Enclosure: Robert Hare’s Recommended List of Scientific Apparatus, [ca. 31 March 1824]
Enclosure
Robert Hare’s Recommended List of Scientific Apparatus
[ca. 31 Mar. 1824]
Catalogue of Apparatus.
| Crystalline models for illustrating theory of crystallisation. | Paris | ||||
| A complete set of Hauy’s Crystalline forms would cost about $160. at Paris. Probably enough for the above mentioned object might be had for $20. | 20 | 〃 | |||
| A fine collection of native crystals would be very desirable but very expensive and not easily obtained. 500 Dollars might be spent in this object alone. I shall put nothing down to this item as it cannot be done with any certainty, and the theory of Crystallisation may be taught without the native specimens. | |||||
| After the subject of crystallisation, affinity presents itself—for which, about two dozen Jelly Glasses may answer, though I use much larger vessels of the same form—cost Say | 3 | 〃 | |||
| Wollaston’s Scale of Equivalents by a Sliding rule, is a necessary appendage to the doctrine of definite Proportions | London | 1 | 50 | ||
| The Apparatus for illustrating Calorific repulsion. | |||||
| Pyrometer for shewing the expansion of metals Paris | Philada | 10 | 〃 | ||
| Do for measuring heat by contraction of clay—Pixii’s Catalogue No. 192 at 35 frs. | 7 | 〃 | |||
| Air Thermometers say $2– Mercurial Thermometers graduated severally to shew middling and high temperatures, 2 of each kind New York or Philada | 18 | 〃 | |||
| Differential Thermometers. Palm Glasses. New York or Philada | 3 | 〃 | |||
| French air Pump with glass chambers No. 84 of Pixii’s catalogue, 420 frs. | 80 | 〃 | |||
| Nos 90. 91. 92. 93. 94. 95. 96 of said catalogue—in all 132 frs | 26 | 40 | |||
| Sealed Tubes 36 inches long to show torricellean vacuum | 3 | 〃 | |||
| Other apparatus to illustrate the chemical and mechanical influence of the atmosphere may cost about | 50 | 〃 | |||
| High Pressure Boiler and its appendages may cost (see Brande’s chemistry) | Philada | 20 | 〃 | ||
| Apparatus contrived by me for illustrating capacities for heat—say | Philada | 5 | 〃 | ||
| Apparatus for displaying the difference of conducting power in different metals and between them and other substances—Say | Philada | 10 | 〃 | ||
| Apparatus for shewing that fluids are almost non conductors of heat | Boston New York | 2 | 〃 | ||
| Apparatus for shewing the necessity of circulation to the equal distribution of heat in fluids, consisting of a tube about 2 feet long and about 2 inches in diameter—6 of such Tubes Boston or New York | 3 | 〃 | |||
| Brass Mirrors for showing the radiation of heat—mine cost $80– a smaller might answer at Philada | 40 | 〃 | |||
| As appendages to Mirrors Nos 181. 182—94 frs. Pixii Say | 20 | 〃 | |||
| Condenser for igniting Spunk or tinder—No. 558 Pixii—25 frs. | Philada | 5 | 〃 | ||
| Mouth Blowpipe No. 472 of same | Philada | 2 | 40 | ||
| Also Nos 478. 479. 481. 483. 486—Say | 15 | 60 | |||
| Enameller’s Lamp and its appendages with hydrostatic Blowpipe | Philada | 20 | 〃 | ||
| Compound Blowpipe to use with hydrostatic Blowpipe. | Philada | 5 | 〃 | ||
| Small Furnaces and Chafing Dishes say | Philada | 20 | 〃 | ||
| Lewis’s Black Lead furnace—Knight’s Catalogue Page 7 | 20 | 〃 | |||
| Evaporating and Sand heat furnace, Same catalogue and page | Philada | 12 | 〃 | ||
