Scale rule

Status

Not on view

Label Text

This scale rule was identified by Eliza Parke Custis Law, Martha Washington's granddaughter, as the "Box rule from the writing desk of my lamented grandmother." While Mrs. Washington may have used it for marking straight lines, laying out a grid on which to plot a needlework design, or measuring short lengths, the complexity of the scales indicate that it was likely originally part of a pocket set of drafting instruments manufactured for use by draftsmen, surveyors, and other gentleman-professionals. Mrs. Washington may have obtained this rule from one of the instrument sets owned by her husband.

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Datec. 1750-1802

Geography Probably made - England

Medium/TechniqueBoxwood

DimensionsOverall: 4 3/4 in. x 1 3/8 in. (12.07 cm x 3.51 cm x 0.08 cm)

Credit LineGift of Mary Means Huber, 2004

Object numberW-4379

DescriptionRectangular boxwood scale rule with semicircular tab at one short end; the obverse of the rule is inscribed at the top with a scale of inches divided to tenths and a decimal foot scale, below which is a table of diagonal scales; the reverse of the rule is inscribed with a scale of equal parts (also known as decimal divisions of an inch) with six lines of inches divided into 15, 20, 25, 30, 35, and 40 equal parts; the top edge of the reverse is beveled.
Published ReferencesCarol Borchert Cadou, The George Washington Collection: Fine and Decorative Arts at Mount Vernon (New York: Hudson Hills Press, 2006), 202-203.

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