Adams of Fleet Street, Instrument Makers to King George III

by Millburn,John R.

• ISBN13: 9780754600800
• ISBN10: 0754600807
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2000-05-28
• Publisher: Routledge

Summary

'G. Adams in Fleet Street London' is the signature on some of the finest scientific instruments of the eighteenth century. This book is the first comprehensive study of the instrument-making business run by the Adams family, from its foundation in 1734 to bankruptcy in 1817. It is based on detailed research in the archival sources as well as examination of extant instruments and publications by George Adams senior and his two sons, George junior and Dudley. Separate chapters are devoted to George senior's family background, his royal connections, and his new globes; George junior's numerous publications, and his dealings with van Marum; and to Dudley's dabbling with 'medico-electrical therapeutics'.The book is richly illustrated with plates from the Adams's own publications and with examples of instruments ranging from unique museum pieces - such as the 'Prince of Wales' microscope - and globes to the more common, even mundane, items of the kind seen in salesrooms and dealers - the surveying, navigational and military instruments that formed the backbone of the business. The appendices include facsimiles of trade catalogues and an annotated short-title listing of the Adams family's publications, which also covers American and Continental editions, as well as the posthumous ones by W. & S. Jones.

Table of Contents

List of Figures	vii
Foreword	xi
Preface and Acknowledgements	xiii
Notes on Units and Prices	xvii
Part I George Adams Senior
Family Background	3	(11)
Foundation and Development of the Fleet Street Business	14	(61)
Royal Connections	75	(32)
Adams's Globes	107	(26)
George Adams Senior's Last Few Years, 1767--72	133	(26)
Part II George Adams Junior
Continuation of the Business	159	(39)
Essays and Lectures	198	(52)
Instruments for van Marum	250	(13)
Hannah Adams and the Succession	263	(10)
Part III Dudley Adams
Globe Maker and Instrument Maker	273	(34)
Bankrupt: the End of the Adams Instrument Business	307	(11)
Electrician and Political Reformer	318	(15)
Notes	333	(29)
Appendix I George Adams Senior's Catalogue 1766	362	(5)
Appendix II George Adams Junior's Last Catalogue 1795	367	(16)
Appendix III Aids to Dating Adams Instruments and Publications	383	(3)
Appendix IV Short-Title List of Publications by the Adams Family	386	(13)
Bibliography	399	(8)
Index	407