Horological Meandering

This Christmas I noticed a unfamiliar old item on the piano at my father-in-law's house. He's not much for saving old things, or for astronomical speculation. So there had to be a story behind this 1908 device... My sister-in-law revealed that it came out...  

And a fascinating guy, this Neil. Thanks for this post.

Either that or there is a natural cluster of them in your neck of the woods... While the planetarium is the star of the show, the story with the recording devices is truly amazing. Thanks for sharing!

In a strange quirk of fate, Neal moved from his house across the alley to a mansion on the hill, as one does when he is scoring $10,000 a week in royalty checks. He built himself an observatory, complete with revolving dome. At that point in his inventing...  

And what a story - how things happen is sometimes truly amazing

. . . from Neal's belongings, let him know I'll trade a pool cue for it.