Object Details
- Description
- The Navisphere was designed to be "a nautical instrument of extremely simple construction and easily handled, by means of which nearly all the complex nautical problems may be solved in a few minutes, and without calculation, or, at least, with very little calculation." It consists of a celestial globe that shows only the brightest stars, with a brass superstructure (the Metrosphere) that represents the horizon and two meridians. Henri DeMagnac, a captain in the French navy who was interested in the problems of navigation, probably came up with the original design. Frederic William Eichens, an instrument maker in Paris, obtained a French patent for it in 1878, an American patent in 1881, and other patents in England and Germany. This example bears the inscription "NAVISPHERE / DE / . . . / F. W. EICHENS CONSTR / E. BERTAUX, ÉDITEUR / PARIS."
- Ref: F. W. Eichens, "Celestial Globe," U.S. patent #247,811.
- H. De Magnac, "Le navisphere - instrument nautique," Revue Maritime et Coloniale 61 (1879): 598-616.
- H. De Magnac, Le Navisphere: instrument nautique, instruction pour son usage (Paris, 1881); and The Navisphere (England, 1881).
- Location
- Currently not on view
- ID Number
- 1989.0189.03
- catalog number
- 1989.0189.03
- accession number
- 1989.0189
- patent number
- 247,811
- Object Name
- globe
- Physical Description
- iron (overall material)
- paper (overall material)
- silver (overall material)
- Measurements
- average spatial: 21.9 cm; 8 5/8 in
- overall: 13 in x 9 in; 33.02 cm x 22.86 cm
- See more items in
- Medicine and Science: Physical Sciences
- Navigation
- Measuring & Mapping
- National Museum of American History
- Record ID
- nmah_1064793
- GUID (Link to Original Record)
- http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ng49ca746a9-0254-704b-e053-15f76fa0b4fa
