The
Online Compass
Museum owns over 100 pocket compasses coming from many countries
(America,
Europe, China)
and several historical periods. A great quantity of others are also
described here by means of the pictures sent by
collectors.
Unfortunately, some manufacturers could not be identified. If you
can name one by means of its design, please share your
knowledge with
us.
Thank you.
- A -
(See profile in
Marching Compasses) This retailer of camping gear offered in its
catalogues several
compasses for various usage. They were produced by
Short
& Mason, London (
link
to declaration in catalogue). See also other
items in the Marching Compasses chapter.
At right: the company's logo
Click on the images for a view of each full description as printed in
the 1907 catalogue online on the website Internet Archive (archive.org,
digitized by Google).
Military night marching compass |
English military pattern |
Surveyor's sight compass (Schmalcalder type)
|
Pocket compass in morocco case
|
Pocket compass hunter case
|
|
Dudley Adams was a son of George Adams Senior (1704-72), the
patriarch of the Adams
family of globe makers, who wrote numerous treatises on globes and
scientific instruments including
A
Treatise Describing and Explaining
the Construction and Use of New Celestial and Terrestrial Globes,
published in London in 1766 and is thought to have succeeded
to John Senex and James Ferguson, the pioneers of 18th
Century British globe making.
George's sons, George Adams, Jr.
(1750-95) and Dudley (1762-1830), carried forth the family business as
instrument and globe makers in London. Dudley Adams continued
the business until
1817, when bankruptcy forced him to sell the pocket globe plates to the
Lane firm.
(Source:
George Glazer
Gallery)
Pictures
by courtesy of diggerlee |
(Click for enlarged views) |
Technical
Data
- Dimensions
. diam. case: 39 mm
. diam. compass: 49 mm
. length: 70 mm
. depth: 15 mm
- Weight: 60 grs
- Dial material: enamel
- Case material: brass, gilt
- Markings on dial: DUDLEY ADAMS LONDON |
Former U.S. manufacturer successor of Fee & Stemwedel
(more information
HERE).
See also Nautical and Wrist compasses.
(Click
for
an enlarged view)
|
The names
AIRGUIDE and Fee & Stemwedel are printed on the box
(Click
for
a composed picture of several enlarged views)
|
Technical
Data
Needle type model no. 83
- Diam.: 2" (50 mm)
- Thickness: 12 mm
- Weight: 57 gr
- Case material: aluminum
The small coat of arms printed on the box contains the words:
AMERICAN
M...(ADE
PRODUCT?)
|
The
Army
& Navy
Auxiliary Co-operative Supply
Ltd,
Victoria Street, Westminster, London, was formed in 1882 as a
subsidiary of the Army & Navy Co-operative Society Ltd
incorporated on 15 September 1871. It was formed by a group of Army and
Navy officers for the supply of articles of domestic consumption and
general use to its members at the lowest remunerative rates (
source and for more
details go to: House Fraser Archive)
Among
the
numerous products offered was a version of the
REFLECTOR
and
also this
compass called
PATHFINDER
(
link
to other compasses with the same designation)
which featured two lugs for a strap and could thus be used as
a
wrist compass. It
also features
a hinged
crystal which makes it possible to access the card and pointer assembly
to set the black
& orange pointer to set a predefined marching course.
The
actual magnetic
needle is located below the floating disc
(link
to picture of
the instrument
dismantled).
Click
on image for
different views
Technical
Data - Ø 2" /
53mm. Weight 125 gr. Radium paint markings. Manufacturer: unknown.
Date: early
20th century.
Askania made a pocket-watch-shaped compass based on a design
by
KRÖPLIN
(for more information click
HERE).
See also Marching, Nautical, Aeronautical and Wrist compasses.
Picture
at r.: lid with AskAniA's logo - For technical description go to
KRÖPLIN
- B -
Carl Bamberg was a German compass manufacturer in Friedenau
near Berlin (for more information click
HERE).
See also Nautical and Aeronautical compasses.
Pictures courtesy
Andrew N.
Click on images for enlarged views. |
Technical
Data
- Dia. 70 mm
- Rotating bezel
This compass probably belonged to the standard equipment of an airship
during. On the back are the marking of the
Kriegsmarinet.
|
|
Pictures
courtesy L. Steinbach
(Click on pic at left for detailed view) |
Technical
Data
- Dia.: 70 mm
- Marking on back: M14 (M w/o eagle meaning it was built between WWI
and 1933, begin oft the Nazi regime.
