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Martin's huge multiplication table |
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The moment I touched this sheet of paper I
knew I had to have it for my collection. Over the years I’ve
developed a good sense for antique books and documents, and the feel
of this one –- the thick paper’s rigidity, its rough texture, its
non-uniformity –- all these told me that this item went back a couple of
centuries at least. The cover informs us that this is a “Table of multiplication in decimal layout ,with the conversions of the empire weights and measures; by M. Martin, Author of the Régulateur Universel, and corresponding member of the Paris Academic Society of Sciences”. |
 Click photo to enlarge |
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 Click photo to enlarge |
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And indeed, this sheet of paper, 76.5 by 54.4 cm but folded to fit in a small book-like cover, has two functions. Most of its area is a big multiplication table, like the “times tables” we used to have on the backs of our copybooks in elementary school -- except that those went up to 10x10, and this one is 100x100. And at the two edges of this table is a collection of smaller tables for converting between the “poids et mesures de l’empire” and their equivalents in the metric system. There are tables to convert Toises (a length of some 195 cm), Aunes de Paris (about 119 cm), Livres poids de marc (about 490 gram), and other units that were in daily use in times past but that nobody remembers today. |
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Here are some details from the area around the central table:
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 Click a photo to enlarge |
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 Click a photo to enlarge |
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The last two photos above make reference to
the use of a “Comparateur” to facilitate reading the tables. This
device is a bit of a mystery, since it is clearly missing. The
reference to openings in the comparateur, through which the correct
numbers can be read, makes it likely that it was a small template
with cutouts, similar to one that was provided with Martin’s book
that I mention below. I found the image at right of that device. There is no date on this document, but the units conversion is a dead giveaway: the need to convert into metric places it after the French revolution of 1789, when the French took a break from chopping off heads to attend to rationalizing their system of measures, but not too long after the change (which formally took place in 1795) so that the old units were still around and needed to be converted. Bottom line, we’re looking at a publication date around 1800 -- most likely during the rule of Napoleon Bonaparte. |
 Click photo to enlarge |
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And who is the author, M. Martin? He was, we are told on the
cover, a corresponding member of the Société Académique des Sciences
de Paris, a society that was disbanded in 1821. He was also the
author of something titled Le Régulateur Universel. This last
fact is fortunate, for it gives Google something to sink its teeth
into. Thus we find a book titled Le Régulateur Universel des
poids et mesures, by C.-F. Martin, which was published with editions
in 1809, 1815, 1817 and 1820. This book can still be found today in
auctions and antiquaries, and a full Google Books scan of it can be
seen
here. Surprisingly, a modern reprint of the book is still
available
from Amazon! Evidently Monsieur Martin had a great love for laboriously constructing tables; his book, at some 500 pages, is composed entirely of conversion tables of every kind. This makes sense because on the title page he is also described as an “ancien commis de marine”, which means retired naval clerk -- a functionary whose work revolved around meticulous record-keeping. I would die of boredom if I had to create such a book (and without electronic aids, mind you) -- but then I was never a naval clerk, was I? |
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Exhibit provenance: I bought this item at the swap session in one of the international meetings of slide rule collectors. |
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