Circa 1815 Heisely & Son Surveyor ' S Compass - Unique Design Features
Item History & Price
| Reference Number: Avaluer:6792076 |
This is a REALLY cool compass. I love the look of the compass face. Heisely was one of the first, if not the first, to put the vernier inside the compass face. There are only a few known Heisely compasses that have the vernier inside-the-face, so this is a very rare instrument. Plus, this compass has a neat slider system for lifting the compass needle - you raise the needle by using your index finger to slide a metal tab out. Works great.
The Smart book... (The Makers of Surveying Instruments in America Since 1700) has a fairly good discussion on the Heisely family starting at page 207.
Bedini's book (Early American Scientific Instruments) suggests that Heisely's vernier system pre-dates William Young's patent on essentially the same system by a good 20 to 30 years.
I don't have the compass box or Jacob's staff adapter for this compass, unfortunately. The compass comes with a cover, but nothing else. What you see in the pics is what I have.
Having said that, I think this is a VERY display worthy 200 year old compass with an eye-grabbing before its time vernier system.
You can see a video of the vernier in operation and more pics at: http://compleatsurveyor.com/HeiselySon/HeiselySon.html
Please check out my other auctions - I'm offering an 1858 Gurley Solar Compass and an 1855 Burt Solar Compass Key book. I also have the Smart and Bedini books available for download (pdf's) on my CompleatSurveyor.com website.
The Smart book... (The Makers of Surveying Instruments in America Since 1700) has a fairly good discussion on the Heisely family starting at page 207.
Bedini's book (Early American Scientific Instruments) suggests that Heisely's vernier system pre-dates William Young's patent on essentially the same system by a good 20 to 30 years.
I don't have the compass box or Jacob's staff adapter for this compass, unfortunately. The compass comes with a cover, but nothing else. What you see in the pics is what I have.
Having said that, I think this is a VERY display worthy 200 year old compass with an eye-grabbing before its time vernier system.
You can see a video of the vernier in operation and more pics at: http://compleatsurveyor.com/HeiselySon/HeiselySon.html
Please check out my other auctions - I'm offering an 1858 Gurley Solar Compass and an 1855 Burt Solar Compass Key book. I also have the Smart and Bedini books available for download (pdf's) on my CompleatSurveyor.com website.
