Surveyor's Compass
name: label: maker
content: Colton, Levi
notes: label: Description
content: The floral decoration on the face of this compass is similar to that found on many other instruments made in New York around 1850. The rim is graduated every 30 minutes. A north–south level vial is on the north arm, and an east–west level vial is on the south arm. The signature reads "L. Colton, New York." As the tag on the south arm indicates, the compass belonged to the University of Pittsburgh.
label: Description
content: Levi Colton (1803-1885) was born in Massachusetts, and trained as a jeweler and silversmith. He may have learned the art of instrument making from Richard Patten, for whom he worked in Washington, D.C. in 1846, and who described Colton as “a quite steady and industrious man.” Around 1850 Colton was making compasses in New York City, and in the mid-1850s he was making compasses in Hartford, Conn.
label: Location
content: Currently not on view
setName: label: See more items in
content: Medicine and Science: Physical Sciences
label: See more items in
content: Surveying and Geodesy
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content: Measuring & Mapping
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: University of Pittsburgh. Civil Engineering Department
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of American History
identifier: label: ID Number
content: PH.334887
label: catalog number
content: 334887
label: accession number
content: 315134
objectType: label: Object Name
content: Surveyor's Compass
physicalDescription: label: Measurements
content: overall length: 14 1/2 in; 36.83 cm
label: Measurements
content: needle: 5 1/4 in; 13.335 cm
label: Measurements
content: overall in case: 4 3/8 in x 15 in x 7 5/16 in; 11.1125 cm x 38.1 cm x 18.57375 cm