Eagle Pencil Company Model 569 Compass and Divider with Leads
date: label: date made
content: 20th century
name: label: maker
content: Eagle Pencil Company
notes: label: Description
content: This metal instrument is held together by a screw at the top. A spring inside the mechanism below the screw allows the two legs to be squeezed together. The piece between the screw and spring is marked: EAGLE PENCIL CO. (/) NEW YORK (/) PATENTED. The legs are embossed with a floral pattern. Two needle points slide into slots at the end of each leg. One needle point is reversible and has a holder for a pencil lead at its other end. Compare to 304722.04, which is apparently an older version of this model. The mark refers to the patent Harrison Cole received in 1894 for a braking screw bolt that would help compasses or dividers remain set in position.
label: Description
content: A cardboard box is covered with green and white checked paper and a white label marked: EAGLE (/) COMPASS & DIVIDER (/) Pat. Dec. 11th 1894. Pat. Gt. Britain. (/) Reg. U. S. Pat. Off. & Canada. (/) NO. 569. (/) Manufactured by EAGLE PENCIL CO., New York, U.S.A. Two small aluminum tubes received with the instrument each hold five sharpened pencil leads.
label: Description
content: German immigrant Heinrich Berolzheimer opened Eagle Pencil Company as a pencil shop in New York City in 1856, with a factory in Yonkers. By 1880, the firm made mechanical pencils as well as pens and erasers. In 1969, the company changed its name to Berol Corporation, and the Empire Pencil Corporation purchased it in 1986.
label: Description
content: References: Harrison Cole, "Drawing Instrument" (U.S. Patent 530,680 issued December 11, 1894); "The History of Berol," http://www.berol.co.uk/berolhistory.html.
label: Location
content: Currently not on view
place: label: place made
content: United States: New York, New York City
topic: label: Subject
content: Mathematics
label: Subject
content: Drawing Instruments
setName: label: See more items in
content: Medicine and Science: Mathematics
label: See more items in
content: Science & Mathematics
label: See more items in
content: Dividers and Compasses
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: Gift of William J. Ellenberger
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of American History
identifier: label: ID Number
content: 1981.0933.17
label: accession number
content: 1981.0933
label: catalog number
content: 1981.0933.17
objectType: label: Object Name
content: compass
label: Object Name
content: compass, drawing
label: Object Name
content: leads, group of
physicalDescription: label: Physical Description
content: lead (overall material)
label: Physical Description
content: metal (overall material)
label: Measurements
content: overall: 1.5 cm x 14.5 cm x 6 cm; 19/32 in x 5 23/32 in x 2 3/8 in