Artifact: Surveying Compass
Materials: Brass, steel, glass, silver
Dimensions: OL: 14 1/4"
Date: ca. 1805
Origin: Winchester, VA
Collection: Image Courtesy of The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation
License: All rights reserved
Ledger Entry: Compass
Department: Tool
Customer: Major John Carlyle
Ledger Page: 284
Imported From: While tools could be produced by local blacksmiths, the availability of raw materials and skilled labor limited the large-scale production of tools in the American colonies. Specialized tools were typically imported from British production centers in London, Birmingham, and Sheffield.
Product Description
Though rulers also existed, compasses were a common way to measure at this time. They were also used for making circles, doing geometric calculations, and transferring patterns.
Citation: James M. Gaynor and Nancy L. Hagedorn, Tools: Working Wood in Eighteenth-Century America (Williamsburg, VA: The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, 1993).;
Historical Price: 12 pence; Modern USD: $11.2
Product Variations
The databases record six purchases of compasses. They are sold in pairs, and one is identified as compass No. 205. Their prices range from twelve pence to two shillings four and a half pence.
