Narratives

Former Display Label - The Orrery Collection of Scientific Instruments

THE ORRERY COLLECTION OF SCIENTIFIC INSTRUMENTS c.1700.

In this case are shown nearly all the scientific instruments bequeathed to Christ Church by Charles Boyle, 4th Earl of Orrery and 1st Baron Marston (1676-1731; together with a few others acquired later by the College, probably in the time of the Rev. Dr. John Fanshawe, Regius Professor of Greek, and of Divinity, Canon of Christ Church, during the second quarter of the eighteenth century.

The 4th Earl of Orrery was a scientific amateur, and the great-nephew of the Hon. Robert Boyle (1627-1691), the chemist and physicist. The Orrery Collection is one of the few early collections of scientific instruments which have survived undispersed. The earliest dated instrument in the collection was made in 1658, and most of the instruments were probably bought between 1690 and 1710. The Earl died in August 1731, leaving his instruments and books, but not the original orrery (which was made for him), to Christ Church.

Shown here is a negative photostat of the "...Inventory of the Mathematical Instrumts. in the Library of the Rt Honble. ye Earl of Orrery Deceast" which was made "... by Tho Wright Mathematicall Instrumt. Maker Sept 17th 1731". The original is a fair copy and not in Wright's hand, but at the end are two lines in a different hand, that is probably Wright's. The inventory was addressed to Dr. Fanshawe, who received the Collection and conducted correspondence thereon on behalf of Christ Church.
[The Orrery Collection numbers given on the labels of instruments shown in this case, refer to the order of the instruments in Wright's catalogue, as numbered by R. T. Gunther, Early Science in Oxford, I, 380-2.]

The instruments are some of the finest examples of their kind, and were made by the best contemporary craftsmen, such as John Marshall, John Rowley, Henry Sutton, James Wilson and John Worgan. (For notes on these makers, and on Thomas Wright, see separate notes.)

Other narratives:

• Inventory no. 23348 - Former Display Label
• A group of instruments for practical mathematics
• Orrery Collection: 1731 Inventory
• Orrery Collection in print
• Accession Record : Extract from Annual Report for 1925
• Former Display Label - The Principal Makers of Instruments in the Orrery Collection

Related Objects:

• Inventory No. 14946, "Rectangular Protractor, by John Rowley, London, c. 1700" [1925-43], Rowley, John
• Inventory No. 14209, "Terrestial Refracting Telescope, English, c. 1725" [1925-43]
• Inventory No. 14260, "Concave Black Marble Disc, for Lens Polishing?, c. 1700?" [1925-43]
• Inventory No. 14776, "Sector, Attributed to Elias or John Allen, London, c. 1620-30" [1925-43], Allen, Elias
• Inventory No. 15386, "Ptolemaic Armillary Sphere, by John Rowley, London, c. 1700" [1925-43], Rowley, John
• Inventory No. 15472, "Simple Theodolite, by John Worgan, London, c. 1700" [1925-43], Worgan, John
• Inventory No. 16400, "Plotting Scale, English, c. 1700" [1925-43]
• Inventory No. 16699, "Circular Bubble Spirit Level, English, c. 1700" [1925-43]
• Inventory No. 17260, "Screwbarrel Microscope, with Compass Microscope and Accessories, by James Wilson?, English, c. 1706" [1925-43], Wilson, James
• Inventory No. 17420, "Graphometer, English, c. 1700" [1925-43]
• Inventory No. 17611, "Parallel Ruler, English?, c. 1700" [1925-43]
• Inventory No. 17724, "Hyperbolic Curves Template, by Nairne & Blunt, London, c. 1760" [1925-43], Nairne & Blunt
• Inventory No. 18126, "Compound Microscope, by John Marshall, London, c. 1715" [1925-43], Marshall, John
• Inventory No. 18184, "Alidade, English, c. 1696" [1925-43]
• Inventory No. 18184, "Plane Table by John Worgan, London, c. 1696" [1925-43], Worgan, John
• Inventory No. 18184, "Ball and Socket Joint, English, c. 1696" [1925-43]
• Inventory No. 18872, "Refracting Telescope, English, c. 1720" [1925-43]
• Inventory No. 18922, "Set of Drawing Instruments, English, c. 1700" [1925-43]
• Inventory No. 19978, "Copernican Planetarium, Attributed to John Rowley, English, c. 1700" [1925-43]
• Inventory No. 20020, "Gregorian Reflecting Telescope with Stand, English, c. 1710" [1925-43]
• Inventory No. 20028, "Steelyard, by John Rowley, London, c. 1700" [1925-43], Rowley, John
• Inventory No. 20795, "Pulley Blocks, English?, c. 1700" [1925-43]
• Inventory No. 21777, "Set of Geometric Solids, English, c. 1700" [1925-43]
• Inventory No. 22252, "Copernican Armillary Sphere, by John Rowley, London, c. 1700" [1925-43], Rowley, John
• Inventory No. 22258, "Copernican Armillary Sphere, by John Rowley, London, c. 1700" [1925-43], Rowley, John
• Inventory No. 22318, "Telescope Micrometer Eyepiece, English, c. 1710" [1925-43]
• Inventory No. 22409, "Globe and Accessories, c. 1700?" [1925-43]
• Inventory No. 22764, "Spirit Level, English?, c. 1700" [1925-43]
• Inventory No. 23106, "Gunter's Sector, by John Rowley, London, c. 1700" [1925-43], Rowley, John
• Inventory No. 23264, "Pair of Convex and Concave Mirrors in Mount, English, c. 1700" [1925-43]
• Inventory No. 23348, "Globe, English?, Early 18th Century" [1925-43]
• Inventory No. 23976, "Refracting Telescope, English, c. 1690" [1925-43]
• Inventory No. 24303, "Trigonometrical Demonstration Spheres, English?, c. 1700" [1925-43]
• Inventory No. 25257, "Quadrant, by Henry Sutton, London, 1658" [1925-43], Sutton, Henry
• Inventory No. 25281, "Sector, by John Rowley?, London, c.1700", Rowley, John
• Inventory No. 25400, "Globe, by John Rowley, London, c. 1700" [1925-43], Rowley, John
• Inventory No. 26114, "Quadrant, by Henry Sutton, London, 1660" [1925-43], Sutton, Henry
• Inventory No. 26702, "Circular Protractor, by J. Sisson, London, c. 1730" [1925-43], Sisson, J.
• Inventory No. 27956, "Slide Rule, by John Rowley, London, c. 1700" [1925-43], Rowley, John
• Inventory No. 27956, "Slide Rule, by John Rowley, London, c. 1700" [1925-43], Rowley, John
• Inventory No. 28201, "Proportional Compasses, by John Rowley, London, c. 1700" [1925-43], Rowley, John, Rowley, John
• Inventory No. 28299, "Dotchin, Far East, 18th Century" [1925-43]
• Inventory No. 28877.1, "Worm-Jack, Attributed to John Rowley, London, c. 1700" [1925-43], Rowley, John
• Inventory No. 28877.2, "Weight for Worm-Jack, English, c. 1700" [1925-43]
• Inventory No. 28955, "Perspective Glass Telescope, English, c. 1725" [1925-43]
• Inventory No. 29239, "Plane-Table Alidade, English, c. 1700?" [1925-43]
• Inventory No. 29666, "Refracting Telescope, by John Marshall, London, c. 1715" [1925-43], Marshall, John
• Inventory No. 29920, "Tripod" [1925-43]
• Inventory No. 29920, "Refracting Telescope by James Wilson, London, c.1700" [1925-43], Wilson, James
• Inventory No. 30120, "Tools, English?, c. 1700?" [1925-43]
• Inventory No. 30151, "Ruler with Pencil and Dividers, by John Rowley, London, c. 1700" [1925-43], Rowley, John
• Inventory No. 30371, "Semi-Elliptical Trammel with Case, by Joseph Jackson, London, Early 18th Century" [1925-43], Jackson, Joseph
• Inventory No. 30755, "Pocket Balance, English?, Early 18th Century" [1925-43]
• Inventory No. 30819, "Set of Microscope Slides, by James Wilson?, English, c. 1704" [1925-43]
• Inventory No. 31785, "Quadrant, by J. Rowley, English, c. 1700" [1925-43], Rowley, John
• Inventory No. 31922, "Dialling Sphere, by John Rowley, London, c. 1700" [1925-43], Rowley, John
• Inventory No. 32319, "Parallelogram Protractor, by John Rowley, London, c. 1700" [1925-43], Rowley, John
• Inventory No. 35757, "Orrery, by Thomas Wright, London, c. 1731" [1925-43], Wright, Thomas, Cushee, Richard
• Inventory No. 35757, "Terrestrial Globe Signed by Richard Cushee, London, c. 1731" [1925-43], Cushee, Richard
• Inventory No. 47160, "Gunner's Rule, by John Rowley, London, c. 1700" [1925-43], Rowley, John
• Inventory No. 50368, "Set of Military Tokens for Demonstrating Battalion Firing, English, c. 1700" [1925-43]
• Inventory No. 54701, "Glass Specimen or Preparation Tubes for a Microscope, England, Early18th Century"
• Inventory No. 57576, "Gunter Chain, English, c. 1700" [1925-43]
• Inventory No. 68353, "Ptolemaic Planetarium, Attributed to John Rowley, English, c. 1700" [1925-43]
• Inventory No. 70935, "Telescope Tube Cap?"
• Inventory No. 74169, "Plotting Scale, 5-inch, by S. Horseman, English, Early 18th Century" [1925-43], Horseman, S.
• Inventory No. 75945, "Camera Obscura, English, c. 1710" [1925-43]
• Inventory No. 78216, "Scioptric Ball or Sky Optick, English?, Early 18th Century" [1925-43]
• Inventory No. 80777, "Pulley Wheel, English?, c. 1700" [1925-43]