The large cut-out in the compass card reduces the inertia of the mass
that the magnets have to move. The two blade-shaped magnets (each with
a N at their Northern extremity) are very unusal. They are
usually to be found only in large ships or aircraft compasses where
they ensure a higher position stability. |
Francis Barker & Son was a British manufacturer (more
information
HERE and
in our LINKS)
See also Nautical, Marching, Escape, Survey and Wrist compasses.
(Click
on the pictures for
enlarged
views)
F. BARKER & Son registered many, entirely different
dial designs. Here are a few examples:
(Pictures
by courtesy of
TRADEMARKLONDON - click on the images for detailed views).
William
Barker
(1858)
The maker's name is punched beneath the fleur-de-lis
|
"The
Cyclist's"
(1885
catalogue)
featuring a magnifying glass for easier reading of maps or lighting a
fire...
|
"The
Glow Needle"
A variation of the design at right (combination
with a radiant's dial). The same needle was also
used in the models The
Guide and The Prospector.
(See Patent
12,777 - 1906)
|
The
same reg. no.
(355,639, Apr. 4, 1900) applied to the different versions, either with
needle (pict.
at left) or with floating card (above). The letter N in red paint
appears on top of
the radium square.
|
|
The maker's name is punched inside the fleur-de-lis. |
"The
Hunter Radiant",
(dial pattern: Reg. no. 416645, see at right)
|
Three
examples of
the dial pattern called "RGS
pattern" ( Royal
Geographical Society)
(explanation: go to STEWARD)
|
Early version of the "Scouting"
model with the cardinal points in red paint on the
crystal
|
|
Two different markings of the maker's name: here on two lines near
North and South (compare with picture at right)
|
Above,
the maker's
triangular TML logo is used like an
arrowhead.
"Improved Colonial Compass"
 |
"The Skeleton"
The
lid
is marked “F. Barker &
Son” and
the back is stamped with the triangular trademark with the
“S” the correct way round, indicating pre-1875. The background in the
capsule is made of luminous paper (see Balmain
in menue Miscell. / Terminology)
|
" The
Unicus"
(1890-1930)
Fluid
dampened model, two versions:
- dia.
52mm, 10
srews, 1890-1905
- dia.
47mm, 8
screws, from
1905 onwards, std. Dennison
case, RGS card pattern.
|
"PROSPECTING" COMPASS
|
At right: fig. in patent 12,777 |
 |
A catalog
presented a different version, with a S-shaped needle south end.
 |
E.G. BERGMANN was an unknown Norwegian or Danish
manufacturer
Otto
BILAND was a Swiss manufacturer located in Saint-Imier (
Sankt
Immer
in German). He founded his company in 1906. He received a
Gold
Medal at the Swiss National Exhibition in Berne in 1914. The company
was listed in 1920, plus an ad for precision instruments, tachometers,
timers, speedometers, watchmen's watches and counters for cars and
aeroplanes. The basic design of this compass is described in a
1915
Patent
no. 70460 (copy can be ordered), see also
NARDIN. Several
versions are known:
transparent, open face or hunter-case
compass
with or without marching angle arrow under the
bezel's crystal.The
magnetic needle
has two points on its vertical axis and rotates between two bearings,
one of
which is on the dial and the other in a screw in the centre of the
S-shaped transverse bar (see
MOSER's patent).
The
letters N and S
on the needle were both entirely covered with radium paint .
The crystal has a metallic frame on which the marching angle
arrow is attached.
The
manufacturer's
monogramme: O-B-L
|
See-through
version
Punched
on the lid:
the British Army's arrow and an upper case 'I' for India.
The holding loop is
attached by means of a long transverse screw.
(Click
on the pictures to enlarge
them)
|
Technical
Data
- Diameter: 50mm
- Height: 8mm
- Weight: 43gr
- Date: 1915
- Figures punched in the lid: 42 and 55.
- Patent nos. 76117 for France and 83025 for
Switzerland: These
numbers do not refer to compass-related patents, maybe they are
registered trade marks.
Biland also filed a patent (no. 71472) for a map reader
but
we don't know whether it was ever produced:
|
Thomas Blunt was a famous manufacturer. 1760-1822,
22 Cornill. 136 Minories, London
Picture
by
courtesy of Nick Godridge
Box compasses were pocket
compasses placed in a cylindrical case featuring a snap or screwed-on
lid. On later items, the floating card could be stopped and pressed
against the crystal by means of a lever so that the sharp pivot pin
would be protected against shocks while in transit.
|
Click
on the images for enlarged views
Pictures
by
courtesy of Jes Josten
|
Technical
Data
- Diameter: 57 mm
- Height: 20 mm
German instrument probably made in the late 18th or early 19th
c.
|
Captain Bryan was a British officer (no info avlbl.). This instrument
was retailed by the London-based company Military
Equipment Co. which was famous for procuring expedition materiel (see
below). An open-face version existed probably before with a slightly
different design (divisions).
