Surveyor’s Compass
date: label: date made
content: ca 1800-1850
notes: label: Description
content: Like many surveyor's compasses made in New York in the first half of the 19th century, this one has an ornate floral design on its face. Unlike most American compasses of the period, however, the face reads clockwise, and there is no maker's signature. The donor believed that James Griswold used this compass and the associated chain, pins, tally, and drawing instruments while laying out the New York and Erie Railroad.
label: Location
content: Currently not on view
place: label: Place Made
content: United States: New York
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
label: See more items in
content: Artifact Walls exhibit
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: Preston R. Bassett
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of American History
identifier: label: ID Number
content: PH.319340
label: catalog number
content: 319340
label: accession number
content: 236805
objectType: label: Object Name
content: surveyor's compass
physicalDescription: label: Physical Description
content: brass (overall material)
label: Measurements
content: overall: 14 1/2 in; 36.83 cm
label: Measurements
content: needle: 5 1/2 in; 13.97 cm
label: Measurements
content: overall; compass: 2 3/4 in x 14 5/8 in x 6 1/2 in; 6.985 cm x 37.1475 cm x 16.51 cm
label: Measurements
content: overall; brackets, each: 1 3/8 in x 7 5/8 in x 1 1/4 in; 3.4925 cm x 19.3675 cm x 3.175 cm
label: Measurements
content: overall; cover: 5/8 in x 6 1/2 in; 1.5875 cm x 16.51 cm