Beschreibung:

A FINE REGENCY LACQUERED BRASS AND MAHOGANY 'PORTABLE ORRERY' AND TELLURIAN
WILLIAM JONES, LONDON, CIRCA 1815
The tellurian assembly with removable brass sphere representing the sun forming the central fixed axis of an arrangement of gears set between slender shaped plates engraved Monthly Preceptor No. 2 above To Miss Eliz'th Parker, Aged 14, of Mettingham, near Bungay, Suffolk, as the Reward of distinguished merit to the upper surface, terminating with a tiered arrangement of paper scale annotated with the age of the moon including eight images showing progression of the phases beneath central ring showing signed of the Zodiac and upper included ring forming the track of moon which rises and falls as it processes around a central bone terrestrial sphere, the train operated by rotating the assembly clockwise around the central pivot over a 7.75 inch disc base applied with printed paper scale annotated with calendar divided for the months and signs of the Zodiac to circumference, the middle concentric band annotated for the seasons and equinoxes, and the centre illustrated with planets of the solar system drawn to show their relative sizes along with inscription A NEW PORTABLE ORRERY, Invented and Made by W. JONES, and Sold by him in Holborn, LONDON; with original mahogany box containing a small oil can lamp can to allow the solar sphere to be substituted for a light source; together with separately cased orrery or planetarium attachment, with central post applied with brass solar sphere issuing pivoted graduated radial arms applied with bone and ivory spheres depicting Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn together with respective moons.
The principal box 12cm (4.75ins) high, 22cm (8.5ins) square; the planetarium box 3.2cm (1.25ins) high, 20cm (8ins) wide, 9.5cm (3.75ins) deep.
 
Provenance:
The Leonard Fuller Collection. Purchased from Harriet Wynter Limited Arts and Sciences, London, 26th June 1975. Exhibited at Asprey and Company The Clockwork of the Heavens - An exhibition of astronomical clocks, watches and allied scientific instruments presented by Asprey & Company with the special help of Harriet Wynter and the collaboration of various museums and private collections London, November 1973, exhibit number 74.
 
William Jones is recorded in Banfield, Edwin BAROMETER MAKERS AND RETAILERS 1660-1900 as apprenticed to the highly regarded maker Benjamin Martin. He went into partnership with his brother, Samuel Jones (apprenticed to George Adams Junior, instrument maker to George II) in 1791. The partnership worked from several addresses in Holborn 1791-1859 (including 135 Holborn 1792-1800 and 30 Holborn 1800-1859) and became one of the most important firms of scientific instrument makers of the late Georgian/Regency period.
 
The design of present lot was developed by William Jones in 1812 primarily as an education aid based upon the principles of 'James Ferguson's construction'. The Tellurian was intended demonstrate astronomical phenomena such as the reasons for day and night, seasons, and eclipses, related to the diurnal rotation of the earth, the annual revolution of the earth around the sun, and monthly revolution of the moon around the earth. Whilst the 'planetarium' was a much simpler model intended to illustrate the basic construction of the solar system.