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Subject: History of the sextant.
From: George Huxtable (george@XXX.XXX)
Date: Fri May 24 2002 - 18:25:13 EDT
I have recently acquired a copy of "A history of the navigator's sextant",
by Charles H Cotter, pub. 1983 by Brown, Son, and Ferguson, Glasgow.
I wasn't previously aware of the existence of this book, and don't recall
having seen a reference to it in this or any other mailing list, so this
note is to bring it to the attention of list members. It seems to be still
in print, 226 pages, at £20.
Cotter is best known for his "A history of nautical astronomy" of some 20
years earlier, now increasingly hard to find.
His book on the sextant is really comprehensive, ranging from the mariner's
astrolabe through to the bubble sextants designed for air navigation. I
have discovered many facts previously unknown to me. There are lots of
references.
It has many intriguing diversions, such as those about Mrs Janet Taylor,
who ran a navigation school in the Minories, London, and wrote a book, "The
principles of navigation simplified", in 1837. How did she gain her
experience? one wonders. She produced the Mariner's Calculator, illustrated
in that book, which combined a sextant with a precise analogue computer,
for solving astronomical-triangle problems, and also brought out an
Artificial Horizon attachment to a sextant in 1856. I'm keen to discover
more about Mrs Janet Taylor.
George Huxtable
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george@XXX.XXX
George Huxtable, 1 Sandy Lane, Southmoor, Abingdon, Oxon OX13 5HX, UK.
Tel. 01865 820222 or (int.) +44 1865 820222.
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