Perambulator, Or Surveyor’s Wheel, A Waywiser

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About the Item

ALSO KNOWN AS A PERAMBULATOR, OR SURVEYOR’S WHEEL, A WAYWISER is a mechanical wheel used to measure distance, often using a clock-like dial with measurements in yards, miles, furlong, poles, chains and links. Usually resembling a large wagon wheel, most were made using the same process. This elegant eighteenth century waywiser is constructed of pine with a brass gauge and exquisitely decorative hands. The scientific instrument makers, Troughton London, was owned and managed by the Troughton family and established in the middle of the eighteenth century. It was quickly recognized as London’s leading manufacturer of scientific instruments. The Troughton family’s youngest member, John Troughton, became one of the most important contributors to the development of astronomical devices in the eighteenth century. He became a published fellow of both the Royal Societies of London and Edinburgh, his publications earning him the Copley Medal in 1809. The origins of mechanically measuring and recording distance can be traced speculatively to 336-323 BC when Alexander the Great employed bematists for his campaign into Asia. As Donald W. Engels poses in his publication, Alexander the Great and the Logistics of the Macedonian Army, “The minor discrepancies of distance can be adequately explained by slight changes in the tracks of roads during the last 2,300 years. The accuracy of the measurements implies that the bematists used a sophisticated mechanical device for measuring distances, undoubtedly an odometer such as described by Heron of Alexandria.” This process was re-engaged in the seventeenth century with the development of the waywiser, modern versions of which are used in land surveying even today. It accounts for the influx of cartographic accuracy in the seventeenth century, paving the way for the future of European mapmaking. This beautiful waywiser represents the finest example of the instrument in the history of land surveying technology, and exhibits the highest quality of craftsmanship. Dimensions: 31” high, at highest point, 31” long, 9 1/2” wide at widest point.

Creator:
Troughton & Simms London (Designer)
Materials and Techniques:
Brass,Pine
Period:
18th Century and Earlier
Date of Manufacture:
London, cir. 1758
Condition:
Wear consistent with age and use.
Seller Location:
New York, NY
Reference Number:
1stDibs: 1212188889217