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Celestial Globe
Catalogue number:
1989.0189.03
Inscriptions:
"NAVISPHORE
/ DE / . . . / F. W. EICHENS CONSTR / E. BERTAUX, ÉDITEUR / PARIS"
Dimensions:
diameter 8.5 inches
Discussion:
The NavisphPre was designed to be "a nautical instrument of extremely simple construction and easily handled, by means of which nearly all the complex nautical problems may be solved in a few minutes, and without calculation, or, at least, with very little calculation." It consists of a celestial globe that shows only the
brightest stars, with a brass superstructure (the Metrosphere) that represents
the horizon and two meridians. Henri DeMagnac, a captain in the French navy who was interested in the problems of navigation, probably came up with the original design. Frederic William Eichens, an instrument maker in Paris, obtained a French patent for it in 1878, an American patent in 1881, and other patents in England and Germany.
Ref: F. W. Eichens, "Celestial Globe," U.S. patent #247,811.
H. De Magnac, "Le navisphPre - instrument nautique," Revue Maritime et Coloniale 61 (1879): 598-616.
H. De Magnac, Le NavisphPre: instrument nautique, instruction pour son usage (Paris, 1881); and The Navisphere (England, 1881).
Further Information:
DeMagnac
Star Finder
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