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Object Overview
This elegant Ebony-cased desk thermometer, dating to around 1890, is made of premium natural ebony wood, finely carved into a case with a gracefully curved silhouette. On the reverse, the case is fitted with a hinged ebony stand, allowing the thermometer to be displayed on a desk at an angle. The wood shows a deep black ground with characteristic longitudinal light streaks and striations typical of Madagascar ebony. Interestingly, on the back there is a faintly visible marking “Real Ebony,” often branded or incised into the surface as a marketing accent to emphasize the luxury of the piece, and a typical export stamp of the period.
The central scale plate is made of early plastic—celluloid—imitating ivory with its characteristic veining. This effect was achieved by impressing fine grooves on a heated die, then rubbing them with black pigment or bitumen to simulate the Schreger lines, the distinctive pattern of natural ivory.
The thermometer scale is calibrated in degrees Fahrenheit, ranging from 10° to 128°, with the traditional Victorian heat indication: , , , . In the center of the celluloid plate, a fine mercury tube with a spherical reservoir is mounted in metal supports.
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celluloid, glass, mercury, wood
Compact and refined, this instrument for the drawing room or writing desk combines premium materials with the characteristic design of the turn of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, standing as an excellent example of decorative desk thermometers of the late Victorian and Edwardian era.