Matthew Berge - London. Early 19th Century mahogany Stick Barometer

Excellent flat-to-the-wall mahogany Stick Barometer in original condition; the arched top with finely engraved silvered brass register plate, signed by the maker, bearing manually operated vernier The trunk, edge-moulded and veneered in figured mahogany, with original offset cistern tube, terminating within unusual urn-shaped cistern cover.

By dint of his position as Workshop Manager of the business of Jesse Ramsden - one of the finest and most innovative of barometer makers ever - Berge had been effectively responsible for the firm's output for a considerable time. Hence the seamless continuation of finest quality products after he inherited the business on Ramsden's death in 1800. The firm became Worthington and Allan on his death in 1819