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tline3open  Gills vs. Pints- Why a difference?

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Author Topic:   Gills vs. Pints- Why a difference?
carlaz

Posts: 239
Registered: Jan 2001

iconnumber posted 03-01-2006 04:02 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for carlaz     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
I have a general question regarding hollowware and when the Gills measurement vs. Pints measurement was used, and when both were used. Would it be incorrect to assume that if the piece had 'gills' for measurement, that is was intended for export to England? If so, why would the pieces not be marked with a sterling stamp and an import mark? Also, why was Tiffany the only manufacturer (that I am aware of) that used the Gills measurement? I have not seen it on any other USA manufacturers.

I'm just curious because I am having so much fun trying to convert Gills to Pints it is like I am having flashbacks to highschool Algebra class all over again frown !

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Scott Martin
Forum Master

Posts: 11520
Registered: Apr 93

iconnumber posted 03-02-2006 02:44 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for Scott Martin     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
I don't really understand the nuances of weights and measure standards but I suspect your answer is mixed up in the timing of those standards and the refinement of those standards.

This stuff makes my head spin but maybe you can make some sense of it. smile

quote:
The following is from the Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition

English units of measurement

English units of measurement, principal system of weights and measures used in a few nations, the only major industrial one being the United States. It actually consists of two related systems-the U.S. Customary System of units, used in the United States and dependencies, and the British Imperial System. The names of the units and the relationships between them are generally the same in both systems, but the sizes of the units differ, sometimes considerably.

Differences between American and British Systems

Many American units of weights and measures are based on units in use in Great Britain before 1824, when the British Imperial System was established. Since the Mendenhall Order of 1893, the U.S. yard and pound and all other units derived from them have been defined in terms of the metric units of length and mass, the meter and the kilogram; thus, there is no longer any direct relationship between American units and British units of the same name. In 1959 an international agreement was reached among English-speaking nations to use the same metric equivalents for the yard and pound for purposes of science and technology; these values are 1 yd=0.9144 meter (m) and 1 lb=0.45359237 kilogram (kg). In the United States, the older definition of the yard as 3,600/3,937 m is still used for surveying, the corresponding foot (1,200/3,937 m) being known as the survey foot.

The English units of measurement have many drawbacks: the complexity of converting from one unit to another, the differences between American and British units, the use of the same name for different units (e.g., ounce for both weight and liquid capacity, quart and pint for both liquid and dry capacity), and the existence of three different systems of weights (avoirdupois, troy, and apothecaries'). Because of these disadvantages and because of the wide use of the much simpler metric system in most other parts of the world, there have been proposals to do away with the U.S. Customary System and replace it with the metric system.


from the dictionary:
Gill- A unit of volume or capacity in the U.S. Customary System, used in liquid measure, equal to 1/4 of a pint or four ounces (118 milliliters).

Hunting around I found the following:

    1 gill (British) is equal to 1.20 gill (US)
    1 pint (British) is equal to 4.00 gills (British)
    1 pint (British) is equal to 4.80 gills (US)
    1 pint (British) is equal to 1.03 pints (US, dry)
    1 pint (British) is equal to 1.20 pints (US, liquid)


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Dale

Posts: 2132
Registered: Nov 2002

iconnumber posted 03-02-2006 06:49 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Dale     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Perhaps this is done so you can buy things with groats and farthings? Very complicated. The only advantage I can see is that it is easy to visually divide these things into halfs and then quarters. Which is useful in baking and other artisan undertakings.

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