THE HIPP CHRONOSCOPE

The letter is dated the March 5, 1849. The signature says “M. Hipp, mechanic,” not
‘clockmaker.’
Hipp’s letter gives information about the battery needed. It also says that the chronoscope is
able to measure the 500 th part of a sec. In addition, Hipp offers a description of how to use the
levers when starting and stopping the clock. He underscores that before starting the
measurment the clock movement should run for a few seconds. He then adds some results of
tests concerning the gravity law he had conducted with Oelschläger. The letter lists the times
for three different heights of fall. At the end, Hipp asks the customer to recommend the
chronoscope and to pay to a bank in Frankfurt.
This early chronoscope located in Utrecht is extraordinary and very important. It is the oldest
known Hipp chronoscope today.
Figure 3 (a): Chronoscope signed “M. Hipp in Reutlingen” (1849)
Utrecht University Museum, Inventory No. ME-30 (Photograph by Jan Deimann)
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