Dividers & Compasses -- Compasses

• 

  Drawing Compass

  Description

  This 18th-century brass drawing instrument appears to be mostly handcrafted. The needle point is relatively broad, and the pen point is shaped like a spade. Both legs are decorated with four horizontal lines, and the leg with the needle point is engraved with a horseshoe. Both sides of both legs have an apparently intentional gouge shaped like a triangle. The joint is round with a ridge around the bottom.

  Reference:

  Sotheby & Company, Catalogue of a Collection of Scientific Instruments, the Property of the Late Henry Russel Wray, London, 1959 (a copy of the catalogue is in the accession file).

  Location

  Currently not on view

  date made

  18th century

  ID Number

  MA.316928

  accession number

  219305

  catalog number

  316928

  Data Source

  National Museum of American History

• 

  Bow Compass with Pen Point

  Description

  This steel drawing compass has a hexagonal brass handle. The width of the instrument is adjusted with a small brass nut on the outside of the leg with the needle point. A second screw adjusts the width of the pen point. This object resembles the bow compasses made by Stanley around 1860 that are depicted in Michael Scott Scott, Drawing Instruments (Haverfordwest, UK: Shire Publications Ltd., 1986), 10.

  Reference: J. F. Heather, Mathematical Instruments: Their Construction, Adjustment, Testing, and Use, rev. ed. (London: Crosby Lockwood and Co., 1870), i:15–16.

  Location

  Currently not on view

  date made

  ca 1860

  ID Number

  1978.2110.11

  catalog number

  1978.2110.11

  accession number

  1978.2110

  catalog number

  336737

  Data Source

  National Museum of American History

• 

  Keuffel & Esser Hairspring Compass

  Description

  This metal drawing instrument is heavily corroded. It has a cylindrical handle, grooves that allow the user to open the legs just a small amount, a thumbscrew adjusting the hairspring in the leg with the pencil point, and screws for adjusting the needle and pencil points. The legs are jointed, but they are too rusted to bend. The inside of the leg with the pencil point is marked near the top: KEUFFEL & ESSER N.Y.

  This instrument is advertised as model number 205 in K&E's 1881 catalog. It does not appear in the 1876 or 1892 catalogs. Gunther Mathies, a relative of the donor, emigrated from Germany in the early 20th century and worked for the Thomaston (Conn.) Clock Company. He also did photography, drafting, and surveying in the area during the Depression, and he may have acquired this object in the course of those endeavors.

  References: Michael Scott-Scott, Drawing Instruments (Aylesbury, England: Shire Publications Ltd., 1986), 5–6; Catalogue and Price-List of Keuffel & Esser Co., 9th ed. (New York, 1881); accession file.

  Location

  Currently not on view

  date made

  1876-1892

  maker

  Keuffel & Esser Co.

  ID Number

  1984.1070.03

  accession number

  1984.1070

  catalog number

  1984.1070.03

  Data Source

  National Museum of American History

• 

  Bow Compass with Pencil Point Sold by Keuffel & Esser

  Description

  This tarnished German silver bow pencil has a ring connecting the instrument to its ridged cylindrical handle. It is marked: KEUFFEL & ESSER CO. (/) GERMANY. The disc adjusting the instrument's width is between the legs. Thumbscrews on the back of one leg and the front of the other permit adjustments to the height of the pencil and pricker points. The instrument has no pencil lead.

  The instrument does not appear in K&E's 1892 or 1909 catalogs. K&E sold a similar bow compass from at least 1921 to at least 1936, but that instrument was made in the United States and had bolts in each leg at the ends of the bow screw. Therefore, this object may have been imported before 1892.

  References: Catalogue and Price-List of Keuffel & Esser Co., 36th ed. (New York, 1921), 92s; Catalogue and Price-List of Keuffel & Esser Co., 38th ed. (New York, 1936), 141.

  Location

  Currently not on view

  date made

  late 19th century

  maker

  Keuffel & Esser Co.