| Self acting Blowpipe by alcohol—common kind | Philada | 5 | 〃 | ||
| Do Do Do improved by me | Philada | 5 | 〃 | ||
| Wollaston’s Cryophorus | Boston | 2 | 〃 | ||
| Pepy’s apparatus for producing extreme cold—Knight’s catalogue | Philada | 15 | 〃 | ||
| Sets of Brass weights—Same catalogue | 3 | 50 | |||
| Set of Iron Mortars to be had in Philadelphia say | 10 | 〃 | |||
| Do Porcelain do. Do Do say | 5 | 〃 | |||
| A complete Set of Scales. | |||||
| Patent Scales with beam under the dishes | New York | 12 | 〃 | ||
| No. 51 Pixii catalogue with its appendages 240 frs. | 50 | 〃1 | |||
| A complete Set of Hydrometers. Paris | |||||
| Nicholson’s—No. 71—Pixii—20 frs. Philada | 4 | 〃 | |||
| Also No. 76. 77. 78 of same—in all 12 frs | 2 | 40 | |||
| other articles requisite may amount to | 5 | 〃 | |||
| Apparatus for Pneumatic Chemistry. | |||||
| A Pneumato-Chemical Cistern after my plan for water | Philada | 60 | 〃 | ||
| Do Do Do for mercury | Philada | 15 | 〃 | ||
| Mercury to fill cistern, Say 300 ℔s—, I use 500 ℔s, a 60 cents p lb | 180 | 〃 | |||
| Iron Bottles for procuring Oxygen Gas—old mercurial Bottles will do | 5 | 〃 | |||
| Gun Barrels—suppose ten at 60 cents each New Haven Philada | 6 | 〃 | |||
| Stone ware Retorts—say one dozen Paris | 8 | 〃 | |||
| Glass retorts with and without tubulures, and with long and short b[ea]ks, of sizes from a half gill to a gallon—say | Boston New York | 50 | 〃 | ||
| Receivers about one fourth as many as Retorts and of the same variety of size, Some with and some without tubulures—Say | Boston New York | 12 | 〃 | ||
| Matrasses with short and long necks of as many Sizes as the Retorts—say | 20 | 〃 | |||
| Glass Tubes from an eighth of an inch in diameter to one inch and a half or two inches—20 pounds | Boston New York | 15 | 〃 | ||
| Thermometer Tubes @ $1.50 ⅌ ℔—two pounds | Boston New York | 3 | 〃 | ||
| Porcelain Tubes an assortment | Paris | 10 | 〃 | ||
| Two dozen Bell glasses with open necks and without, of various sizes from a pint to a gallon | Boston New York | 20 | 〃 | ||
| Eudiometers, Volta’s—No. 220 Pixii 90 frs | 18 | 〃 | |||
| Do 218 same catalogue—also 221. 222. 223. in all about 80 frs. | 16 | 〃 | |||
| Hope’s Eudiometer, Knights’ catalogue | 2 | 〃 | |||
| Self regulating apparatus for Hydrogen Gas—Gay Lussac’s | Boston New York | 10 | 〃 | ||
| Do Do Do mine | Philada | 10 | 〃 | ||
| Lamp without flame | Philada | 2 | 〃 | ||
| Safety Lamp—No. 565 Pixii | 6 | 〃 | |||
| Nouvelle Lampe ou briquet Electrique—No. 554 Pixii—90 frs | 18 | 〃 | |||
| Glass Globes and Cylinders for showing the combustion of Phosphorus and Sulphur in oxygen and chlorine | Boston New York | 20 | 〃 | ||
| Impregnating Apparatus. | |||||
| Woulfe’s apparatus—page 14 Knight’s Catalogue | Boston New York | 6 | 〃 | ||
| Apparatus of concentric Bells and Jars contrived by me | Boston New York | 6 | 〃 | ||
| Other apparatus for impregnation in which the supply is regulated by the absorption | Boston New York | 6 | 〃 | ||
| Six holders for Retorts Such as represented by fig. 14. outside of pamphlet containing Knight’s catalogue | Philada | 10 | 〃 | ||
| Fluoric Acid Still with appendages, Knight’s catalogue page 3—Leaden Retorts and Receivers—also Leaden Bottles—same page | 14 | 〃 | |||
