Seismograph Collection

Seismograph reading taken from the Omori Horizontal pendulum at Birmingham, showing the severity of the tremors during the San Francisco earthquake of 1906

Luigi Palmieri, Italian geophysicist, 1893. Palmieri (1807-1896) was director of the Vesuvius Observatory which monitored the activity of the volcano. In 1855 he invented a seismograph

Luigi Palmieri (1807-1896), Italian geophysicist. Palimieri was director of the Vesuvius Observatory which monitored the activity of the volcano. In 1855 he invented a seismograph

Seismograph on display, Selfridges, Oxford Street, London
Seismograph on display in the Information Bureau, on the third floor of Selfridges department store, Oxford Street, London, used for recording earthquakes. Date: circa 1932

MAURICE EWING (1906-1974). American geophysicist and oceanographer. Seated at a table covered with seismograms. Photograph by Manny Warman, 1951

SEISMOGRAPH, c1920. American seismograph for detecting earthquakes. Photograph, c1920

Seismograph

Seismic measuring device, Nisyros volcano
Seismic measuring device in the crater of the Nisyros volcano. It is covered in sulphur deposits. Photographed on the Greek island of Nisyros

All Professionally Made to Order for Quick Shipping

Discover the past through the lens of science: this historic seismograph reading, taken from the Omori Horizontal pendulum at Birmingham during the devastating San Francisco earthquake of 1906, bears witness to the raw power of nature. Italian geophysicist Luigi Palmieri, director of the Geophysical Institute of Naples, pioneered the development of seismographs in the late 19th century. Fast forward to the 1920s, and American geophysicist Maurice Ewing's seismograph, on display at Selfridges, Oxford Street, London, revolutionized earthquake detection. Meanwhile, at the Nisyros volcano, a modern seismic measuring device continues to monitor the restless earth, capturing the rhythmic dance of tectonic plates beneath the surface.