Backstaff

Description

Backstaff, wooden navigation instrument with two graduated arcs, inscribed 'Made by Benjamin Macy for Captain William Cochren, 1726', London, 1726, with modern replacement vanes

Museum reference

T.1891.380

Collection

History of Science

Object name

Backstaff, Davis quadrant

Production information

Macy, Benjamin, 1713 - 1731 (fl.), Instrument maker
London, England, Northern Europe

Date

1726

Materials

Wood, Brass

Physical description

Wood

Associations

Previous owner: Cochren, William, Captain, 1726 (fl.)

Exhibitions

• Earth in Space (29 Jul 2011)
  National Museum of Scotland

References

Clifton, Gloria, Directory of British Scientific Instrument Makers 1550-1851, London, 1995, p. 176

Bennett, J.A., The Divided Circle: A History of Instruments for Astronomy, Navigation and Surveying, Oxford, 1987, pp 35-6

On display

national museum of scotland »
level 1 »
natural world »
earth in space »
space (navigation)