Marine Chronometer hc: Its History and Developments [Hardcover]

Rupert T. Gould (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 15, 2009

First published in 1923, this long-awaited edition of the definitive reference work on the marine chronometer contains additional photographs and many of Rupert Gould's later revisions and corrections. It deals comprehensively with the chronometers history and the earliest attempts to measure longitude while including exhaustive discussions and diagrams of the various mechanisms employed with details of their inventors. It is an extraordinary fact that the first machines capable of accurately determining a ship's longitude, a measurement the great Sir Isaac Newton considered to be a mechanical impossibility, were invented and built by an obscure Yorkshire carpenter named John Harrison (1693 1776). Amazingly, the latter was entirely self-educated and had never served a days apprenticeship to any clockmaker. The Marine Chronometer relates the remarkable story of John Harrison's marine timekeepers which eventually won him a %20,000 reward offered by the British Government for any method of determin

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Lt. Commander Rupert T. Gould, R.N., was a former navigator and commander in the Royal Navy and restored the original chronometers held in the National Maritime Museum. Commander Gould combines an easy style with a deep understanding of technical matters and gives us a classic work unrivalled after almost eighty years.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 300 pages
• Publisher: Antique Collectors Club Dist (November 15, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1851493654
• ISBN-13: 978-1851493654
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #6,188,540 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Chronometer Development Explained, April 11, 2003

By 

P. Coleman "PGC" (Sydney, Australia) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Marine Chronometer (Hardcover)

This is an excellent history of the development of the marine chronometer from the earliest attempts through to the modern day. Gould was in an excellent position to write authoritatively because he reconstructed John Harrison's original "sea clocks" some of which had lain forgotten and in a very poor state. He not only restored them and got them working, but described them in detail for posterity.

This book contains a wealth of technical detail, carefully and accurately describing the designs, techniques and principles of the various developments that occurred as timekeeping at sea gradually improved over two centuries. Those who want technical details and explanations will not be disappointed in this book, while those who want to know about the background and the personalities who devoted their lives to the pursuit of accurate timekeeping will find plenty to interest them. The book contains many drawings and sketches of the various escapements which evolved and the other refinements that were invented in the course of the history of the chronometer.

All those interested in the history and technology of mechanical timepieces need to have this book in their library.

400 pages, 40+ photos, 85 sketches.