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Backstaff
The backstaff is made from a laburnum frame with ivory arcs and no vanes. There is an inlaid ivory plate on the main strut, with brass rivets capped by decorative diamond-shaped brass caps. It is decorated with scrollwork and leaves on the end of the thirty degree arc, and stamped fleurs-de-lis in the frame.The back of the thirty degree arc has scales for the Sun’s declination and the right ascension. There is also a small amount of decoration on the ends of the large arc (scrollwork and leaves). All three sighting vanes are now missing.
The maker's name appears on a plaque on the frame: ' John Bellinger Fecit'. Bellinger was apprenticed to Robert Starr in August 1677. He became a Freeman of the Stationers' Company in 1686 and worked in London until the 1720s.
The maker's name appears on a plaque on the frame: ' John Bellinger Fecit'. Bellinger was apprenticed to Robert Starr in August 1677. He became a Freeman of the Stationers' Company in 1686 and worked in London until the 1720s.
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Object details
| ID: | NAV0048 |
|---|---|
| Collection: | Astronomical and navigational instruments |
| Type: | Backstaff |
| Materials: | Wood; Ivory Bone |
| Display location: | Not on display |
| Creator: | Bellinger, John |
| Date made: | circa 1700 |
| Credit: | National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, London |
| Measurements: | Radius of the thirty degree arc is 612 mm and that of the sixty degree arc 84 mm. Overall length of the instrument is 635 mm. |