Object Details
Description
This 18th-century brass drawing instrument appears to be mostly handcrafted. The needle point is relatively broad, and the pen point is shaped like a spade. Both legs are decorated with four horizontal lines, and the leg with the needle point is engraved with a horseshoe. Both sides of both legs have an apparently intentional gouge shaped like a triangle. The joint is round with a ridge around the bottom.
Reference:
Sotheby & Company, Catalogue of a Collection of Scientific Instruments, the Property of the Late Henry Russel Wray, London, 1959 (a copy of the catalogue is in the accession file).
Location
Currently not on view
date made
18th century
ID Number
MA.316928
accession number
219305
catalog number
316928
Object Name
compass, drawing
drawing compass
Physical Description
brass (overall material)
Measurements
overall: 10.2 cm x 1.1 cm x .8 cm; 4 1/32 in x 7/16 in x 5/16 in
place made
Europe
See more items in
Medicine and Science: Mathematics
Science & Mathematics
Dividers and Compasses
Data Source
National Museum of American History
Subject
Mathematics
Drawing Instruments
Link to Original Record
Record ID
nmah_904330