Hammett’s Planisphere
date: label: date made
content: 1890-1925
name: label: maker
content: J. L. Hammett Co.
notes: label: Description
content: Hammett’s Planisphere is a heavy paperboard chart used to determine the positions of stars at any given moment from latitude 40˚N. The circular base contains a celestial map of stars and constellations and is is overlaid with a revolving top cardstock that has one large center cut out revealing a star chart. Every 90 degrees from center is one of four cut windows that can used to easily rotated the top piece to account for time of months, hour in the day, degrees and Zodiac calandar. A printed instruction sheet is attached to the back. The Hammett's Planisphere was marketed for school use and sold though their catalog and in their retail stores.
label: Description
content: Produced for educational use, this model contains ornamental embossed embellishments that help to date it. It is the same physical format as the popular Philips' Planisphere, created by bookseller George Philip & Sons, London, though theirs is usually at latitude 42. Thomas Whittaker (see PH.322588) also produced a similar version during this period. An earlier simple planisphere was produced for schools by Henry Whitall and J. L. Hammett Co.later discontinued the ornamental version for a plainer form like the Miller Planisphere.
label: Description
content: John Hammett began selling erasers and slating paint for chalkboards in Rhode Island in 1863, moving to Boston in 1865. In 1890, new owners expanded the firm into all forms of paper school supplies. The firm was renamed the J. L. Hammett Co. and after 1895 opened factories in New York, New Jersey, and Massachusetts. They moved their headquarters to Braintree, Mass. in 1967; and operated over 50 retail stores from 1974 to 2005.
label: Location
content: Currently not on view
place: label: place made
content: United Kingdom: Grand Bretagne
topic: label: used
content: Education
setName: label: See more items in
content: Home and Community Life: Education
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: Gift of Dr. Richard Lodish American School Collection
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of American History
identifier: label: ID Number
content: 2014.0244.268
label: accession number
content: 2014.0244
label: catalog number
content: 2014.0244.2
objectType: label: Object Name
content: planisphere
physicalDescription: label: Physical Description
content: ink (overall material)
label: Physical Description
content: cardboard (overall material)
label: Physical Description
content: metal (overall material)
label: Measurements
content: overall: 31 cm x 31 cm x .7 cm; 12 7/32 in x 12 7/32 in x 9/32 in