Rare Stormoguide Barograph by Short & Mason No G45738 c.1938

A very good scarce oak cased aneroid “Stormoguide” barograph barometer by Short & Mason No G45738 c1938 Barograph having 4½” silvered and die struck dial decorated in Art Deco styling with various prognostications, falling in red and rising in black. The centre portion with square barometric scale calibrated in inches of mercury with a range from 28” -31” divided down to 1/20th. The centre with Short & Mason logogram above “Stormoguide.” The lower part marked “Compensated for Temperature,” serial “No G45738” and at bottom “International Copyright, Copyright 1932, Made in Gt Britain.” Finely cut blued steel pointer. Standard pattern movement raised on four turned columns over a short chassis, bright polished spindles and arrestor bar, S&M logogram, secondary spindle cross beam. All driven from an eight cell pressure sensing column, the lower cell with central bottom placed evacuation nipple. Calibration adjustment knob to primary spindle beam. Original swinging gate aluminium recording arm with replacement nib. The good quality recording drum built in Baden marked with serial no. “8395,” and “Pat 3715.02,” guarded platform escapement, captive winding key, top cover. Conical base with spigot location, serially numbered sunwheel. Ink station with later bottle. The whole mounted on a solid lacquered light oak plinth with frieze drawer below. Lift off heavy bevelled five glass cover. Condition: The subject of a full service, conservation, and calibration under laboratory conditions, see performance chart from dynamic test. Working very well indeed with maximum error less than 1/10th” across the scale. A very crisp example, the dial very clean with some minor marks, the chassis with some slight losses, the drum upper lip with localised minor distortion. The oak case re-polished, in good condition, some minor ink staining below nib and at ink station, the frieze drawer with signs of shrinkage, the whole being structurally sound. The glass remains damage free, the bevels conveying a pleasing prismatic effect. Comments: Short & Mason was at its peak in terms of manufacturing when the company introduced the Stormoguide Barograph, or, as it is often informally known, the “Stormograph.” This particular instrument is probably the gold standard in domestic barographs, having this most iconic dial and designation “Stormoguide” combined with a very fashionable, nicely figured light oak case. I was recently asked for this exact combination and had to say that I could not recall having seen an oak cased example. Of the few observed to date hardwood /mahogany cases seemed the standard. This instrument, we actually found a long way back in our stock inventory where it had been overlooked. Apart from the complete re-build that is undertaken on all our barographs, this instrument went back together very well requiring virtually no alteration, unusual as the production engineering in many of these instruments is poor. So this was a good one from the start. I was able to straighten and re-polish the original recording arm, a satisfying outcome for originality as nearly all arms are badly bent and very often too short the nib end having suffered from the acidic properties of the ink. Extremely rare for this combination of light oak and condition, a very desirable instrument.