A RARE UNIVERSAL EQUINOCTIAL RING DIAL BY RICHARD ABBOTT, CIRCA 1670
constructed in lacquered brass and engraved with black jewellers'-wax-filled characters, the outer meridian ring signed Richard Abbott Fecit and engraved with latitude scale, the reverse with nautical quadrant ring engraved 0-90º with pinhole; suspension ring on sliding cursor shackle with universal joint, central bridge with sliding pinhole gnomon to calendar scale, the reverse with sun declination scale inscribed 0-20-0; the inner ring with Roman numeral hour scale engraved III-XII-IX and calibrated on inside edge; contained within original puce velvet-lined shagreen case with hinge and securing hooks, the dial -- 3½in. (9cm.) diameter

Richard Abbott (B.1654) was apprenticed to Hilkiah Bedford from the Clockmakers' Company and worked between approximately 1668 and 1676. This is thought to be the only known example of a universal ring dial by Abbott.

Provenance: With Trevor Philip & Son, 2006.
++The dial: fine original condition - appears to retain much original lacquer as well as black filling to lettering; The case: areas of wear to velvet lining, slight warping to lid which still closes, lacks one (of two) securing hooks.