Hi Steve, You may know about the fabulously popular, fashionable Paris accessory from circa 1675 to the end of the 18th century: The Butterfield-type dial. The pocket dial had a gnomon with an adjustable angle for use at different latitudes. A sweet little bird's beak was the index on the latitude scale. See here for examples: http://waywiser.rc.fas.harvard.edu/search/butterfield
Invented by Michael Butterfield, they were made by many different makers in Paris. They were so desirable that counterfeits were made signed Butterfield. Sara Sara J. Schechner, Ph.D. David P. Wheatland Curator of the Collection of Historical Scientific Instruments Lecturer on the History of Science Department of the History of Science, Harvard University Science Center 251c, 1 Oxford Street, Cambridge, MA 02138 Tel: 617-496-9542 | Fax: 617-495-3344 | [email protected] |@SaraSchechner http://scholar.harvard.edu/saraschechner http://chsi.harvard.edu/ -----Original Message----- From: sundial <[email protected]> On Behalf Of Steve Lelievre Sent: Tuesday, October 30, 2018 2:24 PM To: Sundial List <[email protected]> Subject: Bird shapes in gnomons Hello, Gnomons on horizontal dials are mostly either undecorated triangles, or have simple polygonal or sigmoidal fretwork. However, recently I realized that the next most common form I encounter is a gnomon carved with the shape or silhouette of a bird. For example: http://sundials.org/images/NASS_Registry/Dial_334/334_md_towson_hampton_2a.jpg http://sundials.org/images/NASS_Registry/Dial_325/325_md_baltimore_clyburn_1.jpg (using a small stick to replace the missing filament that formed the style) http://sundials.org/images/NASS_Registry/Dial_920/920_bc_vancouver_knox_church-2a.jpg Is it coincidence that I encounter these designs relatively often? Or, is there some tradition of using bird motifs on sundials? If so, how did it originate and what do they symbolize? Steve --------------------------------------------------- https://lists.uni-koeln.de/mailman/listinfo/sundial --------------------------------------------------- https://lists.uni-koeln.de/mailman/listinfo/sundial
