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ANTIQUE SEXTANT. No.64
ANTIQUE SEXTANT. No.64
Antique Sextant by Henry Hughes & Son, London. Complete with rare Sextant binoculars.
A fine late-19th century navigators Sextant with the classic 'Trinity House' frame design. Beautifully hand engraved on the arc Henry Hughes & Son, 59 Fenchurch St, London.
The Sextant was invented by Admiral John Campbell in 1757 after he discovered that the Octant was unable to measure angles large enough for Lunar distances ( Distance between Moon, Sun or Stars ) so he increased the 90 degree angle of the Octant to 120 degrees which formed the Sextant. He then engaged the nautical instrument maker John Bird to construct the first Sextant in 1759.
The Sextant gets its name from the Latin word for 'a sixth' because it is a sixth of a circle (60 degrees) and can measures angles of up to 120 degrees.
The silver scale is engraved from -5 degrees to 160 degrees and can measure angles up to 132 degrees, the scale is divided into 10 minute increments. The index arm has swinging scale magnifier and the silver Vernier scale reads from 0 to 10 seconds of arc.
Sextant Radius: 7 inch / 18cm.
Height of Sextant frame: 9 inches / 23cm
Width of Sextant frame: 9.75 inches / 25cm
Box measures: 10x10.5 inches / 25x27 cm
It is contained within its original fitted hardwood storage box. It is complete with - Rare Sextant bonoculars, Three telescopes and 1 x telescope sun filter. ( the minature magnifiying glass is missing, this is common because it has usually been 'borrowed' and never put back )
The Henry Hughes & Son company was founded in 1828 and it was incorporated in 1903 as Henry Hughes & Son Ltd. The company specialised in navigational instruments and made instruments for the Royal Navy. In 1915 they developed the first compass for use in aeroplanes, in 1923 they produced the first echo sounder. In 1937 they introduced the ‘HUSUN’ trade mark and in 1941 they entered into a collaboration with Kelvin, Bottomley and Baird the success of this partnership resulted in the name being changed to Kelvin & Hughes in 1947.
This antique celestial navigation instrument is in superb condition considering it is well over 120 years old. It is beautifully engineered and made using word class engineering skills, British navigational instrument makers were reputed to have made the best and most accurate instruments in the world.
Clipper Maritime Antiques specialises in antique navigation instruments. We offer a wide selection of top quality antique Sextant’s, Quintant’s and Octant’s, prices range from £300 to over £1000.
Price on request: Please Email us your enquiry or if you would like any help or advice about choosing an antique celestial navigation instrument.
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