Troughton & Simms
| Troughton & Simms | |
|---|---|
| legal form | Corporation |
| founding | 1826 |
| resolution | 1922 |
| Seat | London |
| Branch | Fine device technology |
Troughton & Simms was a British manufacturer of astronomical instruments ( passage instruments , sextants , telescopes , theodolites, etc.) based in London , which emerged in 1826 from the merger of the businesses of Edward Troughton and William Simms and was merged in 1922 in Cooke, Troughton & Simms .
history
Edward Troughton Sr. owned a math instruments shop in London. His brother Francis' sons (John, Joseph and Edward) did an apprenticeship with their uncle. John continued the uncle's business and was assisted by his brother Joseph in 1764. After Joseph's death, Edward started the business in 1770. In 1782 they took over the business from Benjamin Cole junior at 136 Fleet Street , London, called "The Orrery". John died in 1784 and Edward continued the business alone until 1826 when he allied with William Simms.
James Simms (1710–1795) was a manufacturer of compasses in Birmingham . His youngest son William (1763-1828) came to London around 1793 and founded a business for mathematical instruments that his son John (* 1792) took over; his second son William (1793-1860) studied with a mathematical instrument maker named Bennett, who had previously worked for Ramsden , and later founded his own business. In 1826 he teamed up with Edward Troughton, whom he had probably met while working for the British East India Company .
Edward Troughton and William Simms worked together in their Troughton & Simms business from 1826 to 1831 until Troughton retired in 1831 and lived with the von Simms family until his death in 1836. In 1841 the company moved to new premises at 138, Fleet Street. After the death of William Simms on June 21, 1860, Williams' second son, James Simms (1828–1915), and his cousin, William Simms (1817–1907), took over the company. In 1871, William left the company and James continued to do so until his death. Then his sons William (1860-1938) and James (1862-1939) took over the management and converted the company into a corporation (Ltd.). In 1922 the company merged with T. Cooke & Sons , in which the British mechanical engineering and defense company Vickers had held the majority since 1915 , to form Cooke, Troughton & Simms .
In the 1830s the company was embroiled in a lawsuit with astronomer James South . South bought a 12 " - lens at the French optician Robert Aglaé Cauchoix and commissioned Troughton & Simms with the manufacture of the telescope. The telescope was due to be presented on November 26, 1831, but South complained about the mount . After Troughton & Simms fixed the weaknesses in the mount, South refused to pay and was sued by Troughton & Simms . Since the court was overwhelmed with the many technical details in the process, it proposed an arbitration, which was accepted by both parties. In 1834 the telescope was shown to the astronomer Royal George Biddell Airy and Bryan Donkin , tested by them and found to be in order. But South refused to comply with the demands and in 1836 smashed the telescope and offered the fragments for sale. The lens, however, was saved and served in various other telescopes.
Telescope on display in the National Museum of Natural Sciences , Tokyo
Brass ruler from 1853
Sundial on St. Michael's Mount , Cornwall
literature
Secondary literature
- At the Sign of the Orrery . The Origins of the Firm of Cooke, Troughton & Simms, Ltd. from material collected by E. Wilfred Taylore and J. Simms Wilson and brought up to date by PD Scott Maxwell. York (English, archive.org - around 1960).
- Anita McConnell: Instrument Makers to the World . A History of Cooke, Troughton & Simms. William Sessions, York 1992, ISBN 1-85072-096-7 (English).
Catalogs
- Catalog of Instruments made by Troughton and Simms, 136 Fleet Street, London . In: Astronomical News . Supplement to No. 170, 1829, col. 37 / 38–41 / 42 , bibcode : 1829AN ...... 8 ... 37. (English).
- General Catalog of Instruments made by Troughton & Simms, Opticians and Mathematical Instruments Makers to Her Majesty's Government, 138, Fleet Street, London . 1880 (English, University of South Carolina ).
- Troughton & Simms, 138 Fleet Street, London . 1897 (English, Smithsonian Libraries ).
- Troughton & Simms, 138 Fleet Street, London . 1898 (English, Smithsonian Libraries ).
Individual evidence
- ^ Notes . In: The Observatory . Vol. 45, 1922, pp. 403 , bibcode : 1922Obs .... 45..400. (English).