Joseph Roper

Joseph Roper was a jeweller, watchmaker and scientific instrument maker in St John’s Newfoundland. He began work in around 1893, taking over the business of a J.A. Whiteford. Clocks seem to have always been a main part of his business—his first advertisements offered “a large assortment of American CLOCKS suitable for houses, offices and churches.” (Evening Telegram May 8, 1893, pg 1) Thoughout his career, clocks seem to have been central. He was involved with the refurbishment or installation of local civic clocks, including two in Newfoundland courthouses—St John’s and Trinity.

Like many makers of this period, a substantial portion of his work would have been sales, repair or (in this case) engraving, but he almost certainly made instruments as well—the act of repair required the manufacture or adjustment of new parts, meaning most people who did repairs also occasionally manufactured. Most of the instruments Roper either repaired or manufactured would have been maritime navigational instruments, which may include this sextant. With St John’s a significant, active port through the 19^th century and into the 20th, it’s not surprising that Roper was able to do good business in the city.

The sextant has Roper's signature engraved around the rim, alongside the word "English", which implies Roper did not completely manufacture the sextant himself but imported it from an anonymous English maker. Instruments with precisely engraved scales would have required a piece of highly specialised equipment, a measuring engine--it may be that Roper, like many makers of his scale and calibre, did not own one. He may, however, have manufactured or assembled other parts of the instrument. The engraving work is clearly his; engraving was certainly a major part of Roper's work, especially into the 20th century.  

In addition to his work with clocks and maritime instruments, he was also engaged in repairs to lighthouse clockwork mechanisms, designed to turn the lenses that cause the lighthouse to flash. With this important government work, Roper appears to have been the most prominent instrument and clock maker in St. John’s at the turn of the century and his business was successful enough to hire employees, including his son, Henry, and was apparently active until his death in 1921.