Barometers Realm

This beautiful high-quality Franklin Mint Maritime Barometer was issued by the National Maritime Historical Society to commemorate the 125th anniversary of the legendary tea clipper Cutty Sark. The barometer was produced in a limited edition in the 1990s and represents one of the decorative collectible pieces from a maritime series created to celebrate the history of seafaring and nautical instruments.

The clipper Cutty Sark is one of the last great British clipper ships built for high-speed voyages across the oceans. The vessel was constructed in 1869 and designed to race along the China–London route in the tea trade. At that time, the speed of delivering fresh tea was of tremendous importance to merchants, and clippers competed fiercely for the honor of being the first to reach British ports. However, the opening of the Suez Canal significantly shortened the route and made steamships more economically viable, gradually bringing the age of the clippers to an end. After the tea trade declined, Cutty Sark continued her career on other routes and was refitted to transport Australian wool from Sydney to London, where she held the record for the fastest passage to Britain for ten years. The name of this legendary vessel later became widely known: a famous brand of Scotch whisky, Cutty Sark, was named after the ship and features the silhouette of the clipper on its label.

The creation of this object was also closely connected with the activities of the well-known American company Franklin Mint. The Franklin Mint is one of the world’s largest direct marketers of decorative art and collectible objects. The company was founded in 1964 by advertising executive Joseph Segel, the founder of General Numismatics Corporation. To help promote and sell commemorative coins and medallions, the company established the Franklin Mint Collectors Society. Soon Franklin Mint became the largest private mint in the world, gaining an international reputation as a producer of commemorative coins, medals, bullion pieces, and even currency for foreign governments. In 1969 or the early 1970s, Franklin Mint acquired the historic British mint Pinches, founded in London in 1840 and known, among other things, for producing the medal commemorating the opening season of the Crystal Palace in 1854. In addition to numismatic products, Franklin Mint actively produced artistic collectibles, and one of its most notable programs was a maritime-themed series created for the National Maritime Historical Society. This series included compasses, barometers, clocks, and sextants—decorative instruments inspired by historic nautical instruments.

The present barometer is executed in the distinctive aesthetic of nautical revival, a decorative revival of maritime motifs. This highly decorative sculptural barometer is cast in solid brass and mounted on a substantial wooden pedestal base made of mahogany. The composition is richly ornamented and highlighted with 24-karat gold polishing, applied by hand to achieve a brilliant mirror-like finish, enhancing the impression of a prestigious maritime instrument. The overall design deliberately evokes the appearance of classic 19th-century navigational instruments, creating the atmosphere of historical maritime equipment.

The brass base is decorated with an elaborate black enamel ornament running along the perimeter of the platform and repeated around the circumference of the barometer bezel. The ornament consists of flowing marine scrolls and stylized wave motifs that create a sense of movement and reinforce the maritime theme of the composition. Supporting the central instrument are two expressive sculptural figures of hippocampus—mythological sea creatures with the head and forebody of a horse and the tail of a fish. These creatures originate in ancient Greek mythology and were traditionally depicted as inhabitants of the depths of the sea. In classical mythology, hippocamps were regarded as the kings of fish and served as the creatures that pulled the chariot of the sea god Poseidon, symbolizing the power and majesty of the ocean. In decorative art of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, hippocampus figures were frequently used in maritime architecture, ship ornamentation, and navigational instruments as symbols of the dominion of the sea and the spirit of ocean travel.

The measuring instrument itself is enclosed within a drum-shaped brass case, the front of which is fitted with an elegant bezel holding a clear plastic crystal. The dial is made of polished brass with a soft radial brushing that produces a characteristic golden sheen. Engraved on the dial is a concentric barometric scale. The outer portion of the scale is calibrated in inches of mercury, covering the range 28–31 inches, which is typical for domestic aneroid barometers. The inner scale—much less commonly encountered on decorative instruments—is calibrated in kilopascals, covering the range 95–105 kPa, thus providing an alternative metric system for atmospheric pressure measurement.

The scale is complemented both by textual weather indications—Rain, Change, and Fair—and by small schematic pictograms of weather phenomena, depicting rain clouds, sunny weather, and variable cloudiness.

