330

Circa 1862

AMERICAN BOXED COMPASS

By Edward Samuel Ritchie (fl. 1839-1870). Signed "Ritchie Boston", hand-painted on one of the cross bars of the card. Early liquid-filled compass with a tubular "doughnut"-style card with signature in characteristic backhand block letters. On the periphery of the float tubes is the circular card, also hand-painted, with the cardinal points sub-divided into 32 points of the compass rose. On the interior bowl is a penciled inscription "HLR 7/07", which has been determined to be a repair mark by one of Ritchie's sons in 1907. Mahogany box with brass fittings. Brass work on the compass, rounds and arcs and the heft of the fittings is exemplary.
Height 6.5". Width 11". Compass diameter 8".

  • Provenance:
    West Sea Company, Old Town, San Diego, 2001.
    The Kelton Collection of Marine Art & Artifacts.

    Notes:
    Edward Samuel Ritchie began business in Boston in 1839. In 1850, with partner Nathan Chamberlain, he set up a firm that produced compasses, thermometers and other instruments. It is known that Ritchie manufactured compasses before he patented his first liquid-filled (wet) compass in 1862. His first wet compasses were modeled after London maker Grant Preston's design, which Ritchie had seen in England, and went on to produce for the U.S. Navy during the Civil War. He is credited with inventing and manufacturing the first practical liquid-filled compass in 1862. Compasses manufactured by Ritchie after his patent typically bore the patent date and a sequential serial number on the flange. This compass bears no such marks, leading to the speculation that this is one of his earliest examples, dating 1862 or earlier, with the signature being that of Ritchie himself.

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February 24, 2022 9:30 AM EST
East Dennis, MA, US

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