  ID Number

  1991.0793.02

  accession number

  1991.0793

  catalog number

  1991.0793.02

  Data Source

  National Museum of American History

• 

  Drawing Compass

  Description

  This German silver instrument has a handle and ridged ring at its top. Both legs have screws partway down and thumbscrews at the ends for adjusting the angles of the points. A piece of lead is in the receptacle at the end of one leg. The end of the other leg has a steel point. The instrument has no markings. Similar but shorter compasses from Germany are advertised for $2.15 in Keuffel & Esser's 1892 and 1909 catalogs. The instrument is not shown in the 1921 catalog.

  References: Catalogue and Price-List of Keuffel & Esser Co., 23rd ed. (New York, 1892), 61; Catalogue and Price-List of Keuffel & Esser Co., 33rd ed. (New York, 1909), 108.

  Location

  Currently not on view

  date made

  ca 1900

  ID Number

  MA.335340

  accession number

  305958

  catalog number

  335340

  Data Source

  National Museum of American History

• 

  Bow Compass

  Description

  This steel-spring instrument has a metal and ivory handle, with a ridged ring around the bottom and the top shaped like a pawn chess piece. A holder with a metal adjusting screw on one leg is missing its needle point. This leg is marked with the number 8 inside a circle and an arrow pointing left (toward the 8). The holder on the other leg has a pencil lead and is adjusted with a brass screw. The distance between the legs is adjusted with a metal screw and brass nut. This object does not resemble the ivory-handled bow-pencils sold around the turn of the 20th century by Keuffel & Esser, Dietzgen, Gurley, Kern, or Schoenner.

  Location

  Currently not on view

  date made

  ca 1900

  ID Number

  MA.335342

  accession number

  305958

  catalog number

  335342

  Data Source

  National Museum of American History

• 

  Bow Compass with Pen Point

  Description

  This steel-spring instrument has an ivory handle, a point attached to one leg, and a penholder with adjusting screw on the other leg. The distance between the legs is adjusted with a pin and thumbscrew. The instrument resembles a Swiss bow pen sold around the turn of the 20th century by W. & L. E. Gurley (for $2.00) and by Keuffel & Esser (for $2.50). The manufacturer was probably not Kern & Co. of Aarau, Switzerland, as the Kern instruments advertised in the 1897 Sears Roebuck catalog have a different shape of ivory handle.

  References: 1897 Sears Roebuck & Co. Catalogue (reprint; New York: Skyhorse Publishing, 2007), 369; Catalogue and Price-List of Keuffel & Esser Co., 23rd ed. (New York, 1892), 31; Catalogue and Price-List of Keuffel & Esser Co., 33rd ed. (New York, 1909), 63; A Manual of the Principal Instruments . . . Manufactured by W. & L. E. Gurley, 37th ed. (Troy, N.Y., 1903), 289; A Manual of the Principal Instruments . . . Manufactured by W. & L. E. Gurley, 39th ed. (Troy, N.Y., 1906), 289. This instrument does not appear in the 1921 K&E and 1912 Gurley catalogs.

  Location

  Currently not on view

  date made

  ca 1900

  ID Number

  MA.335337

  accession number

  305958

  catalog number

  335337

  Data Source

  National Museum of American History

• 

  Pencil Holder for Drawing Compass

  Description

  This brass leg for a drawing compass has a screw for adjusting the width of the pencil lead holder. A joint at the top bends to a right angle. At the turn of the 20th century, brass drawing instruments were made for school use, while engineers and draftsmen used instruments made from German silver and steel. This object may have originally been part of a wooden case of drawing instruments. It resembles but is not identical to the pencil point in a case sold for $5.00 by Keuffel & Esser in 1892 and compasses sold for 60¢ by W. & L. E. Gurley in 1903 and 1906.

