Dear All,Anyway, it seems a good news and good recommendation that a book on 
sundials at Adler is out of stock so quickly !Regards,MaciejOd: 
[email protected]: [email protected]; Wysłane: 23:49 Czwartek 
2019-08-15Temat: Re: New book: Sundials of the Adler Planetarium, by Sara J. 
Schechner

That’s great news Pedro, but the Adler Planetarium website says that the 
book is not in stock. 
Cheers, JohnJohn [email protected] 



 

From: Pedro Raposo 
Sent: Friday, August 16, 2019 7:13 AM
To: [email protected] 
Subject: New book: Sundials of the Adler Planetarium, by Sara J. 
Schechner
 










 






I am pleased to 
announce the publication of Time of Our Lives: Sundials of the Adler 
Planetarium, by Sara J. Schechner. Please find below a description of the 
book. Orders can be placed through the Adler Planetarium's online store (link). 

Best,
________________________


Pedro M. P. 
Raposo, DPhil
Curator and 
Director of Collections
The Adler 
Planetarium
http://www.adlerplanetarium.org/collections

 
  

Time of Our Lives: Sundials of the Adler 
Planetarium      
                                                   
 

by Sara J. Schechner, PhD, David P. Wheatland Curator of the Collection of 
Historical Scientific Instruments, Harvard University 

Published by the 
Adler Planetarium 

The Adler Planetarium of Chicago has the best and most 
comprehensive collection of sundials and time-finding instruments in North 
America.  Now many of these objects can be yours to explore.  This 
volume encompasses a dazzling array of sundials, 268 in all, that date from the 
15th to 20th centuries.
What makes this catalogue special is that it is written 
to engage non-specialists approaching sundials for the first time.  
Although the organizational logic is astronomical and mathematical, the primary 
Interpretive essays set the sundials into cultural and social 
context.
The catalogue divides sundials into classes according 
to the element of the Sun’s apparent motion that they track (e.g. hour-angle, 
altitude, azimuth, or a combination) and the orientation of the surfaces on 
which the hour lines are mathematically drawn. Within each chapter, the 
instruments are organized chronologically and by workshop, thereby giving 
readers insight into that type’s development over time and differences among 
makers.  Technical object descriptions are supplemented by tables of 
divisions, gazetteers, saints’ days, weather forecasts, and in the case of 
polyhedral dials, the dial types, orientations, and hour systems drawn on every 
face.  The tables offer a snapshot of the precision to which the maker 
aimed and the sundial’s complexity.  Color photographs of each sundial 
show 
its overall appearance and details.
Chapter introductions go beyond mathematical 
descriptions of how each type works.  Drawing upon research findings 
presented here for the first time, the essays offer insights into early 
production techniques, fads and fashions, social hierarchy among users, the 
impact of church and civil authorities, and the history of the sundial 
classes.  
Throughout the ages, people’s sense of time has been 
influenced by their culture, politics, religion, labor, society, and 
geography.  This catalogue offers concrete evidence, for every sundial in 
it embodies the time-related needs and values of its maker and users.  

The catalogue includes a taxonomy of compass needles, 
glossary, bibliography, and index.  It is hardcover, 488 pages, 9.75” x 
11”.

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