A fine 18th-century George III mahogany bow-front stick barometer

A fine 18th-century George III mahogany bow-front stick barometer by noted London makers William & Samuel Jones.

The mahogany-veneered case has an austere form with only the moulded caddy top and the urn-shaped cistern cover to break its soberness. The silvered register plates are protected by a bowed glass, the recorder with vernier scale being operated by a knob below the register plate. The register plates are calibrated for 27 – 31 inches on the right, whereas on the left the pertaining weather conditions are engraved: FAIR, Change and RAIN. The makers have signed the barometer at the top of the scales in the following manner; W & S Jones Holborn LONDON. A special feature of this barometer is that it has a leather-based cistern.

William and Samuel Jones practiced in the Holborn Hill area of London from about 1787, when their father John died and left them the business, until about 1805, and later in the High Holborn area. They were very technically accomplished, William in his younger years having worked for both Benjamin Martin and George Adams.