$4,583
Equinoctial Ring Dial by George Adams, signed on meridian ring G. Adams, London , divided 0-90-0 in individual degrees through two quadrants on the signature side and 0-90 on the other, the hour ring engraved I-XII-I in vertical divisions extending to inner rim, with sliding pinhole cursor on pivoting bridge with Zodiacal sigils and declination scale 20-0-20 , and calendar scale on reverse, on sliding brass suspension ring, dia. 4 in. Provenance: (Lots 1245 -1248). By family descent from William Olive, believed by the family to have been the original owner of the ring dial and sector. Olive was born in Chatham, England, and served an apprenticeship as a ship-builder in the Chatham Royal Navy Dockyards. In 1783, he emigrated to America, settling in New York State, and later moving with the United Empire Loyalists to New Brunswick, in 1783, where he was port-master of the St. John river and established a ship-building yard. His son, Isaac Olive, was born in May 1788 and married Catherine W. Gillies in 1794, and their granddaughter, Harriet Olive, married C.C. Ward (the owner of Lot 1247). The ring dial hung in the closed-porch of the family house for over eighty years, eventually passing down to the vendor's grandfather D.B. Ward.
Auctioneer:
Skinner
Date:
2005-05-03
