Jon Baddeley
Specialist Consultant Collectors, Science & Marine
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Lot 29
A JOSEPH WHITWORTH AND CO BRASS AND STEEL BENCH MICROMETER, English, third quarter of the 19th century,
25 September 2019, 13:00 BST
London, KnightsbridgeSold for £1,020 inc. premium
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Claire Tole-Moir
Head of Department
A JOSEPH WHITWORTH AND CO BRASS AND STEEL BENCH MICROMETER, English, third quarter of the 19th century,
signed Sir Joseph Whitworth and Co Limited Manchester, on iron bed plate with worm screw adjustment operated by cast brass wheel at either end, 27in (69cm) long
Footnotes
Sir Joseph Whitworth, 1st Baronet (1803 - 1887) was an English engineer, entrepreneur, inventor and philanthropist. In 1841, he devised the British Standard Whitworth system, which created an accepted standard for screw threads. Whitworth also created the Whitworth rifle, often called the "sharpshooter" because of its accuracy and considered one of the earliest examples of a sniper rifle. However, the principal contribution of this exceptionally talented engineer was his introduction of new standards of accuracy in manufacturing to a degree previously unknown.
By 1830, a skilled mechanic could be expected to work to an accuracy of a 'bare sixteenth' of an inch. By 1840, though, thanks to Joseph Whitworth, an accuracy of one ten-thousandth of an inch was a practical proposition. Subsequently, Whitworth devised an instrument – a bench micrometre – that could measure to one millionth of an inch, earning him international fame.
Upon his death in 1887, he bequeathed much of his fortune for the people of Manchester, with the Whitworth Art Gallery and Christie Hospital partly funded by Whitworth's money.
Provenance:
Property of The British Engineerium, Hove.