Faculty | October 11, 2011

Photographs of early modern printed-paper sundials

Photographs of early modern printed-paper sundials

Georg Brentel the Younger, from <i>Pamphlet describing the construction and function of a conical sundial,</i> Lauingen: Jacob Winter, 1615. Pamphlet with engravings and woodcuts.

Side view of the facsimile made by the Harvard Art Museum

View from above of the facsimile made by the Harvard Art Museum

Georg Brentel the Younger, from <i>Pamphlet describing the construction and function of a cylindrical sundial,</i> Lauingen: Jacob Winter, 1615. Pamphlet with engravings and woodcuts.

Facsimile made by the Harvard Art Museum

A polyhedral sundial of gilt brass, c. 1521–1530, attributed to Nicolaus Kratzer, part of the exhibit <Prints and the Pursuit of Knowledge in Early Modern Europe,</i> now on view at the Sackler Museum

These Photographs show seventeenth-century printed-paper sundials—the detailed engravings include instructions for building the finished products, created in this case by curators at the Sackler Museum. As Jennifer Carling and Jonathan Shaw point out in “Spheres of Knowledge,” from the November-December 2011 issue, sundials would have allowed traveling merchants not only to tell time, but also to convert among the three different time-telling systems of the day as they traveled from one region to another.

Related topics

Museums & Collections

You might also like

Woman in a navy dress smiling while standing on a walkway with a blurred background.

Öberg to Lead Harvard Faculty Recruitment and Retention

The astrochemist will become senior vice provost for faculty affairs this summer.

Martin Nowak in a suit attentively listens during a conference, seated among an audience.

Martin Nowak Placed on Leave a Second Time

Further links to Jeffrey Epstein surface in newly released files.

A black primate hanging lazily on a branch in a lush green forest.

What Bonobos Teach Us About Female Power and Cooperation

A Harvard scientist expands our understanding of our closest living relatives.

Most popular

A graphic depiction of a stone wall, reimagining the stone wall set in Harvard Square near Winthrop Street

One of Harvard’s Oldest Structures Is Hiding Behind a Beer Garden

A crumbling wall in Harvard Square holds centuries of the city’s story, if you know how to read it.

Brick building with a large clock and tree branches against a clear blue sky.

Trump Administration Sues Harvard over Civil Rights

The March 20 suit seeks to rescind research grants that were restored in an earlier court ruling.

An abstract collage of a pair of people engaged in a tense conversation, depicting speech bubbles and words

Can We Disagree Better? A Harvard Professor Has Tips.

Kennedy School professor of public policy Julia Minson on how to improve political conversations

Explore More From Current Issue

Cozy nook with a patterned rug and various colorful pillows against wooden walls.

Harvard History

At Harvard’s Beck-Warren House, Ghosts Speak Many Languages

The quirky 1833 home now hosts Celtic scholars.

Four Labrador puppies—two black and two yellow—sitting in green grass.

What Do Puppies Know?

Canine capabilities emerge early and continue into adulthood.

Three climbers seated on a snowy summit, surrounded by clouds, appearing contemplative.

These Harvard Mountaineers Braved Denali’s Wall of Ice

John Graham’s Denali Diary documents a dangerous and historic climb.