Nickolai Galaktionovich Chizhov
(1731 – 1767)
The first-class Russian
instrument-maker, a skilled craftsman of “tools (instrumental)
art” who became famous due to the highest and unsurpassed
(at his times) quality of his complicated devices and scientific
instruments; he was especially interested in design of the exact
sand-glass.
Nickolai Galaktionovich was born in Moscow in 1731 into a family
of a “workman” Galaktion Chizhov, a typesetter of a
synodal printing-house. His father spoke German, Latin and Greece
perfectly and he was considered to be the best expert of printing
in Moscow. In 1732 he was sent to the St.Petersburg Academy of Sciences
to take up the post of a typesetter at the Russian printing-house.
However, after publishing a scandalous book Galaktion was summoned
for interrogation, arrested and till that time nobody heard anything
about him. Having lost his bread-winner, his wife and two little
sons – Alexey and Nickolai – “suffered great deprivations”
over many years.
In February of 1741 10-years old Nickolai Chizhov submitted a petition
to the Academy of Sciences with humble request to take him as “an
apprentice of instrumental chamber for learning of instrumental
art”. Here is the part of one of the documents that are kept
in the Academy Sciences archive:
“According to a decree of Her Emperor Majesty, to decision
of Academy of Sciences and to petition of instrumental art apprentice
Nickolai Chizhov that was submitted on past 31-st of March of this
year of 1742, Nickolai Chizhov after getting evidence about his
knowledge in this skill is allowed to be an apprentice of instrumental
art for the Expedition laboratory department of mechanical and instrumental
sciences. Her Emperor Majesty has granted him a salary from the
first day of past September of this year at the rate of one ruble
a month, all in all 12 rubles a year. His name Nickolai Chizhov
must be included into the granted list of the other academic attendants
and a commissar has to be aware of that”.
There has been preserved a positive report of F. N. Tirutin who
was the head of instrumental chamber of the Academy of Sciences.
He characterized Nickolai Chizhov as “a person of a good temper
who has abilities and a diligence in learning an instrumental skill;
he has not got both fines and penalties and was not suspected in
wrong intents”. In 1756 Chizhov was promoted to “a journeyman
of instrumental craft”. He was an excellent master with a
good knowledge of English. In that year he could afford to buy his
own house.
Since 1758 in addition to his main job for the instrumental chamber,
where he as the most proficient master was engaged in making the
most complicated machines, Nickolai Galaktionovitch began to fulfill
some commissions of the Academy of Sciences Chancellery and other
state institutions. For example, he studied all kinds of guns for
one month, made test samples and 38 gun aiming devices when he was
working for the Central Chancellery of Artillery.
In 1759 by the decision of Academy of Sciences Chancellery he was
appointed to teach skill of instrument-making new apprentices of
instrumental chamber. He began this work at the same time with making
new scientific instruments and two “universal sand-glasses
with a compass”. The same year Nickolai Galaktionovitch was
sent to Great Britain for one year. It was deemed to be a great
privilege to have a chance to go abroad and learn there new skills
from foreign masters, and this opportunity was given only to selected
and most talented masters of instrumental art.
The famous London optician George Adams to whom Nickolai Chizhov
came to learn new skills first of all tested his Russian apprentice
in practice, giving him a task to make two very complicated artillery
quadrants (gunner’s clinometer). It took Chizhov less than
a month to make these quadrants The high quality of these instruments
made George Adams to believe that he had a deal not with an ordinary
pupil who he usually taught in his workshop but with a mature and
experienced master in spite of his young age.
George Adams did not try to think off any new things which could
widen the knowledge of his Russian pupil, but he decided just to
use him as an excellent master for implementing different orders
he got. Nickolai Galaktionovitch was given a task to make “a
telescope with compass”, “astrolabe with telescope and
water-level” and with an “observatory quadrant”.
He fulfilled this task quickly and at the highest technical level.
Besides Adams Chizhov visited Jonathan Sisson, a greatest master
of “mathematical instruments”, the famous specialist
in making microscopes John Kaff and the well-known London masters
John Bird and James Short who were specialized in making astronomic
tools and some other instrument-making experts. Working side by
side with English instrument-making experts and studying their skills
Chizhov found out to his surprise that he could not find anything
new in their approaches.
