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DATED DUTCH NAVIGATOR'S LOG BOX. image 1
DATED DUTCH NAVIGATOR'S LOG BOX. image 2
Lot 11

DATED DUTCH NAVIGATOR'S LOG BOX.

21 September 2015, 13:00 EDT
New York

Sold for US$1,000 inc. premium

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DATED DUTCH NAVIGATOR'S LOG BOX.

Dutch, dated 1775. 6" long, 1 1/4" high in brass with metal hinge. Front side engraved with motto "Reght Door See" [Straight on through the sea], lid engraved with perpetual calendar and vignettes of Julius Caesar (for the Julian calendar) and Pope Gregory (for the Gregorian calendar), bottom engraved with vignette of a man (Christoper Columbus/Amerigo Vespucci?) holding a globe and dividers with date 1497, a table for computing the ship's speed through the water, and motto "Geen konst maar rijkdom kan men verliesen, Daarom is konst voor rijkdom te kiezen" [Not experience but riches can be lost, therefore let experience prevail above riches]. Some minor surface wear and slight damage to hinge.
Provenance: Etched ownership inscription "Tho[ma]s Sinclair, 1776."

An early example of Swedish seaman Pieter Holm's design, known as the "Dutchman's Log" or the "Seaman's Tobacco Box." Holm founded a nautical school called "Regt door Zee," and developed this unusual nautical instrument while an instructor there. The tables engraved on the box could be used to determine the speed of the ship through the water based upon the passage of a log or wood chip thrown overboard.

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