Object Details
Description
This German silver instrument has a handle and ridged ring at its top. Both legs have screws partway down and thumbscrews at the ends for adjusting the angles of the points. A piece of lead is in the receptacle at the end of one leg. The end of the other leg has a steel point. The instrument has no markings. Similar but shorter compasses from Germany are advertised for $2.15 in Keuffel & Esser's 1892 and 1909 catalogs. The instrument is not shown in the 1921 catalog.
References: Catalogue and Price-List of Keuffel & Esser Co., 23rd ed. (New York, 1892), 61; Catalogue and Price-List of Keuffel & Esser Co., 33rd ed. (New York, 1909), 108.
Location
Currently not on view
Credit Line
Gift of Eunice L. Hoffman
date made
ca 1900
ID Number
MA.335340
accession number
305958
catalog number
335340
Object Name
compass
compass, drawing
Physical Description
german silver (overall material)
Measurements
overall: .7 cm x 10.5 cm x 1 cm; 9/32 in x 4 1/8 in x 13/32 in
place made
Germany
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_904354