Museo Galileo
italiano
Virtual Museum
Air pump, twin barrels, table-top model
    • Setting:
      Room XIII
    • Maker:
      Christophe Bettally
    • Place:
      Paris
    • Date:
      first half 19th cent.
    • Materials:
      wood, brass, glass
    • Dimensions:
      total height 480 mm, base 500x280 mm
    • Inventory:
      1537
    • Air pump, twin barrels, table-top model (Inv. 1537)

The pump, made by Christophe Bettally, is mounted on a wooden base and fitted with two brass barrels. Their pistons carry racks and are operated by a pinion fitted with two handles. A pair of small brass pillars supports the brass frame housing the mechanism. The glass bell-jar rests on a plate connected to the pistons. A stop-cock controls the flow of air between the pistons and the bell-jar. A mercury pressure-gauge or manometer was originally screwed onto the second stop-cock, inserted laterally into the connector between the plate and the barrels. The instrument is a French version of the English pump inv. 1536.