Humfrey Cole Revisited

England’s first native scientific instrument maker, Humfrey Cole (c. 1530–1591), is well-known to historians thanks to a collection of twenty-six instruments and a map of Palestine that survive today in public and private ownership. Two recently studied instruments have enhanced our knowledge of Cole’s work: i) an horary quadrant, signed and dated 1573, now in the collections of the British Museum, and ii) an astronomical compendium, signed and dated 1590, held in a private collection. The unusual design of the horary quadrant demonstrates Cole’s versatile approach in adapting his products for specific customers, while certain features on the astronomical compendium, possibly the last piece ever made by Cole, suggest that he was aware of his final days and passed on his work to a younger maker, James Kynvyn (c. 1550–1615), hinting at a possible collaborative working relationship between these two generations of instrument makers in Elizabethan London.

Medical technologies and the social strategies of two surgical instrument makers in Denmark and Sweden, 1870–1900

Technical professions were important agents in medicine and its knowledge production in the nineteenth century. This paper will look more closely at two examples of the social strategies used by Danish surgical instrument maker Camillus Nyrop and his Swedish colleague, Max Stille respectively. Although the work of these two instrument makers attracted attention both within their respective countries as well as internationally, and they were regular fixtures in medical circles, their contributions have merited little academic interest thus far. By examining the social strategies used by nineteenth century technicians, in this case surgical instrument makers, we might better understand the interrelationships between technical professions and physicians in the knowledge production of modern medicine and the interplay between medicine and commerce.

Instrumental Masters of the Second Expedition to Kamchatka

The second expedition to Kamchatka constantly drags the researchers' attention as one of the greatest scientific events of the 18th century. The success of V. Bering's team strongly depended on the accurate work of instruments - compasses, sundials, sand- and spyglasses. All those breakable and expensive devices was to be kept in steady functional condition, in cases of damage - have an opportunity to repair it quickly or to get another analogue. That is why form the very beginning the staff included an instrumental master. During the all years of the expedition there were three of them - two academic employees (G. Kobylin, S. Ovsyannikov) and one from the Admiralty (S. I. Kuznetsov). The author reveals the equipment used for routing, land-surveying and mapping; characterizes the role of these scientific and nautical instruments as well as the general state of Russian instrument-making of that period. A list of materials and equipment which an instrument-maker took with him is included in the article too. Especially interesting is the data of S. I. Kuznetsov's participation, whose name has not been mentioned in historical works yet. Further search of sources which provide the information of biographical details, characters and scopes of their work is a good prospect of the developing the topic.

Review of Lesley B. Cormack; Steven A. Walton; John A. Schuster (Editors). "Mathematical Practitioners and the Transformation of Natural Knowledge in Early Modern Europe." Cham, Switzerland: Springer, 2017.

This collection of case studies explores interactions between scholars and craftsmen, natural philosophers and mathematical practitioners. Covering primarily sixteenth- and early seventeenth-century Britain, the volume makes occasional forays into French, Italian, and Dutch contexts. Lesser known mathematical practitioners, such as the Venetian physician-mathematician Ettore Ausonio and the London instrument maker Elias Allen, appear alongside Descartes and Galileo.<br>

Review of Lesley B. Cormack; Steven A. Walton; John A. Schuster (Editors). "Mathematical Practitioners and the Transformation of Natural Knowledge in Early Modern Europe." Cham, Switzerland: Springer, 2017.

This collection of case studies explores interactions between scholars and craftsmen, natural philosophers and mathematical practitioners. Covering primarily sixteenth- and early seventeenth-century Britain, the volume makes occasional forays into French, Italian, and Dutch contexts. Lesser known mathematical practitioners, such as the Venetian physician-mathematician Ettore Ausonio and the London instrument maker Elias Allen, appear alongside Descartes and Galileo.<br>

James Watt (1736-1819)

James Watt (1736-1819) was a pivotal figure of the Enlightenment and Industrial Revolution. His career as a scientific instrument maker, inventor and engineer developed in Scotland, the land of birth. His prominence as a scientist, technologist and businessman was forged in the Birmingham area. His pumping and rotative steam engines represent the summit of technological achievement in the late-eighteenth and early-nineteenth centuries which led to future developments in locomotive and steamship design and mechanical engineering such as the steam hammer. This is the traditional picture of James Watt. After his death, his son, James Watt junior, projected his father’s image through commissioning sculptures, medals, paintings and biographies which celebrated his reputation as a ‘great man’ of industry and science. Though some academic appraisals have sought to move beyond the heroic image of Watt, there is still a tendency to focus on his steam technology. This collection of ten chapters breaks new ground by looking at Watt in new ways: by exploring his philosophical and intellectual background; the relevance of his Greenock environment; the influence of his wives, Peggy and Ann; Watt’s political fears and beliefs; his links with other scientists such as Thomas Beddoes, Davies Giddy, Humphry Davy, Joseph Black and James Keir; Watt and the business of natural philosophy; his workshop in the Science Museum and what it reveals; the myth or reality of his involvement with organ making and the potential of Birmingham’s Watt Papers for further exploration of his personality, family and domestic and business activities.

The Rise of James Watt

This chapter offers a re-appraisal of the life of James Watt (1736–1819) in Greenock and Glasgow in the formative period of his career. In the mid-eighteenth century, Greenock developed into a major seaport connecting Scotland to the Americas via the river Clyde. Upriver, Glasgow received imports of North American tobacco and Caribbean sugar. Travelling to Glasgow in 1754, Watt worked in a burgh on the cusp of industrialisation fuelled by commerce and enabled by the application of enlightened ideas. His embryonic career was ignited by his appointment as mathematical instrument maker to the University of Glasgow before leaving for Birmingham in 1774. This chapter uncovers the Watt family’s connections with transatlantic commerce and chattel slavery concluding the profits were instrumental in Watt’s rise. Through an Atlantic world lens, this chapter re-assesses Watt’s formative years which laid the foundations for one of the greatest careers of the industrial revolution.