The Apologia wheel

[Clarkie]

Re the Apologia wheel (Bessler Wiki, drawings), why is it so inacuratly drawn.

The white bits vary from 25 to 26.5 degrees and the black bits from 92 to 95 degrees.

Pete.

[KAS]

Perhaps its a clue.

As you may be aware I think it relates to a reverse scissor jack design which would mean that the angles would change.

Alternatively, the black bits could represent a solid or weights and the white, spaces with a fulcrum in the centre. The black sections could then swivel around in the device.

Either that or that it was just drawn roughly and inaccurately.


I wish could get inside Besslers head sometimes to discover his reasoning.

Kas

[Stewart]

I think that small margin of error is not surprising for a woodcut.

While we're on the subject of the AP image, I remember seeing before Christmas in another topic someone asking if the black and white spotted effect was deliberate. I think someone else said it wasn't and that it was an issue with the woodcut process. I can't find the original post, so I might have have misunderstood. Anyway, I disagree with this, as it would have been far easier for Bessler to have made the image solid black. Whatever was stamped on the page was definitely pitted. If you look closely at the image you can see an even line of dots around the edges of those areas. I've attached an image where I've removed all the other dots to show you what I mean, but look at the original as it stands out more. I imagine Bessler using a pointed tool to make the holes in the wood around the edges first and then filling it in with random holes. The question is why did he want to texture those areas? I've had a number of ideas as to what the image represents, and each time I come up with an idea I feel sure it can't possibly be anything else! One of them may be right, but I can't prove any of them yet. Oh well, I'll keep trying!

Stewart

[LustInBlack]

Stew,

It was my topic you talk about..

I still believe it can be deliberate, I don't know anything about wood carving but if it is done on purpose, there are some lineraity of the dots, they follow a path .. I bet there is a path hidden in there ..

[Stewart]

LIB,

It was my topic you talk about.. I still believe it can be deliberate,

Thanks, I was agreeing with you then. I think it is a deliberately created texture effect. It appears that the shapes are randomly filled with dots except for the line around the outside, but if you can see a pattern then please point it out.

Stew

[LustInBlack]

I printed the apologia wheel and I fixed it in on my wall, I look at it every day trying to figure out what it means..

I can see that many curved lines form on the edge, you say that the outer lines are form, but if you count one dot up, it's also a curve.. Looks like there are many curves concentrically going to the center..

I don't see more than that yet.. Maybe we must follow the black filling as a negative, instead of the white dots .. !?

[Stewart]

I'm very doubtful that there is some specific pattern in the dots. I think if there was a pattern there it would be immediately obvious. It would certainly be possible for Bessler to arrange the dots in any way he wanted, given enough time, but I think it would be very difficult to make sure each time it was printed that every dot was replicated consistently. The woodcut image is quite small (about 8cm in diameter), so it would be difficult to make sure that all of the small holes did not fill up with ink and therefore not appear as white dots but part of the black surrounding instead.

Stew

[LustInBlack]

Hmm .. I am not sure what to think now, you say it must have been a patten then you say that there is no pattern .. !?

What you are implying is that there is a texture deliberately drawn into the wheel to show something !?

[Stewart]

Ralph,

In another topic you posted an image sent to you by Denis in Germany which had the AP image at its centre. You reported that he claimed he had seen this image in a document/book called "Harmonie". Have you managed to find a copy of this document yet? If it does exist in a document that pre-dates AP then it's obviously important to read that document and understand what the image represents. Thanks for any info you can give on this.

All the best
Stewart

EDIT: Sorry, I may have got the wrong end of the stick here. I found the topic you posted in and I am just re-reading it. It seems "Harmonie" was the title Denis gave the image. Any update on this appreciated Ralph. Thanks.

[Stewart]

Hmm .. I am not sure what to think now, you say it must have been a patten then you say that there is no pattern .. !?

What you are implying is that there is a texture deliberately drawn into the wheel to show something !?

Regarding the seemingly random dots: I didn't say there was a pattern. I also can't say there isn't a pattern, but I can't see a pattern. However, I can see a fairly uniform line of dots that outlines those areas. What I was trying to say is that the dots are definitely there on purpose, for whatever reason. The most likely reason in my mind at the moment is it is a way of simulating a certain surface texture or material. There must be some reason though for making it dotted, as it would be much easier to produce a simple black and white image.

Stew

[ovyyus]

I think it's just a texture fill - a way of ink filling these spaces with shading other than solid black. The reason might be purely for design esthetics or it could be to conserve ink and/or prevent ink saturation of the paper while still indicating an area of substance. IMO, creating a starting row of dots around the outside edge of the fill area would be a natural way to start the dotted fill texture in order to keep it relatively even across the area right up to the edges.

[rlortie]

Stewart,

In response to your above request, you will be contacted by PM with more material than I can or wish to reveal here at this time!

Ralph

[ovyyus]

LIB asked about examining the drawing in negative. I think the fill texture and the way the dots start out more orderly around the edges of the fill areas seems more apparent when the image is inverted.

[rlortie]

I agree with Ovyyus, it is texture fill. Even in Besslers time drafting was done with great care. There were designated texture patterns used to identify a given material.

I still have drafting books dating back to the early 1900's that have the meaning or identification of such texturing. It is also a way to limit the amount of ink required to preventing bleeding. Especially when using woodcuts or copper etched plates.

Normally close space diagonal lines would have been used indicating a solid material, but due to the design of this depiction it would have caused a misleading optical illusion!

Ralph

[LustInBlack]

Hmm I can only guess..

3 gas chambers!?

Or, stars in the universe!? ..

Random stars in the sky . ..
The three planets presented using the three triangles and the center being !? ..

Looks like this wheel screams Orbit !? ..