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- Inside Antiques,
by Robert Reed
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- Inside Antiques:
- That Grand, Glorious And Collectible Compass
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- By Robert Reed
Consider the grand and glorious compass.
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 It has been pointing
the way on land and sea for centuries and it is not surprising
that the enduring directional device has a following of collectors.
The compass has served many purposes, from escape and survival
to surveying land and helping both Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts
improve their wilderness skills. It has guided ships and even
helped in mines.
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- A larger compass might be cased in quality hardwood and a
pocket compass with a metal casing might be further protected
with a leather pocket.
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- “Pocket compasses are intriguing,” observes Kornelia
Takacs author of the comprehensive book, Compass Chronicles.
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- “They are relatively simple in construction, but quite
elegant,” notes the longtime collector. “Their variety
of styles is expressed in the skill and craftsmanship that was
an essential part of their creation. They were practical, unique,
and metaphorical. I certainly did not imagine the incredible
variety when I first became interested in the subject.”
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- Most historians credit the Chinese with developing the compass
long centuries ago although it became more of a navigational
device in other cultures. Its function was simple. In the magnetic
compass a needle indicator aligned itself with the earth’s
magnetic lines of force. Because these lines run generally north
and south, the compass needle is inclined to point northward
offering a near-accurate direction.
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- While the pocket compass was small and handy, there were
other much larger models for various purposes. The surveyor’s
compass could be adapted to other equipment including a plane-table
and a sliding scale known as a vernier. The ship’s compass
was obvious in steadily noting the direction of the sailing vessel.
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- By the 1700s, certain makers were involved in the business
of making precision instruments for surveying including the use
of the compass. One elaborate model from Butterfield in Paris
included a silver horizontal dial and a finely engraved eight-sided
plate. The opening for the compass itself included fancy engravings
and other decorations. A quality example of a Butterfield piece
today would command a price of thousands of dollars.
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 Because of the quality
of many surveying compasses the maker generally was proud to
add their name to the product. Among the most notable of the
18th and early 19th centuries were Chandlee & Holloway of
Baltimore, James Reed and Company of Pittsburgh, E. & G.
W. Blunt of New York, Brown and Hunt of New York, Meneely &
Oothout of West Troy, New York, and Benjamin Hanks of Connecticut.
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- Other survey compass makers of significance included Abner
Dodd, Keuffel & Esser, W.J. Young and Company, Benjamin Pike,
W. and L. E. Gurley, and Ziba Blakslee.
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- Throughout the 19th century manufacture and use of various
compass types from basic pocket forms to magnificent surveyor’s
models continued to increase. The 1895 Montgomery Ward and Company
catalog, for example, was filled with compass choices.
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- Among their offerings were compasses styled like a pocket
watch with brass or nickel plated hinged covers. They sold for
60 cents each. Additional choices in the compass department of
Montgomery Ward included compasses two to three inches in diameter
in elaborate wooden cases. Some of the wood-cased cased compasses
also included a cyclometer, which recorded the revolutions of
the wheeled mechanism. They were priced at $2.25. A larger military
compass described as “a durable and beautiful instrument”
with a jeweled cover was priced that year at $5.
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- There were also boat compasses, sundial pocket compasses,
and folding sight compasses for the surveyor’s trade. The
more expensive surveyors; compasses were vernier types with a
short scale to slide along the divisions of the instrument.
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- Ward’s super-duper model surveyor compass late in the
1890s was known as the Vernier Transit or simply the Transit
Compass. The company catalogue boasted, “This instrument
will be found very convenient for country surveyors who want
to do good land surveying and not invest so much money with a
regular transit.”
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- “It is provided with a very substantial leveling arrangement,
has two straight levels, and in place of the sights it has a
strong telescope eight inches long with cross-hairs complete,
like the telescope of a transit.”
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- Packed in a “nice” mahogany box containing a magnifying
glass, adjusting pin and shade, it was priced at a stunning $75.
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 Compass production
early in the 20th century continued to improve and the naming
of such instruments continued to be more creative. The Maine
Directional Astrology Company compass of 1917 was basically a
solid brass pocket piece. It was three had one half inches wide
and included an engraved glass covering. The Leedawl Compass
was offered to the public in the 1927 Sears and Roebuck mail
order catalog. Made by the Taylor Instrument Company, it had
a polished white metal case and beveled crystal glass. The price
was $1.20. There was full range of other compass creations in
the catalog ranging from 85 cents to $2.45.
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- One of the most interesting that year was the amazing Timekumpas.
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- According to the catalog it was “a combination range
finder, sun dial-timepiece and compass, indispensable to the
Boy Scout, sportsman, and camper. A reliable pocket sun-watch
with simple adjustment to determine latitude and longitude, in
a flat German silver case with nickel finish.” The price
was $1.39.
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- Meanwhile, a compass specifically marketed for Girl Scouts
during the 1930s was manufactured by the U.S. Gage Company. It
sold for less than one dollar at the time.
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- In 1937, the remarkable Leedawl Compass was again offered
for sale by Sears and Roebuck. This time it came in a bakelite
case and had a “grained aluminum dial screw needle arrester.”
The price however was still 85 cents.
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- Today, collectors expect to find even an older compass in
working condition. Moreover since items like the surveyor’s
compass were usually well made and expensive they were usually
well care for. Consequently, standards are high for the condition
of vintage pieces.
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- Sellers are warned not to try to polish or unduly clean any
antique or collectible compass. Collectors expect a certain covering
or patination associated with age or usage of brass or other
metals.
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- Recommended reading: Compass Chronicles by Korenelia Takacs
(Schiffer Publishing).
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- Photos, courtesy of Skinner Inc.
- 1 - Boxed brass surveying compass by Meneely & Oothout
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- 2 - 18th century brass surveyor's compass, attributed to
Abner Dodd
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- 3 - 18th century walnut and brass venier surveyor's compass,
Benjamin Hanks
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- Robert Reed has written on antiques and collectibles for
more than two decades. He has also authored 15 books, including
his recently released Antiques and Collectible Dictionary, available
from www.collectorbooks.com
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