Bowles Surveyor's Compass
Bowles Surveyor's Compass
- Description
- This is a wooden compass with a paper card, the central circle of which is marked, “T. S. BOWLES*PORTSMOUTH, N. H.*” The signature refers to Thomas Salter Bowles, who was baptized in Portsmouth, N.H., in 1785. An advertisement in the Portsmouth Oracle for May 31, 1806, notes that Bowles was a mathematical instrument maker who had just taken a shop in Daniel Street, and that his wares included “Azimuth and brass Compasses, wood and Hanging Compasses.” Bowles was still in business in 1821. Several Bowles compasses with different cards are known. Unlike most wooden compasses, this one has a brass band around the outside of the box, and a brass needle ring graduated to 1 degree of arc.
- Ref: Silvio A. Bedini, Early American Scientific Instruments and Their Makers (Washington, D.C., 1964), pp. 124-126.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- Object Name
- compass (surveyor's plain)
- maker
- Bowles, Thomas Salter
- place made
- United States: New Hampshire, Portsmouth
- Physical Description
- wood (overall material)
- Measurements
- overall length: 13 in; 33.02 cm
- needle: 4 1/2 in; 11.43 cm
- overall: 7 in x 13 in x 6 1/4 in; 17.78 cm x 33.02 cm x 15.875 cm
- ID Number
- 1981.0708.01
- accession number
- 1987.0706
- catalog number
- 1987.0706.01
- accession number
- 1987.0706
- See more items in
- Medicine and Science: Physical Sciences
- Measuring & Mapping
- Surveying and Geodesy
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
Nominate this object for photography.
Our collection database is a work in progress. We may update this record based on further research and review. Learn more about our approach to sharing our collection online.
If you would like to know how you can use content on this page, see the Smithsonian's Terms of Use. If you need to request an image for publication or other use, please visit Rights and Reproductions.
