Capt. Field's Improved Hinged Parallel Rule Signed Henry Hughes & Son
date: label: date made
content: 1923
name: label: maker
content: H. Hughes & Son, Ltd.
notes: label: Description
content: This 21" German silver hinged parallel rule has two knobs for positioning the instrument. Brass round pieces cover the screws securing the two hinges. The edges of the top blade are marked as a rectangular protractor, and the edges of the bottom blade are marked for nautical compass points.
label: Description
content: The right end of the upper blade is marked: CAPT. FIELD'S IMP<sup>D</sup>. The center of the lower blade is marked: U. S. C. & G. S. NO. H. 398. The left end has the firm's "HUSUN" logo for the London instrument maker H. Hughes & Son, with a sun above the letters and waves below the letters. A circle around the logo is marked: REGISTERED TRADE MARK (/) G<sup>T</sup> BRITAIN.
label: Description
content: Capt. William Andrew Field (about 1796–1871) of Britain added a protractor and compass scales to hinged parallel rules in 1854. This made it easier for ship navigators to move the rule without losing track of the ship's course. Henry Hughes & Son made marine and aeronautical navigational instruments in London from 1828 to 1947 and incorporated in 1903. According to the accession file, the U.S. Coast & Geodetic Survey acquired this rule on November 6, 1923, and last issued it on February 16, 1924. Compare to MA.309661 and MA.309663.
label: Description
content: References: "Field's Parallel Rule," <i>The Nautical Magazine and Naval Chronicle</i> 23, no. 5 (May 1854): 280; Peggy A. Kidwell, "American Parallel Rules: Invention on the Fringes of Industry," <i>Rittenhouse</i> 10, no. 39 (1996): 90–96; National Maritime Museum, "Captain Field's Improved Parallel Rule," Object ID NAV0602, http://collections.rmg.co.uk/collections/objects/42814.html; Science Museum Group, "Henry Hughes and Son Limited," <i>Collections Online – People</i>, http://collectionsonline.nmsi.ac.uk/detail.php?type=related&kv=58792&t=people.
label: Location
content: Currently not on view
place: label: place made
content: United Kingdom: England, London
topic: label: Subject
content: Mathematics
label: Subject
content: Navigation
label: Subject
content: Government
setName: label: See more items in
content: Medicine and Science: Mathematics
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content: Science & Mathematics
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content: Parallel Rules
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content: Measuring & Mapping
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: Transfer from U.S. Department of Commerce, Coast & Geodetic Survey
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of American History
identifier: label: ID Number
content: MA.309662
label: catalog number
content: 309662
label: accession number
content: 106954
objectType: label: Object Name
content: parallel rule
physicalDescription: label: Physical Description
content: brass (overall material)
label: Physical Description
content: german silver (overall material)
label: Measurements
content: overall: 1.1 cm x 53.6 cm x 7.3 cm; 7/16 in x 21 3/32 in x 2 7/8 in