Images(4)

Folding Plane Table Rule

Date1675-1775

OriginEngland

MediumBoxwood and brass

DimensionsFolded: 17 11/16" × 2 3/4" × 1/2"
Open: 16 3/8" × 13 7/16" × 1/2"

Credit LineMuseum Purchase

Object number1997-108

DescriptionPlane table folding rule forming a rectangle, composed of six graduated lengths of boxwood connected by bladed hinges at the corners and barrel hinges (defective) at the midpoints of the shorter sides.Label TextPreferred by English surveyors working in wide-open landscapes, the plane table allowed the surveyor to draft and draw to scale, or protract, surveys while taking measurements in the field. The surveyor aimed the alidade sights at landmarks and measured angles based on the degree measurements from their portable compass. Surveyors determined distance using the rule on the alidade, and the folding rule framing the table.Inscription(s)One of the longer legs is engraved with a depiction of an eel.ProvenancePurchased for Colonial Williamsburg by Don & Anne Wing of The Mechanick's Workbench, from the David Stanley Auction, Leicestershire, England, September 27, 1997. Lot 761.