Plane table outfit

Made:: 1750-1766 in London

maker:: Benjamin Cole and Son; Benjamin Cole

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Plane table outfit by Benjamin Cole, 1750-1766. From a colour transparency in the Science Museum Photographic Archive.
Science Museum Group Collection
© The Board of Trustees of the Science Museum

Plane table outfit by Benjamin Cole, 1750-1766

This plane table was made by Benjamin Cole. Plane tabling is a method of survey which allows observations to be plotted directly on a map by a surveyor in the field. Modern versions are still used today for filling in or updating detail on street plans; in the 18th century it gave a rapid map without requiring the transfer of notes and measurements from a notebook.

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Science Museum: Making the Modern World Gallery

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Details

Category:: Surveying

Object Number:: 1933-7

type:: plane table

taxonomy:

furnishing and equipment
tools & equipment
surveying instrument
plane table

credit:: Stevens's Auction Rooms Ltd.

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