18th Century Material Culture

Quadrants
 Navigational Instruments Plate XX
From Nicolas Bion, The Construction and Principal Uses of Mathematical Instruments 1723
(Princeton University Library, Rare Books Division)
Davis Quadrants
Backstas
 Davis Quadrants / Backstas

The backsta was developed by an English Captain named John Davis in the 1590s andas it
enabled a navigator to observe the suns altitude with safety and easewas soon widely used for
determining latitude at sea. Some English texts refer to it as Davis quadrant, while some
Continental European texts refer to it as the English quadrant.

Ref: J. A. Bennett, The Divided Circle. A History of Instruments for Astronomy, Navigation
and Surveying (Oxford, 1987), pp. 35-36.

Deborah Warner, "Davis Quadrants in America," Rittenhouse 3 (1988): 23-40.

From the Website of the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History

English Ivory Davis Quadrant or Backsta
by Thomas Tuttell of London c. 1700 - 1750
(National Maritime Museum, Greenwich)
English Ivory Davis Quadrant or Backsta
by Thomas Tuttell of London c. 1700 - 1750
(National Maritime Museum, Greenwich)
English Ivory Davis Quadrant or Backsta
by Thomas Tuttell of London c. 1700 - 1750
(National Maritime Museum, Greenwich)
English Lignum Vitae & Boxwood Davis Quadrant or Backsta
c. 1700
(National Maritime Museum, Greenwich)
English Lignum Vitae & Boxwood Davis Quadrant or Backsta
c. 1700
(National Maritime Museum, Greenwich)
English Labernum,Bone & Ivory Davis Quadrant or Backsta
by John Bellinger of London c. 1700
(National Maritime Museum, Greenwich)
English Labernum,Bone & Ivory Davis Quadrant or Backsta
by John Bellinger of London c. 1700
(National Maritime Museum, Greenwich)
English Labernum,Bone & Ivory Davis Quadrant or Backsta
by John Bellinger of London c. 1700
(National Maritime Museum, Greenwich)
English Lignum Vitae & Boxwood Davis Quadrant or Backsta
c. 1700 - 1750
(National Maritime Museum, Greenwich)
English Lignum Vitae & Boxwood Davis Quadrant or Backsta
c. 1700 - 1750
(National Maritime Museum, Greenwich)
English Lignum Vitae & Boxwood Davis Quadrant or Backsta
c. 1720
(National Maritime Museum, Greenwich)
English Lignum Vitae & Boxwood Davis Quadrant or Backsta
c. 1720
(National Maritime Museum, Greenwich)
English Lignum Vitae & Boxwood Davis Quadrant or Backsta Owned by James Austin
by Benjamin Macy of London c. 1720
(National Maritime Museum, Greenwich)
English Lignum Vitae & Boxwood Davis Quadrant or Backsta Owned by James Austin
by Benjamin Macy of London c. 1720
(National Maritime Museum, Greenwich)
English Lignum Vitae & Boxwood Davis Quadrant or Backsta Owned by James Austin
by Benjamin Macy of London c. 1720
(National Maritime Museum, Greenwich)
English Lignum Vitae & Boxwood Davis Quadrant or Backsta
by John Patrick of London c. 1720
(National Maritime Museum, Greenwich)
English Lignum Vitae & Boxwood Davis Quadrant or Backsta
by John Patrick of London c. 1720
(National Maritime Museum, Greenwich)
English Lignum Vitae & Boxwood Davis Quadrant or Backsta
by William Wright of Bristol, North Somerset c. 1725
(National Maritime Museum, Greenwich)
English Lignum Vitae & Boxwood Davis Quadrant or Backsta
by William Wright of Bristol, North Somerset c. 1725
(National Maritime Museum, Greenwich)
English Lignum Vitae & Boxwood Davis Quadrant or Backsta Owned by Oliver Thompson
by Will Garner of London 1734
(National Maritime Museum, Greenwich)
English Lignum Vitae & Boxwood Davis Quadrant or Backsta Owned by Thomas White
by Will Garner of London 1737
