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- Title
SOLD AT SOTHEBY'S.
- Authors
MORRISON-LOW, A. D.
- Abstract
Sir John Findlay's collection of scientific instruments, formed in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, was lent after his death in 1930 to the Royal Scottish Museum, in Edinburgh. In 1960, Findlay's heirs decided to sell, and this wonderful collection of sundials and related instruments was subsequently, dispersed throughout the world. How did Findlay amass such a collection, and why? He came from a family, of wealthy newspaper proprietors, but was by inclination a scholar, having narrowly missed a double first at Oxford in the early 1880s. His great love of science led him naturally, to appreciate the craftsmanship of scientific instruments, which he deeply admired. However, he did not collect ill isolation, for although he personally felt geographically remote from other like-minded collectors, his activities were firmly set in the Scottish antiquarian tradition. This paper discusses Findlay's collection and some of its precursors.
- Subjects
SCOTLAND; SCIENTIFIC apparatus collections; FINDLAY, John; COLLECTORS &; collecting; SUNDIALS; ANTIQUARIANS
- Publication
Journal of the History of Collections, 1995, Vol 7, Issue 2, p197
- ISSN
0954-6650
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.1093/jhc/7.2.197