Magnificent Measures!
The Hausman-Hill Collection
of Calculating Instruments
May 23, 2021 – September 5, 2021
Special Exhibit Included with Museum Admission
Magnificent Measures! The Hausman–Hill Collection of Calculating Instruments, is an exhibit featuring rare examples of historical measuring instruments drawn from the private collection of Bucks County residents Kathryn Hausman and Jim Hill.
Over the last fifty years, Hausman and Hill have built one of the most extensive private collections of early colonial and 19th-century American measuring implements. Many of the early measuring tools and complex instruments on display embody the sophisticated scientific principles that helped map, measure, and build early America.
Magnificent Measures! The Hausman–Hill Collection of Calculating Instruments includes instruments for measuring the weather (thermometers, barometers), land (surveying instruments), and the human body (a tailor’s rulers and other implements for gauging the size of arms, legs, waists, feet, heads and fingers for crafting clothing and accessories).
The exhibit showcases the work of significant early makers of measuring implements, such as notable 18th and 19th-century craftsmen Anthony Lamb, Rufus Porter, Thomas Greenough, Justus Roe, Caleb Leach, and the Chapin Family of Connecticut. Historic photographs and documents of these makers and their businesses add to the exhibit’s appeal.
Entrance to Magnificent Measures! The Hausman-Hill Collection of Calculating Instruments is included with general Mercer Museum admission. The Mercer Museum is open Tuesday – Sunday from 10:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m via timed-entry slots. Advance tickets are highly recommended.
Due to the sensitive nature of these objects, kindly refrain from photography in this gallery.
This exhibit is sponsored by:
