February 1995
Page 28

Some Early Dialling Title Pages and Illustrations

A presentation of historic printed title pages and illustrations from early dialling books, with commentary on their artistic and educational value in the history of sundial literature.
Book Reviews

John Briggs

June 1993
Page 42

Kircher's Sunflower Clock

This article explores Athanasius Kircher's Sunflower Clock, a theoretical and whimsical device described in his 1641 treatise that uses a sunflower's heliotropic movement to indicate time. It discusses the technical and etymological inaccuracy of the term sunclock for sundials, explains the sunflower's mechanism (a pointer against a circular scale), and questions the practicality of such a clock given the plant's limited functional period.
Dials: Unusual

John Briggs