Dutch El
date: label: date made
content: before 1820
notes: label: Description
content: This layered, curved wooden rule has a twisted handle with an ivory crown at the end. A piece of whalebone (2.4 X 1.5 cm) is carved with two horizontal lines and an "X" and is fastened to the rule just below the handle. The measuring part of the rule is 52 cm (20-1/2") long, considerably shorter than the average Dutch el (68–72 cm), a traditional "arm's length" measure used before The Netherlands adopted the metric system in 1820. Also unlike Dutch els such as MA.318246, MA.318247, and MA.325404, there are no grooves marking off distances. Instead, horizontal rows of three nails are placed 5, 9.2, 17.8, and 35 cm from the base of the handle. A diagonal row of four nails is adjacent to the last horizontal row. One layer of wood has been removed from the tip of the rule.
label: Location
content: Currently not on view
place: label: place made
content: Netherlands, The
topic: label: Subject
content: Mathematics
label: Subject
content: Rule, Measuring
setName: label: See more items in
content: Medicine and Science: Mathematics
label: See more items in
content: Science & Mathematics
label: See more items in
content: Scale Rules
label: See more items in
content: Measuring & Mapping
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: Gift of Dr. Bruno Kisch
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of American History
identifier: label: ID Number
content: MA.318248
label: accession number
content: 235392
label: catalog number
content: 318248
objectType: label: Object Name
content: scale rule
physicalDescription: label: Physical Description
content: whalebone (overall material)
label: Physical Description
content: wood (overall material)
label: Physical Description
content: metal (overall material)
label: Measurements
content: overall: .7 cm x 68.7 cm x 1.6 cm; 9/32 in x 27 1/16 in x 5/8 in