Meteorology is the scientific study of the atmosphere and weather, and in the antiques world the term refers to the instruments made to observe and record it. These include barometers for measuring air pressure, thermometers, hygrometers for humidity, barographs that trace pressure on a paper chart, rain gauges, anemometers and weather vanes.
Interest in measuring the weather grew rapidly after the invention of the mercury barometer by Evangelista Torricelli in the seventeenth century, and by the eighteenth century stick and wheel barometers had become fashionable fixtures in English country houses, combining scientific purpose with fine cabinetwork. The Victorian period brought widespread public interest in forecasting, aided by figures such as Admiral Robert FitzRoy, and instruments were made in large numbers for homes, schools, coastguard stations and fishing communities. The aneroid barometer, which uses a sealed metal capsule rather than mercury, made compact and portable instruments possible. Collectors value instruments by recognised makers, original dials and scales, good veneers and cases, and working mechanisms. Mercury barometers must be transported carefully and upright with the tube sealed, and restoration should be left to a specialist familiar with these delicate instruments.