| My apparatus for nitrous oxide Gas—with leather bags contrived by me for holding this gas or oxygen gas | Philada | 13 | 〃 | ||
| Porcelain Evaporating Dishes of various sizes | Paris | 10 | 〃 | ||
| Platina Do Do | London Paris | 20 | 〃 | ||
| Porcelain and Sand Crucibles | Paris | 15 | 〃 | ||
| Platina Do | London | 20 | 〃 | ||
| Silver Do | Philada | 5 | 〃 | ||
| Silver Alembick Knight’s Catalogue page 17 | 30 | 〃 | |||
| Fifty feet of Lead Tube at 15⁄100 ⅌ foot | Philada | 7 | 50 | ||
| Galvanic apparatus. | |||||
| Voltaic Series in porcelain troughs as used by Sir H. Davy—Say 100 pairs, 3 by 3—supposed cost | London | 70 | 〃2 | ||
| May be had in Philada |
 |
Galvanic Deflagrator of 100 pairs, 7 by 3 | 50 | 〃 | |
| Large Calorimotor | 50 | 〃 | |||
| Smaller Do | 12 | 〃 | |||
| Smaller still 5 and 3 | 8 | 〃 | |||
| 1389 | 303 | ||||
| Tools materials, and Agents, may, with few exceptions, be had in this country. | |||||
| Our Glass is only inferior to the European, in the annealing—and this is a fault which may be corrected, I hope. | |||||
| If Electricity is to be a part of the Course, three hundred dollars might be spent in the necessary apparatus. I have marked in Pixii’s Catalogue the articles I would order of him. There are two brothers of the [na]me of Mason in Philadelphia, who work as well as any European artists, and I should prefer to take of them whatever they would engage to make. | |||||
| An Electromagnetic apparatus may be had from London for about 70 Dollars. | |||||
MS (ViU: TJP); damaged at crease and edge torn; in an unidentified hand, except where noted below; with covering letter subjoined.
pixii’s catalogue, not found, was issued by the Paris firm of Pixii Père et Fils. Nicholas Constant Pixii-Dumotiez was the nephew of renowned scientific-instrument makers from the Dumotiez family and, along with his son Antoine Hippolyte Pixii, operated the concern until at least 1835 (Leland Brown, Early Philosophical Apparatus at Transylvania College [1959], 7; Maurice Daumas, Scientific Instruments of the Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries, trans. Mary Holbrook [1972; repr. 1989], 287–8; Nathan Reingold, Marc Rothenberg, and others, eds., Papers of Joseph Henry [1972–2008], 3:180, 541–3).
Hare wrote of the use of palm glasses, two glass bulbs connected by a rod, one of which has a perforated, projecting beak, in A Compendium of the Course of Chemical Instruction in the Medical Department of the University of Pennsylvania (1828), 48–9. torricellean vacuum: “the vacuum above the mercurial column in the barometer, produced by filling the tube with mercury and then inverting it in a cup of mercury” (OED).
Hare described his apparatus for illustrating capacities for heat in his Compendium, pp. 53–4. tubulures: a tubulure is “A short tube, or projecting opening for the insertion of a tube, in a retort or receiver.” matrasses: a matrass is “A glass flask with a round or oval body and a long neck, used chiefly in chemical distillation” (OED). nouvelle lampe ou briquet electrique: “new lamp or electric lighter.”
Hare discussed his apparatus for nitrous oxide gas in his Compendium, pp. 143–4. Alva Mason was a brass engraver and philosophical-instrument maker in partnership with William Mason from 1817 to 1830 in the Philadelphia firm of W. & A. mason (Groce and Wallace, Dictionary of Artists, 427, 428).
