Astrolabe Catalogue

Date	1943
Maker	Henri Michel
Place	Brussels
Inventory no.	51934
Acquisition	Presented by J. A. Billmeir in 1957

The linear astrolabe, an extreme simplification of some of the functions of a planispheric astrolabe, was invented by a 12th-century Persian astronomer named aṭ-Ṭūsī, who wrote a treatise on it, though no original example of the instrument is known. The Belgian engineer, collector, and historian of astronomy Henri Michel (1885-1981), who was also a skilled craftsman, has thus made this replica in ebony and ivory, for his own latitude of 51° and signed 'H. M. 1943'. He was equally interested in trying out aṭ-Ṭūsī's invention, and demonstrating its simplicity and undeserved neglect.

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