Antique Pocket Sundial

[Hornbein]

A pocket sundial! from 1637. Such is not that unusual in the era before pocket watches. What is unusual is the map with labeled zones. What's that for? Correction for variations in the magnetic field? There's a built in compass so that's my guess. It shows they took this quite seriously. This must have cost a LOT of money.

 

[Ibix]

The map zones are the counties of England as they used to be (edit: and Wales, with the smaller ones in the south just treated as Glamorgan)(edit 2: actually that link shows modern regions of Wales - the counties in existence at the time of the sundial were these ones), labelled with their initial letters.

 

[gmax137]

these ones

Don't let @sevensages see you writing that

 

[DaveC426913]

I thought these were only seen on The Flintstones.

Seriously. I mean, they have to be fixed. It never occurred to me you could make a half-way in-between device that's portable, and can be calibrated with a compass.

 

[WWGD]

The map zones are the counties of England as they used to be (edit: and Wales, with the smaller ones in the south just treated as Glamorgan)(edit 2: actually that link shows modern regions of Wales - the counties in existence at the time of the sundial were these ones), labelled with their initial letters.

Have all counties now become, changed into, shires? Maybe I'm displaying here my ignorance of the UK.

 

[Ibix]

Have all counties now become, changed into, shires? Maybe I'm displaying here my ignorance of the UK.

Historically I think there was some distinction between a shire and a county and we had both. But these days, county is the political/geograhic entity and shire is just part of the name of the counties that are named after their county town.

 

[WWGD]

Historically I think there was some distinction between a shire and a county and we had both. But these days, county is the political/geograhic entity and shire is just part of the name of the counties that are named after their county town.

Thank you. If not too long, can you explain or give a ref on the status of Wales, England, Scotland, NI? Are they countries united under a king ( Charles, currently)?