Barometers Realm

Original Hygrometer (El Fraile del Tiempo, meaning “The Weather Friar”), produced in the early 21st century by the Catalan company Tot Ideas S.L., was first invented in 1894 by a young Spanish craftsman, Agapito Borràs Pedemonte, a native of Calella, in the Maresme region of Catalonia. At just 18 years old, Borràs began crafting toys and devices of “recreational physics” (física recreativa) as gifts for his friends. Among his most successful and unusual creations was this hygrometer in the form of a Franciscan friar.

The idea was based on the natural principle of humidity variation, which causes the friar’s arm and hood to move. The internal mechanism is concealed within the body of the figure, and its secret component — referred to by the Borràs family as a producto natural — is a natural material that contracts or expands depending on ambient humidity. A system of balanced levers transmits this movement to the friar’s arm and hood, thereby displaying a weather forecast for the next 24 hours.

The first mass production began in the town of Mataró, where the workshop was relocated to benefit from proximity to Spain’s first railway line. This gave the product a strong commercial boost. Later, the Borràs family founded the well-known toy company Juguetes Borràs, but the hygrometer remained outside corporate mergers and has continued to be made by hand by Tot Ideas S.L., now led by the fourth generation — Enric Borràs.

This particular example is a special limited edition dedicated to the iconic Sagrada Familia basilica in Barcelona. The background is decorated with a colorful illustration of the cathedral.

The friar is depicted seated with an open book in his hands and a globe at his feet. His clothing follows the traditional Franciscan habit with a hood. Additional details such as the hourglass give the figure the aura of a medieval scholar or astronomical monk. All components of the hygrometer are made from thick cardboard, but unfortunately, the print quality is very poor, producing the impression of a cheap postcard rather than a unique scientific device. It is disappointing that such an original idea has been executed in such a crude and tasteless manner.

The front column of the device displays the following weather predictions (top to bottom):

• SECO – Dry
• REVUELTO – Unsettled
• VIENTO / VENTOSO – Windy
• BUENO – Fair
• INSEGURO – Uncertain
• HÚMEDO – Humid
• LLUVIA – Rain

The movable arm of the friar points to the forecast, while the hood automatically covers or reveals his head according to the prediction.

Inside the body is a natural hygroscopic element, sensitive to changes in air humidity. As the humidity fluctuates, this element stretches or contracts, activating a system of levers that moves both the arm and the hood.

The Borràs family has never revealed the exact composition of this element, which has led to many legends — from claims that it uses the hair of a young woman to horsehair. The inventor himself referred to the concept as an ingenio de física recreativa — a device of “recreational physics.”

This enduring blend of scientific curiosity and playful invention makes the Weather Friar both a nostalgic curiosity and a symbolic object of popular meteorology.