$19,975
Important Brass Surveyor's Compass by David Rittenhouse, with 5 1/4-inch silvered dial signed in riband around central rosette David Rittenhouse, Philad. * , eight-point rose with hatched and patterned engraving, fleur-de-lis at North, East and West points reversed, silvered needle ring engraved each degree 0-90 in four quadrants, 0 at North and South unmarked, original blued-steel needle with cut arrow tip, winged brass hub and center clamp operated by threaded wheel on the underside, cast "tulip" socket, the limb with vial and screw-on sights, engraved Made for Rich. Sherer , ht. 8 3/8 x lg. 14 1/2 in. Provenance: Provenance: Research by the consignor suggests that the original owner was Richard Sherer, born in Beaver County, Pennsylvania, in 1767. He was married and had at least two sons, one of whom, another R. Sherer, was born in 1811. The Sherer family appears to have remained in western Pennsylvania for the next two generations, and by 1855 at least part of the family was residing in Muscantine and Newton, Iowa. There is no record of the Sherers in either Ohio or Indiana in the days leading up to the Civil War, although the compass may well have traveled across these states in order to reach Iowa, its journey following the pattern of American Western migration in the 19th century. It was eventually acquired by the vendor's father, E. Taylor Campbell, Chief Cartographer for the northwest section of the state of Missouri. Campbell was the last engineer to have both Read more…
Auctioneer:
Skinner
Date:
2006-07-29
