Need help for an antique thermometer

[Cem]

Hello, I am Cem and I'm from Istanbul. I would like to ask you for a favour. My grandfather's father was a pharmacist in Istanbul when there was Ottoman Empire so naturally he had some medical equipments related to pharmacy. I have an antique thermometer in its box but I can't google it because I can't read what is written inside. I guess it can be French or Greek. I am here to find out what is written inside but it will be good to learn the estimated price of it. The thermometer is about 100 years old. I don't know maybe it is not a valuable thing.

Thanks
Cem

[mart]

I am sorry but have found little to compare this to !!  I did check on other antique clinical thermometers and they are around $30. USD !! It may bring more where you are !!

[Cem]

Thanks for your reply, mart. I will search in the Internet as "antique clinical thermometers". I was looking only for "antique thermometers" but now I see more similar results as searching "clinical" one.

[Mat]

Hi, it is neither French nor Greek, looks Cyrillic to me, so maybe of Russian origin?
Mat

[Mat]

Here is one by Fabergé, just to compare the shape. (Yours is certainly not Faberge, so the price will be another, of course)
http://phisick.com/article/why-collect/how-much-is-an-antique-worth/

[Cem]

I just learned that it is Russian. It is "Celsius O. Richter [surname of the owner, probably]
S. Petersburg" It is what a Russian wrote to me.

Thanks for your help, Mat. I have looked at that website/thermometer. I wish my thermometer could be valuable as that one. It is interesting  that I can't still find any similar images for the thermometer.

[mart]

Wow !!  Didn`t even know that Faberge made thermometers  !!

[KC]

Yep Cem you beat me to it with the Russian and what it means!  Back then you would have the docs name on it definitely and then the city.

This one has a nice grip end on it.  Is the grip cap brass?

[Cem]

I am happy finally to find out what is written but I can't still find any images related to it. By the way, yes it is brass, KC. I don't know maybe it is a cheap copy of Faberge? I see lots of famous names of the workmasters (especially of Faberge) while searching. I had only one result about O.Richter, the workmaster of the thermometer which I have but it is about a protractor.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/VERY-RARE-O-RICHTER-PROTRACTOR-SAINT-PETERSBURG-RUSSIA-1800-1900-/321795112383

[Mat]

I would not call it a cheap copy, rather a piece of the same period as the Fabergé thermometer, made for use. If I were a doctor and had a Fabergé thermometer, I would not dare to use it every day!

[KC]

I don't believe it is a copy either!  It is just a style of a higher end clinical thermometer!  They were NOT reknowned for making knock-offs for clinical thermometers back in that time!

[Ipcress]

I just learned that it is Russian. It is "Celsius O. Richter [surname of the owner, probably]
S. Petersburg" It is what a Russian wrote to me.

Thanks for your help, Mat. I have looked at that website/thermometer. I wish my thermometer could be valuable as that one. It is interesting  that I can't still find any similar images for the thermometer.

This is their shop



This lot includes a barometer bearing the Richter name

http://www.bonhams.com/auctions/18912/lot/273/

[talesofthesevenseas]

This might be a bath thermometer. I'm posting a link to a previous discussion on my bath thermometer that might have some helpful info. Therapeutic bathing was very popular at about the turn of the century.
http://www.antique-shop.com/forums/index.php?topic=8199.msg39288#msg39288

[Cem]

Yes talesofthesevenseas, it might be a bath thermometer but as you can see the images that I have only one case of it. Maybe there would be another parts of it but they were lost so long ago. I thank you all for your interest and help. I also thank you Ipcress for the link, I will contact Bonhams about the thermometer.

[mart]

Let us know what you find out about it !!