The dial consists of two discs: on top of the compass card is a smaller
disc with black stripes and a triangle for North. The paper used
contained a phosphorescent paint called Balmain's
luminous
paint, a preparation of calcium sulphide, which shines with a white
light after having been exposed to a bright light like burning
magnesium.
(Picture
above courtesy N.
Godridge)
(Click on the pictures for enlarged views)
|
Markings
on the lid
and base:
MILITARY
EQUIPT CO.
7
WATERLOO PLACE
LONDON
CAPT
BRYAN'S
NIGHT-MARCHING COMPASS
RD. NO. 323931
|
Technical
Data
- Case material: brass
- Diameter: 2 " / 50 mm
- Divisions: 360 deg. graduated every 10°, numbered
every 20°
- Luminous paper with black stripes
- The RD (Reg. Design) no. 323 931 was issued in
1899.
Picture below: view of a 1897 advertisement of Mil. Eqpt.Co.
(Click on
the image for a view of the whole document)
|
Collapsible gimballed compass made by the watch makers John Bryer
&
Sons located 104 Minories London E. See pictures of a
similar
instrument (open) here:
Negretti
& Zambra.
Picture by
courtesy of N.
Godridge (Click
on the image for enlarged views)
|
Technical
Data
- Divisions: marine style
|
Swiss manufacturer of marching compasses
and
survey/military levels called 'sitomers' (more information
HERE).
The compass shown on the flyer (Model 1913) was further developed by
Muller & Vaucher.
This instrument was also listed in the
Schardt
catalogue for the years 1914-15.
(Click
on the images for enlarged views)
|
French
version  |
Version
featuring luminous cardinals
 |
Technical
Data
- Diameter: 50mm
- Depth: 14mm
- Weight: 64gr
- Rotating bezel and protection bar with arrow
- Material: brass, chromated
- Magnetic declination: black
arrow (left of North) generally
masked by the transit lock flat bar.
- Cardinals in French, German or English
|
Former French manufacturer of
instruments for
hikers (altimeters, podometers, etc.). The company's full name
was Baudet-Burnat (more information
HERE).
Burnat filed several
patents. One about a new system to attach capsules in
compass casings.
His
logo (see pic. at right) featured a map reader
together with his initials H(enri),
B(urnat) and PARIS. He produced at least two different compass types:
the pocket compass
called 40 XT of which we only have a picture in the advertisement below
and a marching compass (see this category).
The ad below was printed in a 1977 or 1978 issue of the French climbers
association Club Alpin Français (C.A.F.).
See also the magnetic probe in the department Other Compasses
(No other data momentarily available).
Ad for
BURNAT
hikers' instruments in the C.A.F. magazine.
(Click on the picture for an enlarged view of the compass)
|
Left: version featuring luminous paint on needle, graduated
every 5°,
numbered every 15°, dia. 38 mm (pic.
ctsy. Coniston1980)
Right: graduated every 2°, numbered every 20°, dia.
50 mm / 2"
|
Two
versions of this
transparent compass
with the only marking "BAUDET Made in France" on the case side were
produced at some unknown moment (1960's?).
It was apparently a predecessor of the swivel-case model shown in the
ad at left.
Technical Data
- Case material: brass
- Needle transit lock: Excenter in the loop fitting
- Marching course mark: Plastic
disc with a luminous paint dot
and a lubber line. (link
to picture of underside)
 |
PROFILE - Former german company, (for more information click
HERE).
See also Marching compasses.
 |
(Click
on the pictures for
enlarged views) |
KARTENKOMPASS (Map compass)
Catalogue no. 3362, c. 1915-1930
Technical Data
- Material: nickel coated
- Transparent crystal bottom
- Bar-shaped needle
- Needle locking: remontoir-shaped excenter button
- Diameter: 40mm
- Depth: 13mm
- Weight: 30grs |
BUSCH catalogue no. 3346
Messing-Kompass
(Brass compass)
c. 1915-1930 |
(Click
on pictures for
enlarged view)
 |
 Technical
Data
- Diameter: 45mm
- Depth: 11mm
- Weight: 27g
- Graduation: degrees on an elevated rose
- The compass card is engraved on a silver-coated ground plate. The
leather pouch is made of two halves sliding
into one another. The loop is a full ring moving freely in the stud. |
(Click
on the pictures for
enlarged views)
Compare with the very similar instrument made by LUFFT cat. no. 1745. |
Below: the logo on the box :
|
"RADIA"
model (military field compass)
Catalogue no. 3348, c. 1915-1930.
