Both’s Patent Section Liner and Scale Divider
name: label: maker
content: Keuffel & Esser Co.
notes: label: Description
content: This Both’s patent section liner and scale divider was manufactured by Keuffel & Esser Company, New York. Adolph Both of Portland, Maine was issued patent no. 393,290 on November 20, 1888, for section liner improvements. In the 1909 K&E catalog the instrument was item #1159 and sold for $12.00 (equivalent to about $303 in 2019). The instrument is made primarily of brass and steel. It consists of a carriage and a rack bar which slides under the carriage. The carriage has a semi-circular protractor, a ruler arm, and a mechanism that engages the teeth of the rack bar. The slide and ruler arm advance on the rack bar by pressing on a knob, taking from one to six teeth at a time according how the adjusting nut is set.
label: Description
content: When not in use the instrument is stored in a varnished wooden box with hinges and a locking clasp. The exterior of the lid is stamped in black with the product name and the company’s information. The interior of the box has a velvet lined bottom and is fitted to secure the instrument. The underside of the lid has a printed label with instructions and a list of commonly used angles.
label: Description
content: Draftsmen used this tool to draw precise parallel lines, a means of producing shading. This section liner was used by a map maker in Buffalo, NY prior to 1960.
label: Description
content: References:
label: Description
content: Keuffel and Esser Company, <I>Catalogue</I>, New York; Keuffel & Esser, 1909, p. 163.
label: Description
content: Accession File
label: Location
content: Currently not on view
topic: label: Subject
content: Maps
label: Subject
content: Mathematics
setName: label: See more items in
content: Medicine and Science: Mathematics
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content: Work
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content: Science & Mathematics
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content: Measuring & Mapping
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: Gift of Thomas Conran
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of American History
identifier: label: ID Number
content: 2018.0283.01
label: accession number
content: 2018.0283
label: catalog number
content: 2018.0283.01
objectType: label: Object Name
content: section liner
physicalDescription: label: Physical Description
content: metal (overall, instrument material)
label: Physical Description
content: wood (overall, container material)
label: Measurements
content: overall, instrument: 5 cm x 34.7 cm x 6.5 cm; 1 31/32 in x 13 21/32 in x 2 9/16 in
label: Measurements
content: overall, container: 6.3 cm x 39.5 cm x 9.1 cm; 2 15/32 in x 15 9/16 in x 3 19/32 in
label: Measurements
content: overall, rack bar: .5 cm x 37.2 cm x 1.8 cm; 3/16 in x 14 21/32 in x 23/32 in