Tourist Souvenir Snaefell Summit Pencil
Date made: mid 20th century
Description: Tourist souvenir pencil, Souvenir of Snaefell summit before the Ordnance Survey changed the height. 2034 foot.
Fannin in his map of 1789 quotes a height of 580 yards (1740 ft) above the sea level - this he probably arrived at by personal observation. Berger in his geological map of 1814 gives a height of 2000 ft (which was copied by Smythe in his 1826 and thus further copied by many others) - it is possible that this value was that determined by the original triangulation of the Ordnance Survey which used Snaefell. Cary in 1816 quotes 2004 ft...which value found its way into several guidebooks. In 1838 the retriangulation of Great Britain by the Ordnance Survey took place and although they used South Barrule they would have redetermined the heights of the major mountains. In 1861 Stanford uses a value of 2024 ft which was then replaced by the 2034 determined by the Ordnance survey of 1868. (Manx Notebook).
Measurements: overall: 17.8 cm x .8 cm
Materials: wood
Object name: pencil
Collection: Social History Collection
ID Number: 1980-0285
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