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early Vidie
brass, cardboard, cast iron, copper, glass, steel
This barometer is part of the private collection of our friend and fellow collector Michael Böttcher (Germany). All photographs were kindly provided by him.
Before us is a Pioneering Aneroid Barometer by Lucien Vidie, bearing serial number 5384 and dating to approximately 1860. The instrument belongs to the early commercial realizations of Vidie’s invention — the engineer and inventor who patented the aneroid barometer in 1844 and laid the foundation for the entire subsequent industry of liquid-free barometers.
The barometer is housed in a compact circular brass case, characteristic of early French aneroids. The case exhibits a simple, functional form without excessive decoration, typical of instruments still in the formative stage of design and standardization.
At the top, a brass suspension ring is integrated into the case, allowing the instrument to be used as a wall-mounted device.
The front is fitted with a thin brass bezel featuring a delicate engine-turned pattern, which retains a flat mineral glass with a faceted edge. This element lends the instrument a subtle optical depth while emphasizing the precision of its execution, despite the overall utilitarian nature of the construction.
The dial is made of cardboard and carries a concentric barometric scale graduated in London inches of mercury (inHg). The divisions are executed with notable precision — down to twentieths of an inch, reflecting an early striving for instrumental accuracy.
The scale is further annotated with English weather terms: Stormy, Much Rain, Rain, Change, Fair, Set Fair, Very Dry — rendered in a serif typeface combining upper- and lowercase lettering, typical of the mid-19th century.
The lower portion of the dial bears the inscription “Aneroid Barometer”, along with the serial number confirming its early production period.
The movement construction demonstrates the defining features of early Vidie-type aneroids. At its core lies a corrugated copper aneroid capsule, within which a partial vacuum is created. The capsule is tensioned against a robust cast-iron lever, itself supported by an external coil spring. Variations in atmospheric pressure cause the capsule walls to deform. These minute movements are amplified and transmitted via a fusee chain to the pointer arbor, which is supported by a rectangular brass plate.
A distinctive feature of this early construction is the combination of relative kinematic simplicity and mechanical reliability. Temperature compensation is achieved by leaving a small residual volume of air within the aneroid capsule.
This barometer represents a rare and illustrative example of the early developmental phase of aneroid instruments. It combines engineering innovation, a form not yet fully standardized, and a high degree of manual craftsmanship. Such examples are particularly valuable as evidence of the transitional period between invention and industrial production, when the aneroid barometer was only beginning to assume its definitive form and mechanical logic.
