Quadrant

Identifier: 1968.0022.002
Title: Quadrant
Creator: J.W. Norie and Company (British, established 1813)
Measurements: 34.9 x 29.8 x 7.6 cm (13 3/4 x 11 3/4 x 3 inches)
Materials: wood (plant material); brass (alloy); ivory (material)
Technique: carving (processes); casting (process); engraving (action)
Date Created: ca. 1820
Location: Nantucket Historical Association
Subject: Navigation; Nautical astronomy; Nautical instruments
Description: A quadrant made of dark wood and brass with ivory inlays. Quadrants were used to determine a ship’s latitude by measuring the angle of the sun over the horizon at noon. William Bond, the “Essex”’s steward and one of its six Black crewmembers, was able to rescue the ship’s navigational equipment, which included two quadrants that were given to Captain George Pollard, Jr.’s and first mate Owen Chase’s whaleboats. However, using a quadrant was not as easy on a small, unsteady whaleboat as it was on a large, steady whaleship. Furthermore, a ship’s latitude and longitude are necessary to determine its position but the “Essex” did not have a chronometer, a timekeeping device that could be used to determine longitude and Captain Pollard did not know how to use the Lunar Distance Method to determine longitude.
Inscriptions: J.W. Norie & Co. London.