Object Description
19th century Negretti and Zambra Bakelite Weather Forecaster.
Housed in a black metal case with a cream coloured bakelite front plate.
The dial with barometer scale, hand turned indicator and a secondary dial operated by the side lever to set the wind direction. When both indicators are set to the current conditions the centre dial will reveal three different letters, which depending on the prevailing conditions can be read on the turn dial below.
The words Rising, Falling and Steady relate to the movement of the barometer, i.e. whether it has risen, fallen or stayed the same as the day before. Depending on the circumstances, the correct letter is chosen using the side dial below the main scale. The appropriate letter is located to provide your weather forecast for the next 12 hours.
Patented by the firm in 1915 these forecasters proved extremely popular and produced in several different versions.
A truly ingenious meteorological instrument, it allowed the armchair meteorologist the ability to predict weather conditions. It was also a clever marketing move by Negretti and Zambra by making the barometer more approachable to the novice. The weather conditions on a standard barometer are often inaccurate when compared to the outside conditions due to the fact that they only measure air pressure. C.1915
Negretti and Zambra were the leading name in the production of meteorological and scientific instruments the history of the company dates back to 1850. Throughout their long and esteemed history they exhibited at British and International fairs and became makers to both Queen Victoria and Edward VII. The firm ceased trading scientific instruments around 1960.