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A Community Devoted to the Preservation and Practice of Celestial Navigation and Other Methods of Traditional Wayfinding
Thomas Jefferson's sundial
From: Jackson McDonald
Date: 2016 Mar 19, 08:42 -0700
From: Jackson McDonald
Date: 2016 Mar 19, 08:42 -0700
Last November we visited Monticello, Thomas Jefferson's home near Charlotteville, Virginia.
We stumbled upon TJ's sundial, or rather his sunglobe. Photos attached.
The globe was about 10 to 12 inches in diameter. The metal arc swings back and forth. When the arc is aligned with the sun, the narrow sliver of its shadow indicates the time.
I have seen many sundials, but never a sunglobe. Were such instruments common in the late 18th and early 19th centuries? Frank Reed teaches a class on sundials. Perhaps he can enlight us.
Jackson