Pyrometer

Maison Pixii · ca 1820-1830

This pyrometer measures the thermal expansion of metals. The form was designed by Pieter van Musschenbroek (1692-1761), a Dutch natural philosopher who spent most of his career teaching in Leiden. This example has a marble base, and a dial (5.25 inches diameter) marked from zero to sixty. The "Pixii Á Paris" inscription refers to an important family of instrument makers active in Paris throughout the first half of the nineteenth century.