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Sundial
From the collection of National Museum of American History. Free to download, adapt and use — no permission needed.
About this work
The Copp family of Stonington, Connecticut used this pewter sundial around 1785. The dial has three holes to mount the sundial horizontally, with the initials “NM” cast at the clocks’ “6” position. Accurately aligning the tip of the sundial’s gnomon to true north allows the gnomon’s shadow to fall on the hour of the dial plate. The NM is possibly Nathan Miller from Rhode Island, the son of founder Josiah Miller, whose name appears on several similar sundials of the era.
National Museum of American History’s own descriptionSubjects
Credit lineSundial. ca 1750. Copp Family. National Museum of American History, Gift of John Brenton Copp. CC0.
