The backstaff, or back-quadrant, is a navigational tool that was used to determine latitude. It worked the same way as the cross staff and astrolabe except instead of looking at the sun, users kept the sun to their back (hence the name) which prevented damage to their eyes. Table of geography, hydrography, and navigation, from the 1728 Cyclopaedia. ... Latitude, usually denoted symbolically by the Greek letter φ, gives the location of a place on Earth north or south of the Equator. ... A Jacobs staff, from John Sellers Practical Navigation (1672) In surveying, the Jacobs staff or cross-staff is a single straight rod or staff, pointed and iron-shod at the bottom, for penetrating the ground. ... A 16th century astrolabe. ...
The backstaff was invented by Captain John Davis in 1590. John Davis (1550?—1605) was one of the chief English navigators and explorers under Elizabeth I, especially in Polar regions. ... Bold text{| align=right cellpadding=3 id=toc style=margin-left: 15px; |- | align=center colspan=2 | Years: 1587 1588 1589 - 1590 - 1591 1592 1593 |-vdsf gno[gldw[pvkijxaiamknn csogfhbvdowkhbfkqhjkhrjkhwgfhbjkpnkfokfgok3pkpk9pjhkt9erktyujkip9kijker9thhrkg9hkitr9gtkih9t0ykltk[u0jo0iey9uhyit90ertyhige9rity9riyh9ujirtyuhjnh-4e9tyigh9thiuy0h8tyh34tu8uy8u8u8u8rtu5y8ru8thu0tru0ut0rhutuh0trhu0hseogtrhr8uyhju8t89er9te9r8fy8shit ass dick bitch fuck | align=center colspan=2 | Decades: 1560s 1570s 1580s - 1590s - 1600s 1610s 1620s |- | align=center | Centuries...
The French called it the English Quadrant. It is highly inaccurate.
References
^This article incorporates content from the 1728Cyclopaedia, a publication in the public domain. [1]
sam is jewish Cyclopaedia; or an Universal Dictionary of Arts and Sciences (folio, 2 vols. ... The public domain comprises the body of all creative works and other knowledge—writing, artwork, music, science, inventions, and others—in which no person or organization has any proprietary interest. ...
Later, the backstaff was fitted with mirrors so it could be used for star and planet sights as well.Incidentally, the backstaff was the first practical navigational instrument of any importance devised by someone whose name was recorded in history.See also Emergency Navigation; Quadrant; Sextant.
The backstaff, or back-quadrant, is a navigational tool that was used to determine latitude.
The backstaff was invented by Captain John Davis in 1590.
We are one of the very few purveyors of the art of the whale men and scrimshandlers, and we have several sailor-made woolwork pictures in the gallery today as well.
We carry examples of nearly all types of navigation instruments, from a 17TH Century backstaff to 20TH Century clock work beauties by Chelsea of Boston.
The collection is completed with an array of Campaign furniture, sea boxes, bronze and iron cannon, swords, deep-sea diving equipment, maps, charts and just about anything and everything else that relates to our maritime heritage.
Feeds |
Contact