Colonial Maple Surveyor's Compass

Colonial Maple Surveyor's Compass, with 4-inch compass card and pewter ring both divided 0-90 in four quadrants, painted card with eight cardinal points and fleur-de-lis at North, scrolls at the East, green roundel with red ring and remains of the maker's signature, steel needle with brass hub, maple body with hair and slit sights, staff mounting and cap, lg. 9 in. , (glass cracked). Note: Illustrated in Silvio Bedini, Early American Scientific Instruments and their Makers. , p. 74. Bedini comments that the compass is a homemade instrument, whittled from a solid block of maple with a jacknife.