Wednesday, November 16, 2011

Calling All Calipers

Serifs or feet?


I have no explanation for how or why this has happened, but I’m crazy for calipers these days. Evocative of typography, anatomy, and instruments of torture, these specialized devices have an expressive nature. Some calipers are bowlegged, double-jointed or have well-developed quads. Others have exotic diacritical marks or could quite believably be monogrammed onto fingertip towels. And then there are the ones you know had to have been invented by a medieval dentist or Victorian gynecologist.

Feel free to free associate …

Photos are from eBay or other auction sites unless otherwise noted.












The largest of the above set from Designer Pages, is 55 inches.

The collections of "brackets" are from Lost Found Art,
via Accidental Mysteries.



The woodturner's double calipers, above, allows for two measurements to be taken without changing tools. From Woodworking Tools 1600-1900, by Peter C. Walsh.The triple calipers, below, are available on eBay.









These golden mean calipers are
hand crafted in New Zealand
by Nick Taylor.

Then there are those who refuse to leave
anything to the imagination.

No comments:

Post a Comment