(National Maritime Museum, Greenwich)
English Lignum Vitae & Boxwood Davis Quadrant or Backsta Owned by Thomas White
by Will Garner of London 1737
(National Maritime Museum, Greenwich)
English Lignum Vitae & Boxwood Davis Quadrant or Backsta Owned by Thomas White
by Will Garner of London 1737
(National Maritime Museum, Greenwich)
English Mahogany & Boxwood Davis Quadrant or Backsta
c. 1740
(National Maritime Museum, Greenwich)
English Mahogany & Boxwood Davis Quadrant or Backsta
c. 1740
(National Maritime Museum, Greenwich)
English Mahogany & Boxwood Davis Quadrant or Backsta
by John Gilbert of London c. 1740
(National Maritime Museum, Greenwich)
English Mahogany & Boxwood Davis Quadrant or Backsta
by John Gilbert of London c. 1740
(National Maritime Museum, Greenwich)
English Hornbeam & Boxwood Davis Quadrant or Backsta
c. 1750
(National Maritime Museum, Greenwich)
English Hornbeam & Boxwood Davis Quadrant or Backsta
c. 1750
(National Maritime Museum, Greenwich)
English Lignum Vitae & Boxwood Davis Quadrant or Backsta Owned by Jonathan Norman
by Gilbert & Son c. 1750
(National Maritime Museum, Greenwich)
English Lignum Vitae & Boxwood Davis Quadrant or Backsta Owned by Jonathan Norman
by Gilbert & Son c. 1750
(National Maritime Museum, Greenwich)
English Rosewood & Boxwood Davis Quadrant or Backsta
1st Half 18th Century
(West Sea Company)
English Rosewood & Boxwood Davis Quadrant or Backsta
1st Half 18th Century
(West Sea Company)
English Boxwood & Rosewood Davis Quadrant or Backsta
18th Century
(Charles Miller Ltd.)
 English Boxwood & Lignum Vitae Davis Quadrant or Backsta
Made by William Clarke near Union Stairs for John Quince 1736
(Charles Miller Ltd.)
 English Boxwood & Lignum Vitae Davis Quadrant or Backsta
Made by William Clarke near Union Stair / In Wapping For John Scott 1743
(Charles Miller Ltd.)
English Davis Quadrant or Backsta from London Marked "Made.by.John.Holbeche.for Capt Joseph.Swan.1738"
by John Holbeche 1738
(Smithsonian National Museum of American History)
English Davis Quadrant or Backsta from London Marked "Made.by.John.Holbeche.for Capt Joseph.Swan.1738"
by John Holbeche 1738
(Smithsonian National Museum of American History)
English Davis Quadrant or Backsta from London Marked "Made.by.John.Holbeche.for Capt Joseph.Swan.1738"
by John Holbeche 1738
(Smithsonian National Museum of American History)
American Davis Quadrant or Backsta from Newport, Rhode Island
by William Guyse Hagger c. 1773
(Smithsonian National Museum of American History)
American Davis Quadrant or Backsta from Newport, Rhode Island
by William Guyse Hagger c. 1773
(Smithsonian National Museum of American History)
Captain Robert Knox of the East India Company
by P. Trampon 1711
(The British Museum)
The NAVAL NURSE, or Modern Commander.
by R.T. Attwold 1750
(The British Museum)
Unknown
Adams Quadrants
A NEW SEA QUADRANT Invented, Made, & Sold by Geo. Adams...
30 September, 1748
(Harvard University, Houghton Library)
A NEW SEA QUADRANT Invented, Made, & Sold by Geo. Adams...
30 September, 1748
(Harvard University, Houghton Library)
A NEW SEA QUADRANT Invented, Made, & Sold by Geo. Adams...
30 September, 1748
(Harvard University, Houghton Library)
Quadrant Invented and Made by GEO: ADAMS at Tycho Brahes Head in Fleet Street LONDON
By George Adams 1751
(Mariners Museum and Park)
Quadrant Invented and Made by GEO: ADAMS at Tycho Brahes Head in Fleet Street LONDON
By George Adams 1751
(Mariners Museum and Park)
Quadrant Invented and Made by GEO: ADAMS at Tycho Brahes Head in Fleet Street LONDON