  References: Catalogue and Price-List of Keuffel & Esser Co., 23rd ed. (New York, 1892), 95; A Manual of the Principal Instruments . . . Manufactured by W. & L. E. Gurley, 37th ed. (Troy, N.Y., 1903), 322–323; A Manual of the Principal Instruments . . . Manufactured by W. & L. E. Gurley, 39th ed. (Troy, N.Y., 1906), 322–323.

  Location

  Currently not on view

  date made

  ca 1900

  ID Number

  MA.335336

  accession number

  305958

  catalog number

  335336

  Data Source

  National Museum of American History

• 

  Pen Point for Drawing Compass

  Description

  This leg for a drawing compass has a brass top, which is jointed, and German silver pen points with an adjusting screw. Loosening the screw increases the width of the pen line to be drawn. At the turn of the 20th century, compasses frequently came with interchangeable legs, one for drawing with pencil lead and one for drawing with ink. The compass to which this pen point belonged may have been part of a set of drawing instruments. Due to its different shape and materials, it is probably not from the same compass as MA.335336.

  Location

  Currently not on view

  date made

  ca 1900

  ID Number

  MA.335338

  accession number

  305958

  catalog number

  335338

  Data Source

  National Museum of American History

• 

  Pen Point for Drawing Compass

  Description

  This leg for a drawing compass has a brass top, which is jointed, and steel pen points with a brass screw for adjusting the width of the pen line to be drawn. At the turn of the 20th century, compasses frequently came with interchangeable legs, one for drawing with pencil lead and one for drawing with ink. This part does not resemble any of the compasses advertised in Keuffel & Esser, Dietzgen, or Gurley catalogs from this time period.

  Location

  Currently not on view

  date made

  ca 1900

  ID Number

  MA.335339

  accession number

  305958

  catalog number

  335339

  Data Source

  National Museum of American History

• 

  Hairspring Compass

  Description

  The handle on this metal instrument is connected to the point and can be pulled out of the cylinder that is the compass's main leg. The other leg is screwed to the cylinder with a metal slat. A screw goes through this leg and can be loosened or tightened to adjust the radius of a circle drawn with the compass. A second screw adjusts the tube that holds a pencil point. Draftsmen used the hairspring compass to precisely draw small circles.

  Keuffel & Esser, an American maker and dealer of slide rules and drawing instruments, donated this object to the Smithsonian in 1971. Part of a paper tag received with the object has been lost, but the remaining portion suggests this instrument may have come from Leipzig, Germany. None of the compasses offered in K&E catalogs in 1909, 1921, or 1936 resemble this instrument.

  Location

  Currently not on view

  date made

  ca 1900

  maker

  Keuffel & Esser Co.

  ID Number

  MA.335261

  accession number

  306012

  catalog number

  335261

  Data Source

  National Museum of American History

• 

  Needle Point

  Description

  This metal object has vertical scrolling on its upper part and horizontal scrolling on a collar near the needle point. It would have fit onto one leg of a drawing instrument, such as a compass, and it probably dates to the early 20th century.

  Location

  Currently not on view

  date made

  early 20th century

  ID Number

  1981.0933.27

  accession number

  1981.0933

  catalog number

  1981.0933.27

  Data Source

  National Museum of American History

• 

  Hairspring Compass with Lengthening Bar and Pen Point

  Description

  This metal compass has a cylindrical scrolled handle. The upper parts of the legs have decorative grooves on either side. A thumbscrew on one leg may be used to finely adjust the angle of the leg (hence, the name "hairspring"). The lower parts of the legs are hinged and are attached by screws so that the pencil point and needle point may be replaced by the pen point or lengthening bar contained with the instrument. Small thumbscrews on the needle, pencil, and pen points allow for fine adjustments.

  The donor of this object, William J. Ellenberger (1908–2008), studied electrical and mechanical engineering at The George Washington University between 1925 and 1934. He then worked for the Potomac Electric Power Company and the National Bureau of Standards. During World War II, he served in the U.S. Army Signal Corps. He was a civilian construction management engineer for the army from 1954 to 1968, when he became a private consultant. He may have acquired this instrument during his studies or early career.

