Hello All,
This subject is interesting to me, because it is my chosen personal gnomonic
mission to make real and responsible sundials that are affordable. Many of the
lower price point sundials that I see for sale locally and online have very
little redeeming gnomonic value, unless as an example, you are a fisherman and
want to learn the wrong time from a brass frog holding a fishing pole above a
birdbath sundial.
As far as I know, my Spectra sundials are the most reasonably priced ($200 USD)
totally custom made (bespoke) sundials that are currently available for sale
online or otherwise. I calculate and make each for it's specific location and
even add date lines and inscriptions at no additional charge while I am at it.
To date I've made hundreds of them for locations all around the world.
I am wondering which of you are going to correct me on this, but if there is
another real custom-made sundial - especially one of the dial types that are
not considered "universal" - out there for sale either online or otherwise that
can claim all of these qualities, I would certainly like to hear about it.
The bad mass-produced commercial sundials commonly available to the general
public give a bad reputation to sundials in general and convince people who
have experienced or been disappointed by them that sundials are mere garden
ornaments that don't work anyway. Here in the US most people have never even
seen a real sundial working, and some very intelligent people that I have had
contact with over the years didn't even know what they were. This state of
mistaken perception makes it even more difficult for those of us in the
business to sell real sundials!
We sundial people who would like to change this perception certainly have our
work cut out for us. Every one of us has different and varying interests and
talents - some are gifted educators who teach young and old alike about
sundials, some make excellent web sites and do other great things online, many
make their own sundials or collect them, and some even design a different
mousetrap and go into the sundial business or consult. Some write programs and
do other things to help people make their own real sundials. Others volunteer
their time and contribute to the sundial societies, and all should be commended
for their dedication. I would like to take this opportunity to publicly
appreciate their efforts - and I especially appreciate and want to thank those
of you on the sundial mailing list - and Daniel Roth for creating it - who post
and answer sundial questions or who have bothered to take the time to help me
along the way.
Personally, I want to make the noble sundial a relevant object in the built
environment again, like it used to be. I made my first sundial when I was 12
years old (for science fair at school) and I am a full time dialist now (at age
45) and not doing too bad either, so far.
Let's fight this mistaken perception and make the noble sundial something that
the general public can appreciate, and better still, actually afford!
Best,
Jim Tallman
http://www.spectrasundial.com
http://www.artisanindustrials.com
[email protected]
-----Original Message-----
From: Mario Arnaldi <[email protected]>
Sent: Wednesday, April 29, 2009 1:19 PM
To: [email protected]
Subject: Re: Are there any accurate mass-produced or reproduction
horizontalsundials?
Hi Ken,
I don't know you but I suppose that you are good gnomonist as many here. As
good gnomonist you should know that a very good fixed sundial can't be
mass-produced. I mean you can produce it if you whant, but it will work for
only one latitude (unless you are thinking about armillari sfere or equatorial
dial or polar dial and so), and if you buyer don't live at that latitude you
should adjust it when you will fix it, but you should know how. Usually I saw
most of them fake. Here in Italy you can find many cotto's sundial mounted on
walls, they are nice, made in tuscany, so one can say: "Italy, Tuscany, Cotto,
they surely are good", not at all they are completely fake, but people buy them
and put on walls beside its declination. They move the rod until the shadow
shows the hour of the watch and that's it: "Voilà the sundial".
Many here in this list, and maybe you too, made almost one sundial in their
life, and I'm sure that all them can say that, counting the working time to
made it and the basic matherial, one correct sundials, as I understand you are
meaning, can't cost only 100,00 dollar (or euros; more or less are the same
value, almost here in Italy). it is impossible... unless IKEA did it already :-)
Mario
---------------------------------------------------
https://lists.uni-koeln.de/mailman/listinfo/sundial