By George Adams 1751
(Mariners Museum and Park)
Quadrant Invented and Made by GEO: ADAMS at Tycho Brahes Head in Fleet Street LONDON
By George Adams 1751
(Mariners Museum and Park)
 Elton
Quadrants
English Lignum Vitae & Boxwood Modified Davis Quadrant or Backsta
by John Elton / Jonathan Sisson of London c. 1732
(National Maritime Museum, Greenwich)
English Lignum Vitae & Boxwood Modified Davis Quadrant or Backsta
by John Elton / Jonathan Sisson of London c. 1732
(National Maritime Museum, Greenwich)
English Lignum Vitae & Boxwood Modified Davis Quadrant or Backsta
by John Elton / Jonathan Sisson of London c. 1732
(National Maritime Museum, Greenwich)
A Seaman Holding an Elton Quadrant, Possibly Elton Himself or Captain Walter Hoxton of the Baltimore
by John Verbank c. 1735
(National Maritime Museum, Greenwich)
 Horary
Quadrants
 Quadrant, with Inscriptions and Scales for Measuring Latitude
John Collins: 'The Sector on a Quadrant, or A Treatise Containing the Description and Use of Four Several Quadrants London, 1659
(The British Museum)
 Quadrant, with Inscriptions and Scales for Measuring Latitude
John Collins: 'The Sector on a Quadrant, or A Treatise Containing the Description and Use of Four Several Quadrants London, 1659
(The British Museum)
 Horary Quadrant
George Fisher: The Instructor: or, Young Man's Best Companion 7th ed. 1744
(The British Museum)
 Mariners Brass Quadrant
c. 1600
(National Maritime Museum, Greenwich)
 Mariners Brass Quadrant
c. 1600
(National Maritime Museum, Greenwich)
 French (Likely) Brass Horary Quadrant
c. 1600
(National Maritime Museum, Greenwich)
 French (Likely) Brass Horary Quadrant
c. 1600
(National Maritime Museum, Greenwich)
 Brass Horary Quadrant
c. 1700
(National Maritime Museum, Greenwich)
 English Brass Mariners Quadrant
c. 1725
(National Maritime Museum, Greenwich)
 Irish Brass Horary Quadrant with Stand
by Gabriel Stokes of Dublin 1738
(National Maritime Museum, Greenwich)
 Irish Brass Horary Quadrant with Stand
by Gabriel Stokes of Dublin 1738
(National Maritime Museum, Greenwich)
 Irish Brass Horary Quadrant with Stand
by Gabriel Stokes of Dublin 1738
(National Maritime Museum, Greenwich)
English Brass Horary Quadrant Engraved with Oughtred's Horizontal Projection
c. 1750
(National Maritime Museum, Greenwich)
English Brass Horary Quadrant Engraved with Oughtred's Horizontal Projection
c. 1750
(National Maritime Museum, Greenwich)
 English Brass Horary Quadrant
c. 1750
(National Maritime Museum, Greenwich)
 English Brass Horary Quadrant
c. 1750
(National Maritime Museum, Greenwich)
 Irish Brass Horary Quadrant Stand
Dublin 1738
(National Maritime Museum, Greenwich)
Horary Quadrants / Gunter Scales
Edmund Gunter, an English mathematician, described this type of pocket-sized instrument in
1618. Like other horary quadrants, this one is designed to find the time of day by finding the
altitude of the sun. When the sunlight passes through the two sights on the top edge of the
instrument, a thread with a weight on the end indicates the altitude. The Gunter quadrant is
unique in that it is also imprinted with projections of the tropics, equator, ecliptic and the
horizon. Using these scales and curves along with related tables, a mariner or surveyor could
sight the sun, moon, or stars to find the time of day or night, the date, the length of the day, the
times of sunset and sunrise, and the meridian. The Gunter quadrant was cheap, portable, and
compact, but because its scales and lines applied to only one specific latitude, it was primarily
used on land.