Technical
Data
- Diameter: 49mm
- Depth: 14mm
- Weight: 49grs
- Bar-needle
The radium zinc sulfide paint compound was applied on the case bottom
under the face
featuring a rose of winds with cut-away cardinals through
which the luminous paint glowed. Needle and marching course arrow are
also coated with a self-luminescent compound.
|
- C -
John CAIL was a British manufacturer who worked
in Newcastle-upon-Tyne from 1825 to 1865.
|
|
(Pictures
courtesy
P.C. / TML)
|
Technical
Data
Diameter
excl. neck & bow: 39mm
Thickness:13.5mm
Length incl. neck
& bow & transit lock lever protrusion: 54mm
Casing: gold plated
Dial: enamel,
hand-painted
|
Louis
Pascal [formerly Luigi Pasquale] (1812–1897) Casella
was a British manufacturer of scientific instruments.
Casella produced a compass based on
SYMONS'
patent for a system indicating the TRUE NORTH. Compare with Marble's
TRU NORD
design.
See
also Survey and Nautical compasses.
Picture
courtesy A. Hensel
Box float compass (compare to item
486 in the 1871 catalogue).
Dia.: 35mm
|
|
|
Former U.S. manufacturer (701 West Washington Boulevard,
Chicago). Scientific Instruments, Laboratory Supplies,
Chemicals
With
the model called
"The Milvay" identical but w/o loop (dia. 2")
Below: 3 views of its box
|
(Picture below courtesy
Jeffrey
R. Adams)
(Click on the pictures
for
detailed views)
|
These
three compasses were offered in a 1949 catalog of hunters' gear. The
compasses' names The
Chief and The
Commander are obvious. The
one called MILVAY
needs to be explained: MILVAY was the name of a C.A. Co. subsidiary
selling biological materials.
Its logo was a frog. C.A. Co. published also a
specific MILVAY catalog.
|
China
At least three
versions of this instrument
are known of: the oldest (?) one bears the figure 81 on the face. This
stands for
August 1, 1927, the begin of the "Long March". A serial no. is
engraved inside the lid.
The luminous marking for the north reference is
either arrow-shaped or rectangular.
The reason for the red figures 120 deg / 40 MILS on the
81-marked model is not
known.
NOTE: For
more info about
Chinese compasses
please go
to
Religion
/ Chinese
Tradition and menue point Miscell. /
Cardinal Points (Chinese). See also Marching compasses.
Picture by
courtesy of Xia
|
Picture by courtesy of W.
Worswick
(Click
on the pictures for
enlarged views)
|
Technical Data
- Dim.: dia. 44mm
- Divisions:
360 degrees and
60(oo) Mils (counter clockwise, soviet system) printed on the glass.
- On the lid, they all feature an
arrow going through the sign Bei (North - link to picture).
One
version (at r.) features international (English) cardinals but the
needle is the original one featuring the BEI (north) sign. It
is maybe a repaired item since there is no transit lock.
|
Picture by
courtesy of G. Douat
|
Former French company successor of
HOULLIOT
located in
the Marais district
in Paris (more information
HERE).
This company was the official supplier of the French explorer of the
polar regions Paul Emile VICTOR. A French archeologist also used in
Egypt when the Asswan dam was built, a compass made by this company to
search the ground for concealed caves / graves via magnetic anomalies.
Collignon-Houlliot built also compasses used by the French
boy and
girl scouts (marching compass
Modèle
1922). Catalogue : go to the Museum's SHOP.
See also Survey compasses, Marching compass Modèle
1922 and Sundials.
Dia.:
53mm (compare
with MORIN,
"boussole directrice"). Aluminum casing, built shortly after WWII,
double division (degrees and MILS), radium compound markings.
|
 
This
compass in a water-tight plastic pocket was part of the French aircraft
crews' first aid kits in the 1950's.
Dia.:
45mm (compare
with MORIN,
"boussole directrice")
NOTE: Compare to the version made by HOULLIOT before WWII
(Click on the
images for
detailed views) |
Compass no. 946 in the catalogue
for 1960 unchanged since
the 1930s (see LUFFT,
mod. 1950) |
Souvenir
compass
made for the boys and girls scouts 1947 Jamboree (see also Scoutism)
Picture courtesy M.
