Universal equinoctial dial for latitudes 0°-70° North. The dial is made of brass and white metal and is set in a wooden case. The compass, set into the base of the box, has eight points marked by French initials. A small engraved arrow marks magnetic variation 14° West of North. The compass needle can be locked by means of a radial brass strut, which is operated by a small lever at the South of the dial. The compass is topped by a glass plate and surrounded by a flat brass ring. Hinged to the brass ring is a latitude arc and an hour-circle. Spanning the East-West diameter of the hour-circle is a pivoted brass strut supporting a rod gnomon.

The lid of the box contains a printed paper circle with a table of latitudes in two columns, headed ‘LATITUDES’. The list is wide ranging and would appear to have been made for someone who had cause to travel widely. It includes ‘Lima’, even though the dial is only designed for use in the Northern Hemisphere.

By the second half of the 19th century, mechanical timekeepers were common in Europe and the USA, but were still not widely used in other parts of the world; thus sundials continued to be of use in these areas.

For more information regarding this dial please refer to the OUP & NMM catalogue, 'Sundials at Greenwich'.