Surveyor's Vernier Compass
date: label: date made
content: 1846-1854
name: label: owner
content: Wright, Joseph
label: maker
content: Colton, Levi
notes: label: Description
content: This compass, marked "L. Colton New York" and "Warranted," has a variation arc on the north arm that extends 25 degrees either way. The vernier is moved by a tangent screw on the south arm, and reads to single minutes. There are two level vials on the south arm. The tangent screw and the decoration of the face (a circle of flowers and leaves) were typical features of New York compasses. The face reads clockwise. The word "Warranted" is the maker's guarantee of quality.
label: Description
content: Levi Colton (1803-1885) worked as an instrument maker in New York City in the early 1850s, before moving to Hartford, Ct.
label: Description
content: Joseph Wright (1798-1898) was born in North Carolina, and surveyed public lands in Florida in 1824. He probably bought this compass in preparation for his move to Texas in 1851. Wright also owned and used a jacob's staff (PH*323710) and a surveyor's chain (PH*323711).
label: Location
content: Currently not on view
place: label: place made
content: United States: New York, New York City
setName: label: See more items in
content: Medicine and Science: Physical Sciences
label: See more items in
content: Surveying and Geodesy
label: See more items in
content: Measuring & Mapping
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: George L. Walling
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of American History
identifier: label: ID Number
content: PH.323709.01
label: accession number
content: 1979.0769
label: catalog number
content: 1979.0769.01
label: catalog number
content: 323709.01
objectType: label: Object Name
content: Surveyor's Compass
label: Object Name
content: surveyor's compass
physicalDescription: label: Measurements
content: overall length: 3 1/8 in x 7 1/2 in x 16 1/2 in; 7.9375 cm x 19.05 cm x 41.91 cm
label: Measurements
content: needle: 5 3/4 in; 14.605 cm