Talk:Centrolinead

Peter Nicholson
I've started an article on Peter Nicholson in a sandbox. It isn't ready to move into the public namespace yet but I have a few references and a few biographical leads so it shouldn't be long before it's ready. Then I'll be able to link it to this article. MegaPedant (talk) 00:55, 23 December 2009 (UTC)
 * I've moved the article to public namespace as Peter Nicholson (architect) and linked it to this article, so it's now less of an orphan than it was. MegaPedant (talk) 01:40, 6 January 2010 (UTC)

Copyright-free diagram
There is a small diagram and a detailed description of the centrolinead here, plus a comparison with a similar device by a rival inventor. I'll try to incorporate some of it in due course, unless someone beats me to it. MegaPedant (talk) 01:23, 23 December 2009 (UTC)
 * Added diagram. MegaPedant (talk) 01:41, 6 January 2010 (UTC)

Factual accuracy
I'm afraid that, having investigated Nicholson's centrolinead as part of the biographical article about him, I dispute much of what is written in this article. The only cited source is a Yahoo! discussion group, which in turn is rife with speculation, opinion and original research. The instrument was actually first produced by Nicholson whilst he was living in Carlisle between 1808 and 1810 (I have two references for this fact, given in the Peter Nicholson (architect) article, though they mis-spell the name of the device). However, he did receive the RSA's Gold Isis Medal and a sum of 20 shillings in 1814, plus the Silver Medal in 1815, in recognition of his work in developing and improving the device. The description of the usage of the instrument seems to refer not to Nicholson's centrolinead but to the rival instrument for the same purpose invented by John Farey and detailed on page 43 of the Bradley reference given above. If no one beats me to it I'll edit the article in due course but I'm afraid the centrolinead is only of secondary interest to me - I'm primarily interested in the history of the skew arch. Nicholson himself gives detailed instructions on how to use the centrolinead in his 1815 publication Treatise on Practical Perspective. MegaPedant (talk) 02:13, 6 January 2010 (UTC)