08 Dec 98 21:37:18 From: Fox Moon <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: [email protected] Subject: Antique Sundial Help Return-Path: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Received: from mail-gw3.uk.oracle.com by uks447 (SMI-8.6/SMI-SVR4) id AAA12862; Wed, 9 Dec 1998 00:41:13 GMT Received: from uksn98.uk.oracle.com (uksn98.uk.oracle.com [138.3.208.67]) by mail-gw3.uk.oracle.com (8.9.1/8.9.1) with SMTP id AAA13865 for <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>; Wed, 9 Dec 1998 00:41:09 GMT Received: from mail1.rrz.Uni-Koeln.DE ([134.95.19.28]) by uksn98.uk.oracle.com via smtpd (for ukaa04.uk.oracle.com [138.3.208.99]) with SMTP; 9 Dec 1998 00:41:09 UT Received: (from [EMAIL PROTECTED]) by mail1.rrz.Uni-Koeln.DE (8.9.1a/8.9.1) id WAA05895 for sundial-out; Tue, 8 Dec 1998 22:38:02 +0100 (MET) Received: from mail.eclipse.net ([EMAIL PROTECTED] [207.207.192.13]) by mail1.rrz.Uni-Koeln.DE (8.9.1a/8.9.1) with ESMTP id WAA05876 for <[email protected]>; Tue, 8 Dec 1998 22:37:57 +0100 (MET) Received: from eclipse.net (wh2-135.eclipse.net [207.207.197.135]) by mail.eclipse.net (8.9.1a/8.9.1) with ESMTP id QAA13295 for <[email protected]>; Tue, 8 Dec 1998 16:37:53 -0500 (EST) Message-ID: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sender: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Precedence: bulk X-MIME-Autoconverted: from 8bit to quoted-printable by mail1.rrz.Uni-Koeln.DE id WAA05895 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=x-user-defined I have an antique sundial that has been in the family for many generations but I have been unable to learn anything about its history.Ý It is a 5-inch square brass plate with brass triangular pointer and is hand-engraved with Roman numerals, E,W,N,S, and "Vaack Symmes".Ý I have not even been able to identify the language.Ý Any suggestions? John Hastings [EMAIL PROTECTED]
