NAIRNE, Edward (1726-1806) — London
Instrument maker. Optical, Philosophical & Mathematical Instrument Maker to the King. Known for at least one orrery as well as barometers, astrolabes, microscopes, telescopes, thermometers, electrical machines, sundials, rules, a mariner’s astrolabe, etc. An instrument-maker of international reputation, his trade-card printed in both English and French. Also produced ‘Description and use of a new constructed equatorial telescope or portable observatory’ 1771; ‘Directions for using the electrical machine as made and sold by Edward Nairne’ 1773; ‘An account of some experiments made with an air-pump’ 1777; ‘The description and use of Nairne’s patent electrical machine’ 1783, etc. In 1753 Nairne announced “a new constructed optical instrument for viewing perspective prints; in which they are represented to the eye in such an advantageous manner, as to excite an idea equal to the real view of the place” — the instrument known variously in England as the optical diagonal machine, the optical diagonal mirror, the diagonal mirror, the concave mirror, the perspective glass, the diagonal print machine, the optical machine, optical pillar machine, simply the show-glass, etc. — or, perhaps most conveniently, as the zograscope: it gave the print being viewed an enhanced three-dimensional effect, the key feature being the double convex lens, which greatly magnified the image — “almost to the size of the real building” claimed one of the Bowles print-selling family — and also gave an illusion of recession and depth, a sense of distance observed.
Baptised Edward Greathead Nairne 8 Sep 1726 at St. Mary, Chatham, Kent, the son of Edward Nairne (1692-1748), a mariner, and his wife Jane Spencer (1700-1737), who had married in 1723, the family then moving to London after the death of his mother. Apprenticed (Spectaclemakers) to Matthew Loft 2 Feb 1742 (£21). On Loft’s death, he became free (Spectaclemakers) by redemption 26 Jan 1748. Master of the Company 1759, 1774, 1796-1797. An invoice dated 2 Oct 1752 to the Company of Merchants Trading to Africa is in NA. By licence dated 6 Dec 1751, he married (1) Elizabeth Maria Beezley (1725-1787) 9 Dec 1751 at St. Anne & St. Agnes, London. Elected a member of the (Royal) Society of Arts 14 Feb 1759, until his resignation in 1791. On 12 Dec 1764, Nairne testified at the Old Bailey, stating, “I live opposite the Royal Exchange, in Cornhill”: one of his employees named Peter Ritchie was convicted of stealing 8 lbs of brass from the workshop. Nairne worked with major figures in the scientific world, including Benjamin Franklin (see American Map Engravers, forthcoming), Joseph Priestley and Henry Cavendish, across a wide range of areas, from optics to electricity, and made instruments for a number of international institutions. Worked in partnership with his former apprentice Thomas Blunt (see BME 2011) 1774-1793, until the partnership was formally dissolved 24 Jul 1793, with Nairne continuing alone and Blunt relocating independently to the shop next door but one. Elected a Fellow of the Royal Society 1776. In 1782, “A grant to Edward Nairne, of St. Michael, Cornhill, for his new-invented improvement in the common electrical machine, passed the Great Seal” (Kentish Gazette, 9 Feb 1782). By licence dated 10 Sep 1788, he married (2) Elizabeth Lawson, née Wright (1742?-1823), twice-widowed and with a number of children, 13 Sep 1788 at St. Michael Cornhill. Appointed a Sheriff of the City of London by the Lord Mayor 5 May 1789. He became a founder proprietor of the Royal Institution in 1800. A 1789 insurance policy on his home in Cheyne Row, Chelsea, is in LMA. He retired in 1801 and died at Lindsay Row, Chelsea, 1 Sep 1806 aged eighty and was buried 9 Sep 1806 at St. Michael Cornhill. His will (PROB 11/1449/135), granted probate 16 Sep 1806, insisted that his funeral “may not be attended with pomp and extravagance”.
Corner of Bartholomew Lane, Threadneedle Street — 1752
Golden Spectacles (Reflecting Telescopes and Hadley’s Quadrant) in Cornhill, opposite the Royal Exchange — 1752-1774
20 Cornhill, opposite the Royal Exchange — 1772-1800
Cheyne Row, Chelsea (home) — 1789
Lindsay Row, Chelsea (home) — 1801-1806
Apprentices: William Safford 1749; George Spink 1752; Samuel Nicholls (Edlyne) 1754 (£50) (t/o 1756 to James Ayscough; Thomas Blunt 1760; Joseph Delegal 1764 (£21); James Long 1769; John Field 1779; Colin Witherspoon 1780; Thomas Witherspoon 1783; Henry Lawson (stepson) 1788. Employed Jesse Ramsden; Henry Lawson; Johnson Lawson; Peter Ritchie.
BBTI. BNA. Calvert. Clayton. Clifton. LG. LHD. LMA. NA. OB. ODNB. Taylor (1966). Webster.