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Description: | The 1822 Marischal collection is the culmination of one of the University of Aberdeen's great pioneers, Patrick Copland.
Patrick Copland was undoubtedly the best teacher in Marischal College in his time, with a reputation that extended far outside the College. He taught Natural Philosophy from 1775 - 1822, a period when the College earned the reputation as a progressive establishment in the fields of science, mathematics and an increasing position in local medical education. Copland was a pioneer in the extensive use of demonstration equipment during his teaching. He was also one of Marischal College's pioneers in providing a lengthy course in science for artisans and the public at large. By the end of Copland's teaching career one writer described his collection of apparatus as "generally considered as superior to any in Britain, and some deem it superior to any in Europe" (Dr J. Reid, 2004). An inventory taken in 1822 of Copland's collection listed some 500 objects. It was, though, a working collection augmented and replaced by his successors with the result that only about 10 percent of the pieces survives in whole or in part. Copland was remarkable in being a highly skilled instrument maker himself.
Many of the items were manufactured by him and, in the 1780's by a workman John King at the University. King was initially taken on as part of a three year programme for the 'Encouragement of Manufacturers in Scotland' to make models of machinery but actually stayed at the University for seven years and may be the first workshop technician employed full-time by a British University. (Dr J. Reid). One item created by King and Copland was an astronomical clock made in the late 1780s. This complex piece was originally designed by the famous 18th Century North-East born educator and inventor James Ferguson, FRS.
Access to the collection is restricted and all enquires should be sent to Dr J Reid, the Honorary Curator. Information compiled in consultation with the Honorary Curator.
Super collection: Natural Philosophy Collection.
Objects: Short Gregorian reflecting telescope 3" aperture; long-sighted eye imaging model; surveyor's level; Mercury siphon barometer; discharging tongs; azimuth compass; friction wheels; Newton's cradle; Spring clock and movement; Aristotle's watering pot; Box of heart shaped metals; double cone and ruler; balancing cube; cohering plates; discharging rods; Hadley's octant; short-sighted eye imaging model; Magdeburg Hemispheres; Halley's diving bell; double windmills; Proportional compass; table compass; astronomical clock by Marriott; McCulloch's mariner's compass; pulleys; Graham's dead beat escapement; magical funnel; Head of Despair; bicone; base for balloon filling; Demonstration suction pump; oscillating prism; Diagonal machine; Spiral spark tube; Dollond's refracting telescope 2 3/4'; astronomical clock; standard measure of British empire; Combustion tube; universal equatorial instrument; Berge terrestrial telescope; Dollond refracting telescope 3 5/8'; Dr. Lorimer's dipping compass; pulleys; model levers; anamorphic cylindrical mirror; model of the eye with spectacles; model of cornea & lens of eye; Chinese balance (dotchins). | Source: | University of Aberdeen | Address: | King's College,
AB24 3FX | Identifier: | ABDNP:CLD02 | Go to resource |
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