Surveyor's Compass
notes: label: Description
content: This compass is more British than American, and in Britain it would have been referred to as a "circumferentor." The face reads clockwise. The needle rim is graduated to single degrees, and numbered counterclockwise from north. The "Messer London" inscription refers to Benjamin Messer, an instrument maker who was in business during the years 1789–1827.
label: Description
content: Ref: Gloria Clifton, <i>Directory of British Scientific Instrument Makers 1550–1851</i> (London, 1995), p. 187.
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
label: See more items in
content: Measuring & Mapping
publisher: label: Related Publication
content: Clifton, Gloria and Gerard L. E. Turner. Directory of British Scientific Instrument Makers 1550-1851
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: Museum of Science and Industry
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of American History
identifier: label: ID Number
content: PH.327881
label: catalog number
content: 327881
label: accession number
content: 271855
objectType: label: Object Name
content: surveyor's compass
physicalDescription: label: Measurements
content: overall length: 13 in; 33.02 cm
label: Measurements
content: needle: 4 in; 10.16 cm
label: Measurements
content: overall: 6 1/4 in x 12 1/2 in x 4 3/4 in; 15.875 cm x 31.75 cm x 12.065 cm