m1542

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Irish barometer of larger size, having a 10 inch diameter main dial. The case is mahogany veneered on pine, as usual, with chequer stringing and a flat top, which appears to be original. Please see m868, another Irish barometer with a different top, also from Cork.

The thermometer is unusual in several ways; it has a large mercury bulb; it is signed; it has a cut-off triangular top; and it has chequer stringing to match the case. The signature is Hunt, of Cork, almost certainly Thomas Hunt junior, working 1820-1828, while the main dial is signed Bennett, also of Cork, and working 1810-1867; both worked on Patrick Street. The 10" dial is typical of c. 1820 engraving, apart from the hundredths, which are shown as tens (2 digits), instead of the much more common single units. There is also unique swirl engraving around the 40, 50 and 60 divisions, which helps to set this barometer apart from other 10 inch dial ones.

Irish barometers of this period are extremely scarce, and are much sought after; the quality of the workmanship, as with Irish furniture and silver of the Georgian period, make it much rarer than its English equivalents. 10" dial barometers are already scarce, in that fewer than 5 in 100 wheel barometers had dials this large.