I just saw something that jogged my memory that I was going to post a question here for those aware of recording conditions pre-electronics.
When I was a kid in the early 1960s, I went to a Dept of Natural Resources educational camp for a long weekend, something that those from each high school in the state with science oriented kids could choose to send, part of an outreach program they had back then.
In addition to getting bussed to a bunch of log cabin dorm type rooms, having rustic adventures and spending time learning about hydroelectric power, kinds of trees, bears, and rustic cooking, the Ranger Station had a weather observation area, which alas was not part of the program, but the guy recording the statistics was friendly enough to let some of us help or watch.
I think that the barometer (which recorded on a graph) was a Bendix-Freiz (sp?) and even for that time was expensive beyond a hobbyist's dream, the wind direction and such was a vague memory but I do remember it being super cool.
Inside the Stevenson Shield located with the big rain gauge away from the trees were a few other things, of which I remember two thermometers. They were almost certainly mercury filled, and were located almost horizontally, but with a slight tip down on one end. The temps could be read directly, of course, but I recall they had a little slider that got pushed by the mercury to indicate the max and min of the day. The were sort of like the Taylor Max Min but that setup had the thermometers vertical and not lying down, so to speak.
Does anyone recall seeing something like that from the old days?
My question is, what were those thermometers? I've never seen anything that identifies them, although a few pictures of Stevenson Shields I've seen here and on google search show something similar. I've not seen anything like that in the eBay offerings even though occassionally there are some very old, pre-electronic devices offered.
Thanks for any leads on these, or discussion.
Dale
