A mid to late Victorian brass-cased pocket hygrometer, or damp detector, 1.5 inch (3.8 cms) in diameter, by an unknown maker.


In lovely condition, working, in its original velvet lined morocco case with brass hook-and-eye catch and hinge.

Pocket damp-detectors from the Victorian period and earlier are particularly hard to find. Amongst their other uses was enabling travellers to test for damp bedding in lodging houses.