Particularly interesting is the typography of the scale. The letters of the italic serif typeface are engraved in such a way that they create the impression of slightly worn antique printing: parts of individual letters sometimes do not fully connect with one another, and the outlines of the strokes appear subtly softened. Upon closer inspection, the inscriptions give the impression that the “ink” has slightly spread, as if on old printed plaques. This effect was intentionally created to reinforce the historical styling and to give the instrument the appearance of an antique maritime device.

The operation of the instrument is ensured by a patented movement developed by the American company Springfield Instrument Company. Its foundation is a U-shaped frame made of galvanized steel, which serves as the supporting structure for the entire motion-transmission system. Within this frame are mounted the supports for the levers, the pointer-shaft bearings, and the other components of the movement. The frame is connected to the base of the mechanism using a characteristic Springfield snap-on construction: special tongues and dimples on the frame engage with corresponding openings in the base component and lock the entire assembly in place without the use of screws. This design allowed the mechanism to be assembled rapidly by press-fit manufacturing methods while still providing a sufficiently rigid and vibration-resistant mounting for all components.

At the center of the mechanism is the aneroid capsule, a hermetically sealed sensing chamber consisting of two thin metallic diaphragms. Each diaphragm incorporates a series of concentric corrugations that provide spring elasticity and allow the capsule to change shape as atmospheric pressure varies. One diaphragm carries a central projection—the motion-transmitting nipple—which conveys movement to the lever system. The second diaphragm contains a central opening for the installation of the adjustment assembly. Around their periphery the two diaphragms are joined through a system of interlocking flanges: the horizontal flange of one diaphragm fits into the guiding inclined flange of the other, automatically aligning the components during assembly. Once the flanges are engaged, epoxy sealant is applied around the circumference to create an airtight joint, after which the interior of the capsule is evacuated and permanently sealed. This method allowed the manufacturer to eliminate traditional soldering or welding of the diaphragms and significantly simplified the mass production of capsules.

At the center of the capsule is the calibration stud. This stud passes through the central opening of one diaphragm and is secured by its own flange. It serves both to mount the capsule within the mechanism and to adjust the instrument’s initial calibration. When this screw is turned during adjustment, the entire capsule changes its position relative to the lever system; in effect, the entire aneroid chamber rotates and shifts slightly as a single unit. During manufacturing, the central channel of this stud can also be used to evacuate the air from the capsule before final sealing.

Directly above the capsule within the frame is the actuating lever, the first element of the motion-transmission system. This lever is pivotally mounted in the frame on a transverse axis parallel to the plane of the capsule. One end of the lever contacts the central nipple of the diaphragm and responds to the minute movements produced by changes in atmospheric pressure. The opposite end of the lever is connected to the motion-amplifying components and includes limiting stops that prevent excessive travel of the mechanism and protect the capsule from overload.

Further transmission of motion occurs through a cord-and-drum mechanism, a distinctive feature of the Springfield design. A fine cord is attached to the lever and passes through the frame around a special transmission pulley. From this pulley the cord is wound onto a drum mounted on the pointer shaft. When the lever moves, the cord shifts and rotates the pulley, transferring rotational motion to the pointer shaft. This shaft is mounted vertically in bearings within the frame, and the pointer attached to it moves across the dial scale. This cord transmission also serves to amplify motion, since even a very small displacement of the lever produces a noticeable angular movement of the pointer.

To maintain proper tension in the cord and ensure stable operation of the mechanism, a bias spring is connected to the end of the cord. This spring maintains constant tension throughout the transmission system and ensures smooth, steady movement of the pointer.

The overall construction of this movement reflects the principal engineering idea behind the Springfield patents of the early 1970s—the maximum possible simplification and cost reduction of the barometric mechanism. The use of stamped diaphragms, epoxy-sealed capsules, snap-fit frame construction, and a simple cord-and-drum transmission made it possible to create a compact and reliable mechanism suitable for the large-scale industrial production of domestic aneroid barometers.

In conclusion, this barometer represents a characteristic example of late twentieth-century decorative maritime instruments, created for collectors and enthusiasts of naval history. It successfully combines a sculptural artistic composition, rich maritime symbolism, and a fully functional meteorological mechanism, making it not only an instrument for observing atmospheric pressure but also an expressive work of maritime decorative art.