Ref: Bennett, J.A. The Divided Circle: A History of Instruments for Astronomy Navigation
and Surveying (Oxford: Phaidon, 1987), p. 79-80.

Waters, David W. The Art of Navigation in England in Elizabethan and Early Stuart Times
(New Haven: Yale University Press, 1958), p. 438.

Gunter, Edmund, The Works of Edmund Gunter(London: F. Eglesfield, 1673), p. 113-120.

From the Website of the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History

English Brass Horary Quadrant Marked with Gunter Scales, Likely from London
c. 1640
(National Maritime Museum, Greenwich)
 English Wood Gunter Quadrant
by John Browne 1662
(National Maritime Museum, Greenwich)
English Brass Horary Quadrant Marked with Gunter Scales Likely from London
by John Chatfield c. 1630
(National Maritime Museum, Greenwich)
English Brass Horary Quadrant Marked with Gunter Scales Likely from London
by John Chatfield c. 1630
(National Maritime Museum, Greenwich)
English Brass Horary Quadrant Marked with Gunter Scales Likely from London
c. 1640
(National Maritime Museum, Greenwich)
English Brass Horary Quadrant Marked with Gunter Scales Likely from London
c. 1640
(National Maritime Museum, Greenwich)
English Brass Horary Quadrant Marked with Gunter Scales Likely from London
c. 1640
(National Maritime Museum, Greenwich)
English Ivory Horary Quadrant Marked with Gunter Scales Likely from London
Possibly by Walter Hayes c. 1650
(National Maritime Museum, Greenwich)
English Ivory Horary Quadrant Marked with Gunter Scales Likely from London
Possibly by Walter Hayes c. 1650
(National Maritime Museum, Greenwich)
English Wood & Brass Horary Quadrant Marked with Gunter Scales Likely from London
by Henry Sutton 1658
(National Maritime Museum, Greenwich)
English Wood & Brass Horary Quadrant Marked with Gunter Scales Likely from London
by Henry Sutton 1658
(National Maritime Museum, Greenwich)
English Wood, Paper, Lead & Brass Horary Quadrant Marked with Gunter Scales Likely from London
by Henry Sutton 1658
(National Maritime Museum, Greenwich)
English Wood, Paper, Lead & Brass Horary Quadrant Marked with Gunter Scales Likely from London
by Henry Sutton 1658
(National Maritime Museum, Greenwich)
English Wood, Paper, Lead & Brass Horary Quadrant Marked with Gunter Scales Likely from London
by Henry Sutton 1658
(National Maritime Museum, Greenwich)
English Wood Horary Quadrant Marked with Gunter Scales Likely from London
c. 1675
(National Maritime Museum, Greenwich)
English Ivory and Brass Horary Quadrant Marked with Gunter Scales from Bristol
by Ann Sheppard 1676
(National Maritime Museum, Greenwich)
English Ivory and Brass Horary Quadrant Marked with Gunter Scales from Bristol
by Ann Sheppard 1676
(National Maritime Museum, Greenwich)
English Brass Horary Quadrant Marked with Gunter Scales from London
by John Prujean c. 1670
(National Maritime Museum, Greenwich)
English Brass Horary Quadrant Marked with Gunter Scales from London
by John Prujean c. 1670
(National Maritime Museum, Greenwich)
English Brass Horary Quadrant Marked with Gunter Scales from London
by John Marke c. 1680
(National Maritime Museum, Greenwich)
English Brass Horary Quadrant Marked with Gunter Scales, Likely from London
Late 17th Century
(National Maritime Museum, Greenwich)
English Brass Horary Quadrant Marked with Gunter Scales, Likely from Norwich
Marked A.O.S. Fecit Anno 1682
(National Maritime Museum, Greenwich)
English Brass Horary Quadrant Marked with Gunter Scales, Likely from Norwich
Marked A.O.S. Fecit Anno 1682
(National Maritime Museum, Greenwich)
English Wood & Brass Horary Quadrant Marked with Gunter Scales, Likely from London
c. 1675 - 18th Century
(National Maritime Museum, Greenwich)
English Wood & Brass Horary Quadrant Marked with Gunter Scales, Likely from London
c. 1700
(National Maritime Museum, Greenwich)
English Brass Horary Quadrant Marked with Gunter Scales, Likely from London
by Richard Howd (Howard 1715
(National Maritime Museum, Greenwich)
 English Brass Gunter Quadrant
by John Checkley, Marked Living in Everdon / * Thomas Burton * 1691* c. 1691 - 1730
(Charles Miller Ltd.)
 English Brass Gunter Quadrant
by John Checkley, Marked Living in Everdon / * Thomas Burton * 1691* c. 1691 - 1730
(Charles Miller Ltd.)
 English Brass Gunter Quadrant
by John Checkley, Marked Living in Everdon / * Thomas Burton * 1691* c. 1691 - 1730
(Charles Miller Ltd.)
English Boxwood Gunter Quadrant
c. 1760
(Charles Miller Ltd.)
 Brass Gunter Quadrant
Marked TD 1790
(Smithsonian National Museum of American History)
 Sinical
Quadrants
 English Wood Sinical Quadrant
c. 1650
(National Maritime Museum, Greenwich)
 English Wood Sinical Quadrant
c. 1650
(National Maritime Museum, Greenwich)
Mural or Wall
Quadrants
Illustration of Telescopic Instruments and a Large Mural Quadrant
by John Charnock Late 18th Century
(National Maritime Museum, Greenwich)
Unfinished Remnant of an English 5 Foot Mural or Wall Quadrant
by Abraham Sharp c. 1710
(National Maritime Museum, Greenwich)
English Brass Bradley Mural or Wall Quadrant
by John Bird 175o
(National Maritime Museum, Greenwich)
English Movable Brass Mural or Wall Quadrant
by John Bird c. 175o
(National Maritime Museum, Greenwich)
Quadrants
 English Brass Quadrant
by John Bird c. 1760
(National Maritime Museum, Greenwich)
 Acknowledgements

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