The Packet

Under pressure. A century of history. Judge not.

I love the photo and short piece about the HBC field barometer (Trading Post, December 2020-January 2021). The American company that in 1900 purchased the Tycos brand of barometers was still making very similar models of that instrument as recently as the 1950s or 1960s. Also, as you can see on the outer portion of the dial, the instrument is actually an altimeter, too — which may have been of more use to an HBC employee in the field at times, to measure the altitude or altitude gain of some particular place or route. Field barometers lack a key piece that most barometers found in homes, or labs, or weather stations include: the “set hand,” a second adjustable needle that the user can rotate, via a knurled knob, to temporarily record the position of the indicator needle. That way, when the barometer is next consulted, the user can tell if the atmospheric pressure has increased or decreased. With barometer-based forecasting, it’s this trend — falling or rising — that’s nearly always far more significant than the pressure reading on the dial.

Feliks Banel host and resident historian KIRO Radio 97.3 FM, Seattle

Feliks Banel’s field barometer, right, is shown next to the barometer depicted in the Trading Post department in the December 2020-January 2021 issue of Canada’s History.