1. First page ends here, with Hare’s penciled running total of “529 40” editorially omitted.
2. Second page ends here, with Hare’s penciled running total of “1269 30” editorially omitted.
3. Number and rule above added by Hare in pencil.
Index Entries
- alembics (scientific equipment) search
- A Manual of Chemistry (W. T. Brande) search
- bell jars search
- Black, Joseph (Scottish chemist) search
- blowpipes search
- boilers; as scientific equipment search
- bottles search
- Brande, William Thomas; A Manual of Chemistry search
- calorimotors search
- chafing dishes search
- chemistry; and scientific apparatus search
- cisterns (scientific equipment) search
- condensers (scientific equipment) search
- crucibles and ladles search
- cryophorus (scientific instrument) search
- crystals; as scientific equipment search
- cylinders; as scientific equipment search
- Davy, Sir Humphry; electrochemical experiments of search
- deflagrator (scientific instrument) search
- electricity; laboratory apparatus search
- eudiometer search
- evaporating dishes; as scientific equipment search
- firearms; gun barrels used in chemical laboratories search
- flasks; as scientific equipment search
- furnaces; for chemical laboratories search
- galvanic apparatus search
- Gay-Lussac, Joseph Louis search
- glassware; as scientific equipment search
- Hare, Robert; and scientific apparatus for University of Virginia search
- Hare, Robert; apparatus designed by search
- Hare, Robert; Recommended List of Scientific Apparatus search
- Haüy, René Just; crystal models by search
- Hope, Thomas Charles; eudiometer of search
- household articles; jelly glasses search
- hydrometer search
- lamps; as scientific equipment search
- lead; tubing search
- Mason, Alva; philosophical-instrument maker search
- Mason, William (of Philadelphia); philosophical-instrument maker search
- mercury; used in chemical laboratories search
- mercury; used in thermometers search
- mirrors; as scientific equipment search
- mortars and pestles search
- Nicholson, William; hydrometer of search
- Pepys, William Hasledine; scientific-instrument maker search
- Pixii, Antoine Hippolyte; as scientific-instrument maker search
- Pixii-Dumotiez, Nicholas Constant; as scientific-instrument maker search
- Pixii Père et Fils (Paris firm); scientific-instrument makers search
- platinum; crucibles search
- platinum; evaporating dishes search
- pyrometer search
- R. & G. Knight (London firm); chemical apparatus and instrument maker search
- receivers (scientific equipment) search
- retorts (scientific equipment) search
- scale (weighing instrument) search
- scientific instruments; alembics search
- scientific instruments; apparatus for hydrogen search
- scientific instruments; bell jars search
- scientific instruments; blowpipes search
- scientific instruments; boilers search
- scientific instruments; bottles search
- scientific instruments; calorimotors search
- scientific instruments; chafing dishes search
- scientific instruments; cisterns search
- scientific instruments; condensers search
- scientific instruments; crucibles and ladles search
- scientific instruments; cryophorus search
- scientific instruments; cylinders search
- scientific instruments; deflagrators search
- scientific instruments; eudiometers search
- scientific instruments; evaporating dishes search
- scientific instruments; flasks search
- scientific instruments; for University of Virginia search
- scientific instruments; furnaces search
- scientific instruments; galvanic apparatus search
- scientific instruments; hydrometers search
- scientific instruments; jars search
- scientific instruments; lamps search
- scientific instruments; mirrors search
- scientific instruments; mortars and pestles search
- scientific instruments; palm glasses search
- scientific instruments; pumps, air search
- scientific instruments; pyrometers search
- scientific instruments; receivers search
- scientific instruments; retorts search
- scientific instruments; scales and weights search
- scientific instruments; stills search
- scientific instruments; thermometers search
- scientific instruments; troughs search
- scientific instruments; tubes search
- silver; alembics search
- silver; crucibles search
- stills; as scientific equipment search
- thermometers; used in chemical laboratories search
- troughs (scientific equipment) search
- tubes; as scientific equipment search
- Virginia, University of; Faculty and Curriculum; scientific instruments for search
- Volta, Alessandro Giuseppe Antonio Anastasio; eudiometer of search
- W. & A. Mason (Philadelphia firm) search
- weights, measures, and coinage; scales and weights (scientific instruments) search
- Wollaston, William Hyde; cryophorus of search
- Wollaston, William Hyde; scale of chemical equivalents of search
- Woolf, Arthur; scientific apparatus of search