A RARE GEORGE III MAHOGANY HODOMETER OR WAYWISERW. AND S. JONES, LONDON, CIRCA 1800With 31.5 inch diameter wheel bound with an iron tyre and with six tapered spokes around a brass hub engaging with take-off gearing contained within the left hand fork of the handle assembly, the right hand fork incorporating a hinged section to allow removal of the wheel with locking via a knurled brass screw, the upper section with inverted 7.25 inch circular silvered register engraved W. & S. Jones, 30 Lower Holborn, London to centre within concentric inner scale calibrated in Roman numeral MILES (I to X) and Arabic Furlongs (0 to 8 for each mile) to be read by the shorter of the two blued steel hands within outer scales calibrated in Poles (0 to 40) and Yards (0 to 220) to be read by the longer hand, set behind a hinged glazed circular moulded wooden bezel beneath elaborate yoke-shaped handle 137cm (54ins) high overall, 32cm (11.5ins) wide at the handle. William and Samuel Jones are recorded in Clifton, Gloria Dictionary of British Scientific Instrument makers 1550-1851 as optical, mathematical and philosophical instrument makers who worked from several addresses in Holborn 1791-1859 including 135 Holborn (1792-1800) and 30 Holborn (1800-1860). Banfield notes that William Jones was apprenticed to the highly regarded maker Benjamin Martin whilst Samuel was apprenticed to George Adams (junior) instrument-maker to George III and optician to the Prince of Wales. The partnership was one of the most important firms of scientific instrument makers of the late Georgian/Regency period and were particularly well known for their microscopes.The current lot would have been a particularly valuable instrument for surveyors charged with creating maps and plans during the latter years of the 18th century. The importance of the instrument's role is reflected in the quality of its construction with the dial in particular being finely engraved and finished. When reviewing comparable surviving instruments of this type it becomes clear that different makers such as Dollond, Thomas Rubergall, William Frazer, and W. and S. Jones appear to have sold essentially identical instruments. This would suggest that they were probably made in one workshop who then supplied them to various makers for retail. One possible candidate for the supplier would be the workshop established by George Adams, as several earlier variants of this design by him are known including an example in the King George III collection housed at The Science Museum, London. This suggests that Adams was used to making such instruments hence was best suited to supply them in reasonable numbers to other makers.