Lot 1045
FINE SCOTTISH REGENCY MAHOGANY BAROMETER, BY ADIE & SON
EARLY 19TH CENTURY
Auction: 3 October 2012 at 13:00 BST
Description
with silvered vernier, the bow fronted case with reeded domed pagoda top and urn finial, corresponding bulbous base with lotus leaf pendant
Dimensions
106cm high
Footnote
Note: Born in 1774 Alexander Adie was the nephew of the renowned Scottish instrument maker, John Millar. Adie became his uncle's apprentice in 1789 and his business partner, under the name of Miller and Adie, in 1804. The business continued to flourish after Miller's death in 1815. Adie was predominately interested in meteorological instruments and notably invented the Sympiesometer, or marine barometer, in 1818. Appointed as optician to both William IV and Queen Victoria, his success was formerly recognised when he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh in 1819. He brought one of his sons, John, into partnership in 1835, while his two of his other sons set up businesses in London and Liverpool. For comparable examples of Adie stick barometers see Christies, 17th March 2004, lot 124; and Sotheby's 10 September, 2007, lot 2.