Collignon
|
France:
• Teaching poster
printed by
Éditions
Rossignol (located in
Montmorillon,
Département Vienne). Dimensions: approx. 3ft x 2ft
2/5 (90
x 75 cm), date: 1950-1965.
"When
entering their
classroom in the morning the pupils could discover
the topic of the day on a poster hung on the wall by the teacher
minutes before. Large
images in bright colours attracted their attention."
(quoted f
rom
the website Alaric83.fr).
Note: A close look at the
cutaway view reveals that a the
drawing corresponds in no way with the real thing. The external side
knob moves a sliding tab which depresses a lever (flattened V-shaped
rod) that pushes the needle cap upwards against the
crystal, separating thus the pivot and the cap
jewel. On Rossignol's poster the pivot is far too long and
the strangely shaped rod cannot actuate anything (compare with detail
view of the real transit
lock). In fact, the artist
probably
had
only a photograph of the compass which he or she
painted in the top right corner but had no knowledge of mechanics...
•
De
la pierre
d'aimant à la boussole
(
Faits
de civilisation -
éd. Accueil 1967): 12 p. (23 x 19 cm) in a cardboard
pocket.
Historical overview from antique China to European Renaissance and the
drafting of marine maps.
Click
on image at left for a view of
some of the sheets.
•
French Army (1955): List
of
condensed notes dealing with basic military tasks for the
"Préparation Militaire" examination, among others
compass
use and map reading.
-
German
Empire
(WW1):
Der
gute Kamerad
(1915, only a few lines and a simple drawing).
-
GDR
(former communist East Germany):
Arbeit
mit Karte und Kompass (1960), a
comprehensive booklet with
several maps based on the compass model
made by
FPM
and utilized by the
Police and 'KVP'. See also the
poster
used by the NVA.
- Great Britain
The
Elementary Education Act of 1870 created elected school boards to build
& run schools, and this large compass (Ø 7.5" /
160mm) was made for the London School
Board by the maker W. W. Hooper, the paper dial reads '
SCHOOL
BOARD FOR LONDON - W. W.
Hooper: Chester Road, East Ham. E.'
The School boards were abolished in 1902 and replaced by Local
education Authorities.
- Nautical compasses: Check also "
Boxing
the compass".
•
British Army (until
1955): Official
manual
Map
Reading and Sketching with a
chapter about the use of the standard compass type Mark III
made by F. Barker & Son (pic at r.)
-
U.S.A.:
COMPASS
GAME
for Boy and Girl
Scouts
(see also the modern
SILVA-Version)
See also the chap.
TRAINING
and
in Marching Comp./SILVA the book
Be
an
expert
with map and Compass.
PROFILE - Thomas Cooke was a scientist (read WIKIPEDIA, Th.
Cooke (machinist). The company Thomas Cooke & Sons located 14,
Great Chapel Street, Westminster, London SW (factory: Buckingham Works,
York, England) produced
optical instruments like telescopes and survey materiel but was also a
retailer
for pocket compasses probably made by F. Barker & Son
or some
other London compass maker.
After
World War One (1914-1918), the Austro-Hungarian empire was dismantled
and a new
state called Czechoslovakia was created. Compasses with cardinals in
Czech language appeared apparently for the first time. The army's coat
of arms
featured a lion standing (
rampant in
heraldic language) in a lozenge (see Miscellaneous /
Cardinal
points / Czech).
Note: after the end of the communist era in 1990, two new countries
emerged
called Czech Republic and Slovakia.
Other Czech items: pocket compass
VTD,
marching compasses
Bézard/Cz
and
SRB / SŠP, wrist
compasses
Kadlec
(incl. vz. 53 / PAL),
yal
(vz. 54)
and survey/artillery compass
xbk
(MEOPTA).
Military version. Marking: T in a circle,
go to Optikotechna
|
Plain civilian version with only cardinals
(Click
on images
for enlarged views)
|
Technical
Data
- Diam. : 40 mm
|
The
Online Compass
Museum owns over 100 pocket compasses coming from many countries
(America,
Europe, China)
•
De
la pierre
d'aimant à la boussole
(Faits
de civilisation -
éd. Accueil 1967): 12 p. (23 x 19 cm) in a cardboard
pocket.
Historical overview from antique China to European Renaissance and the
drafting of marine maps.
- Great Britain