  Location

  Currently not on view

  date made

  early 20th century

  ID Number

  1981.0933.20

  accession number

  1981.0933

  catalog number

  1981.0933.20

  Data Source

  National Museum of American History

• 

  Dietzgen 738C Bow Compass with Pen Point

  Description

  This steel instrument has a needle point on one leg and a pen point on the other. A cross-hatched handle is attached to a ring, which in turn is attached to the legs. A screw goes through both legs, with the nut for setting the compass at a desired width outside the leg with the needle point. Additional thumbscrews allow adjusting of the needle and pen points.

  The instrument appears to be a Champion Bow Pen, model number 738C, advertised in 1926 by the Eugene Dietzgen Company of Chicago. The leg with the needle point has handwriting: P M LARSEN. Engraved on the other leg is the word EXCELLO and the Dietzgen logo.

  Reference: Catalog of Eugene Dietzgen Co., 12th ed. (Chicago, 1926), 59, 74.

  Location

  Currently not on view

  date made

  ca 1926

  maker

  Eugene Dietzgen Company

  ID Number

  1981.0933.22

  accession number

  1981.0933

  catalog number

  1981.0933.22

  Data Source

  National Museum of American History

• 

  Dietzgen 736B Bow Compass with Pencil Point

  Description

  This steel and German silver instrument has a needle point on one leg and a holder for a pencil lead on the other. The handle has vertical ridges above a single line of raised metal dots. The width of the compass is adjusted with a pin through the legs and a wheel around the pin between the legs. Additional thumbscrews allow adjusting of the needle and pencil points. The instrument appears to be a Federal Bow Pencil, model number 736B, advertised in 1926 by the Eugene Dietzgen Company of Chicago.

  Reference: Catalog of Eugene Dietzgen Co., 12th ed. (Chicago, 1926), 60, 74.

  Location

  Currently not on view

  date made

  ca 1926

  maker

  Eugene Dietzgen Company

  ID Number

  1981.0933.21

  accession number

  1981.0933

  catalog number

  1981.0933.21

  Data Source

  National Museum of American History

• 

  Record Bow Compass

  Description

  This steel instrument has a pen point on one leg. Two screws adjust the width of the pen point and allow it to be removed. The needle point and its screw are missing from the other leg. A thumbscrew for adjusting the width of the instrument is outside the leg with the pen point. A cylindrical ridged handle is directly attached to a ring inserted into the legs. That leg is marked: RECORD. The object was received with several other instruments in a wooden box, 1984.1071.13.

  The mark may refer to the British brand of woodworking tools. The Record factory operated in Sheffield, England, from 1909 until about 2002, when its parent company was acquired by Newell Rubbermaid. The donor, Sebastian J. Tralongo (1928–2007), served in the U.S. Navy during World War II and then worked for the Vitro Corporation in Rockville, Md., for 35 years. He patented a device for signaling from deeply submerged submarines and assigned the rights to Vitro.

  References: "Tralongo, Sebastian James 'Subby'," Hartford Courant, May 26, 2007; Sebastian J. Tralongo, "Submarine Signal Device" (U.S. Patent 2,989,024 issued June 20, 1961); David Lynch, "Record Hand Planes: A History," http://www.recordhandplanes.com/history.html.

  Location

  Currently not on view

  date made

  mid 20th century

  ID Number

  1984.1071.10

  accession number

  1984.1071

  catalog number

  1984.1071.10

  Data Source

  National Museum of American History

• 

  Record Bow Compass

  Description

  The pen and needle points (including its screw) are missing from this steel instrument. Because the pen point may be removed, this instrument is not like other bow pens in the collections. A disc for adjusting the width of the instrument is on a screw between the legs. A cylindrical ridged handle is directly attached to a ring inserted into the legs. The leg that would have the pen attachment is marked: RECORD. The object was received with several other instruments in a wooden box, 1984.1071.13. Compare to 1984.1071.10.

