Object Record
Images
Metadata
Catalog Number |
58.29 |
Object Name |
Magnetograph |
Title |
Magnetograph |
Artist |
Engle, Ferdinand |
Artist 2 |
Bache, Alexander Dallas |
Date |
1862 |
Description |
Plaster model of a three-dimensional surface. The printed inscription reads, "Model of the magnetic surface presented in the discussion Part II of the magnetic observations made at the Girard College Philadelphia between 1840 and 1845, by Prof. A.D. Bache. Const. and modeled by Ferdinand Engel, Washington, D.C. 1862." A handwritten description reads, "Presented by A.D. Bache." The observations which this model records are described in a 36-page pamphlet published by the Smithsonian Institution in 1863. A note with the model states that Bache intended to make two more models of the horizontal and vertical forces; one of these is now at the Smithsonian. |
Label |
Alexander Dallas Bache, Benjamin Franklin's great-grandson and a prominent figure in 19th-century American science, had this magnetograph, a type of magnometer that can record findings, constructed to illustrate the seasonal changes of Philadelphia's magnetic fields, which he observed at Girard College between 1840 and 1845. Ferdinand Engle of the United States Coast Survey built the model. Bache was a strong supporter of magnetic research; under his direction from 1843 to 1867, the Survey became a center for the study of magnetism. |
Material |
Plaster, wood, and brass |
Dimensions |
H-5.625 W-11.5 D-9.75 inches |
Dimension Details |
Open depth: 20.25 (incl. clasps) |
Credit line |
American Philosophical Society. Gift of Alexander Dallas Bache, 1862. |
Search Terms |
19th century nineteenth century Philadelphia science surveying measurement scientific instrument |