Nautical Style

Origin London, England

Maker Unsigned, but with a scale mark for Spencer, Browning and Rust

Date 1805

Inscriptions Marked (stamped) at the centre of the scale (between 45° and 50°): SBR
Marked on the (repaired) ivory cross bar nameplate: N^h PRIBBLE 1805. The superscripted N^h in early 19th-century American records (wills, deeds, court documents, gravestones, Bibles, etc.) is almost always an abbreviation for the middle name Nathaniel.

Graduation Inlaid ivory scale from -1° to 99° with fine graduations engraved every of 20 minutes of arc, minor graduations every 1°, and major, marked graduations every 5°, measuring to 91°. The ivory vernier scale has fine graduations of 1 minute of arc, and minor, marked graduations every 5 minutes of arc, zero to the right.

Dimensions Radius 13¾ inches (350 mm) — measured from the centre of the pivot to the edge of the ivory vernier scale. 
  395 x 430 x 93 mm (W x D x H) painted oak stepped (keystone) box.

Description There are not many octants of this size surviving today, and this one appears to be identical to an octant in the collection of the Greenwich Maritime Museum (Ref. NAV1261), as illustrated in the book SEXTANTS AT GREENWICH, by W.F.J. MÖRZER BRUYNS (Ref. Catalogue No. 067). It has the classic ebony-wood A-frame shape, with an arched crossbar and a flat brass index arm, without a reinforcing rib; a small brass stop for the index arm at the far right, 0° position; inlaid ivory plates on the crossbar and on the back of the frame. There is no tangent screw; the clamping screw is on the back of the index arm. Three socket shades (two red and one green), are relocatable to the back-sight position. Index-glass adjustment by a screw; adjustment of both horizon glasses by levers, wing nuts, and milled clamping screws on the back. The forward sight vane has a single pinhole; the back sight sight vane has single pinhole. The crossbar has a hole for a screwdriver or pencil (not fitted).

The octant is stored in an oak stepped (keystone) box, sitting on three brass supports (feet). Inside the lid of the box there are numerous scribbles in pencil, including arithmetic calculations, people's names, and even profile sketches of men with hats! These scribbles are likely to have been made by Nathaniel Pribble. The chalk marks are even more of a mystery!

Provenance North American, however nothing is known about it's owner Nathaniel Pribble.