FAMOUS MAKER
J.W. NORIE EARLY ENGLISH OCTANT Ca 1795
NORIE FOWLED ANCHOR LOGO on ARC
PRESENTED
is as rare an octant as you will
find and one which will appeal to those familiar with the history of
navigation. It was made by John William Norie (1772-1843), a
mathematician, hydrographer, chart maker and publisher of nautical books,
most famous for his Epitome of Practical Navigation (1805), which became
a standard work on navigation and went through many editions, as did many
of Norie’s works. His known navigation instruments are few, and normally
found in museums such as the British National Maritime Museum in
Greenwich, and the USS Constitution Museum in Boston.Norie began
his career working with William Heather, who had in 1765 taken over
chart publishers Mount and Page, and who ran the Naval Academy and Naval
Warehouse in Leadenhall Street from 1795; the Naval Warehouse provided
navigational instruments, charts, and books on navigation. Norie took
over the Naval Warehouse after Heather’s retirement and founded the
company J.W. Norie and Company in 1813. After Norie’s death, the company
became Norie and Wilson, then in 1903, Imray, Laurie, Norie &
Wilson. They continue in business as chart makers and were based in
London until 1939, and are now headquartered in St Ives in
Cambridgeshire.Even though Norie did not adopt
the name of J.W. Norie & Co until 1813, the design of this instrument
is earlier. For example, it does not have a tangent screw and
there is no brace on the index arm, and it uses a peep sight rather
than a telescope. It is fitted with only one set of shade glasses
(filters). Imprinted on the arc between 45°; and 50° is a partial
anchor which the authoritative work, “SEXTANTS AT GREENWICH”
by W.F.J. Morzer-Bruyns, shows Norie, among
others, using this symbol.
The quality of the machining and beautifully
crafted ebony frame indicate this instrument was made by an
advanced instrument maker, one who would
stand at the top of his
trade. The large size of the degrees and the variation
in their width indicate they were hand engraved rather than cut by
a machine.It has been polished and lacquered at an earlier time and is
ready to be presented as a gift.
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The back shows the inter related machined parts of the instrument |
The graduated arc,
and all its hardware are present. All three
bronze legs are original.
It has the often lost ivory pencil on the cross
bar which is glued
in place. The index mirror
and horizon mirror only show a
little age. The three shades are intact. The knurled screw on the back
is a replacement and accounts for the octant not resting evenly on its
legs. There is a tiny split just above the crross bar on the aft side of
the frame.
is of keystone design.. The top has an age crack and there is a small piece missing from the bottom right corner,
but everything is secure. There is a saw cut on the left front which is
unusual. There are no labels or notations inside . There is a
hook and eye but no lock.
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on the crossbar with the name listed in Webster’s Database of
Instrument Makers. This database has numerous references for all
the names and companies associated with Norie.
The instrument is 13 7/8 inches on the vertical which is
still oversize for octants, but smaller
than the typical Hadley style octant of 17.
one minute
increments
sight and good condition horizon
mirrorMARKINGS: You can clearly see the flukes of a fowled anchor
between 45 and 50 degree position on the arc. This
mark is attributed to a number of makers including John Norie,
Jessie Ramsden
and others. The arc is hand scribed in large numbers each
ten degrees, and in numbers half as large
for the 5th degree. The vernier reads from the right from 0 to
20 minutes in one minute
increments.
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