Object Record
Images
Metadata
Title |
Sikes Hydrometer Kit Case |
Object ID |
2022.8.1R |
Collection |
SCIENTIFIC INSTRUMENTS |
Object Name |
Hydrometer |
Date |
19th century |
Material |
Wood/Metal |
Dimensions |
H-5.3 W-11.1 L-24.8 cm |
Description |
Brown wooden case with hinged cover, in which a hydrometer set is stored. Inlaid on the cover is a white stylized rectangular plate. Case opens to reveal plush blue velvet textile on both sides of cover. The base section of cover sports several pegs on which disc are stored.The body of case is compartmentalize into thre sections in which the different equipments are stored. Two small hook latches are secured to the front of case by nails. Eight screwheads are secured in sections of the base. This example of a Sikes hydrometer was made circa the early nineteenth century by Robert Brettell Bate of London, who manufactured hydrometers, saccharimeters, and other weights and measures for the British government's Board of Excise and Customs. The Sikes hydrometer was the standard instrument used to measure the concentrated strength, or proof, of liquor to collect revenue in the United Kingdom in the mid-nineteenth century. When in use, the hydrometer, which consisted of a spherical ball or float, and an upper and a lower stem, was submerged in a glass vial filled with a liquor sample. The instrument would be made to float in the vase, and weights would be attached to the stems if necessary, for the water surface to mark a point on the scale located on the instrument's stem. The hydrometer's measurements were very precise, with a range of 0 to 100. The number on the scale was used in conjunction with the sample's temperature to find the proof strength, either using a slide rule or the Sikes tables of the concentrated strength of spirits" published by the British government. Commercial hydrometers like the Sikes hydrometer were among the first instruments of measurement to be compared and tested by the newly-formed National Bureau of Standards (NBS), beginning in 1901, as part of its early work in establishing metrology standards in the United States to equal those established in other nations, and in testing and creating the instruments that performed calibrations in industry and scientific research. This Sikes hydrometer does not include weights or thermometer." Source Bate, Physical Sciences Collection Ð Surveying and Geodesy, Smithsonian National Museum of American History, accessed September 6, 2017, http://amhistory.si.edu/surveying/maker.cfm?makerid=40 ; J. D. Potter, Sikes's tables of the concentrated strength of spirits: with directions for the use of his hydrometer, established throughout the United Kingdom for estimating the duties on spirituous liqueurs (London: J. D. Potter, 1860), 3-7; Nation https://nistdigitalarchives.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/p15421coll3/id/1138/ |
Credit line |
Courtesy: Institute Of Jamaica |
Artist |
Bate, Robert Brettell |
Legal Status |
This image can be used for educational purposes without restrictions. A higher quality image may attract fees. |
Web Rights |
In Copyrights |