  Location

  Currently not on view

  date made

  mid 20th century

  ID Number

  1984.1071.11

  accession number

  1984.1071

  catalog number

  1984.1071.11

  Data Source

  National Museum of American History

• 

  Frederick Post Model 1795 Blackboard Compass

  Description

  In the years following the Civil War, American mathematics teachers began to use oversized compasses like this one to draw circles on a chalkboard. This example was sold by the Frederick Post Company of Chicago. It consists of two maple arms, each about sixteen inches (41 centimeters) long, which are held together by a wing nut at one end. At the other end are a rubber tip and a piece of chalk.

  Makers often sold such instruments as part of a set that also included a straight edge, a protractor, a T square, and a triangle. After passage of the National Defense Education Act in 1958, such instruments could be purchased by secondary schools with subsidies from the federal government. This particular instrument was used by Margaret G. Aldrich (1918-2007), who taught at Montgomery College from 1957 to 1984, chairing of the math department on the Takoma Park campus for many years. She had an undergraduate degree in mathematics and an M.A. in psychology, both from the University of Minnesota.

  Blackboard dividers that are different from this instrument are advertised as model number 1781 in the Frederick Post Company's 1930 and 1936 catalogs. The instrument is not shown in the 1949–1950 catalog.

  Location

  Currently not on view

  date made

  ca 1950

  maker

  Frederick Post Company

  ID Number

  1999.0117.01

  catalog number

  1999.0117.01

  accession number

  1999.0117

  Data Source

  National Museum of American History

• 

  Gramercy Bow Compass

  Description

  The ridged cylindrical handle on this metal bow pencil is directly attached to a ring. The tops of the legs are pointed. A metal disc between the legs adjusts the width of the instrument. The bow screw is bolted inside the legs and has no nuts on the outsides of the legs. Thumbscrews on the front of one leg and the back of the other adjust the height of the needle and pencil points. The compass is marked: GRAMERCY IMPORT GERMANY.

  The Gramercy Import Company began operating around 1930. Robert Behrens Condon studied engineering at the University of Vermont and Columbia University in the late 1940s and early 1950s, which is probably when he purchased this instrument. He operated the New Englander Motor Inn with his politically active wife, Marie, from 1955 to 1978.

  Reference: "April Milestones 2012," Friends Journal, http://www.friendsjournal.org/dept-2012-04-milestones/.

  Location

  Currently not on view

  date made

  mid 20th century

  maker

  Gramercy Import Co.

  ID Number

  1991.0793.03

  accession number

  1991.0793

  catalog number

  1991.0793.03

  Data Source

  National Museum of American History

• 

  Knopf Bow Compass

  Description

  This German silver bow pencil has a handle engraved in a honeycomb pattern above a ring. A spiral is engraved on a disc below the ring. The width of the instrument is adjusted with a corroded metal nut between the legs. The two small screws on the front of the legs that adjust the metal and pencil points appear to be different from each other. The bow nut is marked: MADE IN USA. The nut adjusting the metal point is marked: KNOPF (/) GERMANY. The initials RW are scratched into the leg with the pencil point.

  According to the donor, her husband, electrical engineer Robert H. Wieler (1923–1993), used the instrument. Jürgen Knopf began manufacturing drawing instruments and chalk in Hehlen, Germany, in 1950. He sold the company in 2010 and it was renamed PyCom. Since the object is marked as made in two different countries, it is possible that it was put together from parts of other compasses.

  References: PyCom GmbH & Co. KG, "About Us," http://pycom.eu/en/index.php?categoryid=8; accession file.

  Location

  Currently not on view

  date made

  mid 20th century

  maker

  Knopf

  ID Number

  1998.0032.10

  catalog number

  1998.0032.10

  accession number

  1998.0032

  Data Source

  National Museum of American History

Pages