After he had got acquainted with the system of production in London
workshops Nickolai Galaktionovitch felt absolutely convinced, that
there is nothing particular in their craftsmanship, that he himself
and those Russian master who had taught him - Golinin and Tiurin
are better at the instrumental art than those “English artists”
who were claimed to be the best. And so, he had nothing to be taught
from them. He addressed the Academy, asking for the permission to
return to Petersburg ahead of schedule.
After coming back from London Chizhov constructed a quadrant, which
as the Chancellery had decided, was sent to the scientific society
of the Academy in order “to have a proof of instrumental art”
mastering. The professor Adam Brown, Tzeiger and Apinus presented
their report to the Chancellery which said: “Having considered
the astronomic quadrant ,made by the submaster Chizhov, we observed
that this quadrant is made with all the required diligence, and
that the above mentioned Chizhov , who created the instrument, was
able to show clearly his wits and his skill in the art, as the instrument
in all its parts is made very properly, and that is why that person,
Chizhov for all that he has learnt in the art of instrument–making
from all the aspects can be bestowed the title of a master , besides
he has to be encouraged in a fair way and be helped, in a view to
his further progressing in the art”.
In the year of 1762 Nickolai Galaktionovich got the title of “a
master of tools art“ for the abilities he demonstrated in
the constructing of the new models of scientific instruments and
the profound interest in this art. He was appointed the head of
the turnery at the Academy of Science and then got a permission
he had been long waiting for, to produce “after his own design
the new equatorial sand-glass clock“ and not one but three
at once. Chizhov was poring over the clocks from the August 1761
up to April 1762, and at the same time he was carrying out the regular
commission from the Chancellery - a “compass with a telescope”,
i.e. a level. There is an absolutely unusually designed sand-glass
clock on display among some other scientific tools of the XVIII
century at the State Historic Museum. The clock has an inscription
which reads “Thought off and made by Nickolai Chizhov-1761”.
It must be one of the three “equatorial” clocks, which
he made that year.
|
The famous Russian draftsman an etcher Michael Ivanovitch
Mahaev reported about the works, produced in 1762, referring
to some other, wall clock, which was invented and created
by Nickolai Galactionovich Chizhov, and he remarks that:
”... forthe wall clock on the copper discus, as the
master Chizhov invented, there are Roman and Arab numbers
inscribed and on the other one there are cities with their
latitude”. The fact the cities and latitude are mentioned,
gives us the clue to consider the wall clock, as many others
by Chizhov, of a sun-glass type.
|
In 1763 Nickolai Galaktionovich was appointed to head another
chamber(department) of the Academy: the instrumental department
( in the place of Tuirytin who retired). And during the very
first half a year of his work Chizhov, who had always been interested
inn designing and making of different types of sand-glass clocks,
produced six of them with his apprentices. Two of them, “Big
and lesser” ones were made by him in January , three of
various type(“manner”)- during February and March,
and one- on the ‘base with a compass”- during April,
May and June.
|
The specific feature of Chizhov’s technical designing
was that he was able to do various things. Unlike the overwhelming
majority of West European masters, who could do no more
than two jobs a t the same time, Chizhov managed to carry
out quite a few and apart from this different types of projects,
of various level of complexity. He spent much time, producing
after his own design , instruments and tools, which were
distinguished by their top quality, according to his contemporaries.
_____________________________________________________
|
In 1767, when he was 36, after some hard disease,
he died. It appeared to be a heavy loss for the Academy of Science
and many other state enterprises and individuals, who were using
the instruments after his designs: astronomic quadrants, mirror
telescopes, looking glasses, astrolabes, levels, compasses, plane-tables,
cases of drawing instruments, sand-glasses and other scientific
equipment. They were convenient to use, they were created in a
refined way and with accuracy, the instruments gave the opportunity
to reach the best results in academic researches, in different
astronomic and geodesic measurements and so on. Neither before
Chizhov, nor for a long time after him none Russian master of
“tool art” constructed such accurate instruments.
The St.Petersburg Watch&Clock Atelier
The Centre of Watch&Clock Restoration
off. 36, Malodetskoselskiy pr.
St.Petersburg, 190013, Russia
phones: +7 (812) 703-17-56
+7 (812) 316-56-39
+7 (812) 911-02-71
mail@clockmaker.ru
|
 |
|
