I have recently become the proud owner of a Pilkington Gibbs
Heliochronometer:-
"Globe" base, Arabic numerals from 5am to 7pm, two holes in the sighting
vane, Serial number 932.
As I live fairly near to Preston, where they were manufactured, I went up
there today to their town museum, The Harris Museum and Art gallery, to see
if they had anything on the topic. They haven't.
But they do have a half size P&G heliochronometer.
It looks tiny (I suppose because half size means quarter volume).
I spoke with the very helpful "Keeper of Social History" (Emma Hestlewood)
who got the file out for me to sight.
It just has an article photocopied from the BSS Bulletin (BSS 97.2 p17), and
a copy of the 1906 patent.
I promised to send her Graham Aldred's article (BSS 98.1 p14)
She believed that there were a few other half size examples somewhere.
She was able to tell me that their half size example had been presented to
the museum in 1947, by a Mrs Gibbs.
I think that Gibbs died in 1947, so it was probably his widow.
1) Does anyone know of any other half size examples anywhere?
2) Graham Aldred tells me that 932 is a very late example, as the "youngest"
he has heard of has serial number 944.
Does anyone have a later one? I'd like to know how many were made in
total. (But please don't tell any dealers)
I have been unable to get much information about P&Gs, except what is in the
BSS Bulletins, and what Chris Daniel has written in "Clocks".
I'd be interested in anything anyone can tell me that isn't already
published in the above articles.
Mike Shaw
http://homepage.ntlworld.com/jmikeshaw/
N 53º 21' 24"
W 03º 01' 47"
Wirral, UK.
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