Shadows That Tell Time: The Christopher St. J.H. Daniel Archive Collection

The NAWCC Library and Research Center at the National Watch & Clock Museum recently received an amazing gift – seventy 9" x 11" boxes, plus additional negatives, books, and journals that comprise the collection of Christopher St. J. H. Daniel, an expert on sundials and their design. It is my welcome task to help organize and describe these items, in order to make them more accessible to researchers interested in this fascinating topic.

After an initial career at sea, Mr. Daniel joined the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich in 1964 where his curatorial duties led him to the study of gnomonics, or the art of dialing. Early on he advised others on the general principles of sundials and the proper measurements and markings required. Soon he was designing them, including the Dolphin Equinoctial Mean-Time Sundial at the Royal Observatory in Greenwich, which honored the Silver Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II in 1977. The tails of two dolphins, sculpted by Edwin Russell of Brookbrae Limited of London, cast the shadows that tell the time.

Dolphin Equinoctial Mean-Time Sundial at the Royal Observatory in Greenwich

In 1986, Daniel left the museum to pursue his career as a sundial designer. His story unfolds, not in narrative text, but with the opening of each box, and with the original photographs, sketches, and correspondence that lie inside. An exact scientist and careful observer, Daniel organized his collection so that each item provides context to the sundials he designed. His notes for a 1968 sundial at Sturry in Kent discuss Britain’s intent to enter the “Common Market,” requiring “the new time arrangement . . . known as British Standard Time.” Letters from the surveyor of Westminster Abbey, regarding Daniel’s 1982 work on the vertical sundials of St. Margaret’s Church, caution not to obstruct the view of the bell-ringers, who must look out the windows to check the time.

Mr. Daniel's Sketch of his design for the Dolphin Equinoctial Mean-Time Sundial

For now, we're observing the archival principle of original order, maintaining Daniel’s arrangement in order to preserve the context it conveys. The contents of each box will be described in summary, and each item will eventually be numbered. Science, history, art, and the work of a lifetime – they’re all represented in the Daniel collection. I look forward to opening more boxes.

Lynn Schuessler
NAWCC Library and Research Center Volunteer