Antique Silver Hot Air Balloonist’s Pocket Barometer / Altimeter

Antique silver hot air balloonist’s pocket barometer / altimeter.

The barometer measures 48mm diameter excluding the stem and loop. This particular example is unusual in that it has a silver case. It is in lovely condition with nice crisp engine turned detail to the back. Central cartouche to the centre with ornate initials, together with the date 1920.

The glass lens is in lovely condition.

The silvered dial with original blued steel pointer is signed with the name of the Leeds optician, H Manley, the original retailer of the barometer.

The dial includes an altimeter which measures up to 4000 ft. To measure your height you rotate the outer chapter ring by pressing the crown in and turning until the hand is aligned with the zero (assuming you are at sea level), then as you climb, the hand moves due to the fall in air pressure and you will be able to read off the height you have reached.

This type of barometer was often used to guage the height on a mountain, in a hot air balloon or airplane, or even by miners to determine the depth of a mine. Taking into account the fact that the case is silver and that it is in beautiful condition, hot air ballooning is probably the more likely option.

The dial also includes the word ‘compensated’, this indicates that this barometer adjusts the reading for changes in temperature, thereby giving a more accurate reading, and again falling in line with hot air ballooning.

The barometer comes in an antique presentation case.

ALL PRICES INCLUDE UK POSTAGE (because of GPSR legislation, we no longer post items less than 100 years old to Europe, including Northern Ireland).

Please contact us regarding international shipping.

All of our watches are checked over before listing, and are also checked for accuracy which is usually within around +/- two to three minutes over 24 hours (unless otherwise stated), which is considered respectable for a vintage watch.

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