AZIMUTH AND STEERING COMPASS BY GEORGE ADAMS Circa 1770
Signed, with the original label and on the underside of the compass card "Geo Adams". Printed label on the underside of the lid marked "I hereby certify that I have examined this Compass and that it appears to be rightly Constructed" and signed "Geo. Adams". A second label states "Azimuth and Steering Compass Invented By Gowan Knight F.R.S. Made by George Adams, Mathematical Instrument Maker to His Majesty at Tycho Brahes Head in Fleet Street, London. N.B. Drawing Instruments, Telescopes and Hadley's Quadrants of the best Construction". Printed dry card compass rose, marked "Made by G. Adams Fleet Strt. London Instt. Makr. to His Majesty", mounted within a scribed metal degree ring, suspended in a brass rotating drum case with gimbal mounts and brass sights, within the original oak box. "East" and "North" compass points are decorated. Compass card diameter 6.5". Box height 9.5". Width 12". Depth 12".
Provenance:
R. Frank Collection of Scientific Instruments, until 1986.
Sotheby's, London, The R. Frank Collection of Scientific Instruments, March 1986.
Acquired from the above at that sale.
Literature:
Captain Cook, R.N. The Resolute Mariner by Thomas Vaughan and C.M. Murray-Oliver (Oregon Historical Society, 1974).
Exhibited:
Oregon Historical Society, 1974.
In the early days of map making, Jerusalem was placed in the center of the map because it was considered the most holy city in Christendom. Subsequently, in addition to the north point on the compass rose card, many of the early compasses had the east point embellished in recognition of the fact that Jerusalem lay to the east of most of the Western commercial centers.
In this early compass, the card contains traces of this tradition, with the east point having minor embellishments. This was to evidence the compass maker's faith and/or invoke the protection of the Christian God's grace and protection for the ship on which the compass was used.
In addition to its use for steering the ship, the azimuth compass was used to determine compass deviation from true north using the direction of the sun and to determine the bearing of distant objects sighted through the vanes. This type of steering compass was the first to be patented. The first sighting compass was invented around 1600 by William Barlow (Compass by A. Gurney (2004), p. 63-64). This design uses a permanently magnetized steel needle invented by Gowan Knight.
George Adams (1704-1773) was an inventor and author as well as instrument maker to both the King and the Honorable East India Co. He was the most prominent maker of Hadley's quadrants during the 18th Century.
An instrument of this type was used by Captain James Cook on his voyages of discovery.

From the Kelton Collection of Marine Art & Artifacts.

Conditions of Sale

1. CORRECTNESS OF DESCRIPTION: Robert C. Eldred Co., Inc. (hereinafter referred to as Eldred's) has exercised reasonable care to catalog and describe correctly the property to be sold, but neither Eldred's nor its consignors warrant the correctness of description, attribution, authenticity, or condition of said property. No statements shall be deemed such a warranty or representation or an assumption of liability with respect thereto, but are to be construed as opinions only. Bidders are encouraged to personally examine all property to be sold prior to the beginning of the auction.

2. Unless otherwise announced by the auctioneer at the time of sale, all bids are per lot as numbered.

3. Eldred's reserves the right to withdraw any property before the sale.

4. DETERMINATION OF HIGHEST BIDDER: The highest bidder accepted by the auctioneer shall be the buyer. In the event of any dispute between bidders, the auctioneer may determine who is the successful bidder or the auctioneer may re-offer the article in dispute and his decision shall be final.

5. REJECTION OF BIDS: The auctioneer reserves the right to reject any nominal raise or any bid or raise which, in his opinion, is not commensurate with the value of the article being offered. At his discretion, he may also reject any nominal raise or any bid that he may determine as having a detrimental effect on the item in question or the sale as a whole. Eldred's may refuse to issue bidding privileges to any person not in good credit standing with Eldred's, who has no credit standing, or to any person who is deemed by Eldred's in its sole discretion, to be disruptive of or harmful to established auction practices, either before or after the acceptance of bids or the fall of the hammer.

6. TITLE: Except as herein otherwise provided, title will pass to the highest bidder as determined by the auctioneer, and the property is thereafter at the purchaser's sole risk and responsibility.

7. PAYMENT: On title passing to the highest bidder acknowledged by the auctioneer, and subject to all the conditions set forth herein, such bidder will thereupon pay the full purchase price. Payment in full is due within 7 days of the time of sale. Any bills not paid in full within 25 days of the date of the sale will accrue interest at a rate of 1.5% per month. In addition, the purchaser may be subject to one or more of the following actions: a) Any and all legal remedies available to Eldred's and its consignors by law including without limitation the right to hold the purchaser liable for the total purchase price; b) Immediate cancellation of the sale, with Eldred's retaining as liquidated damages all payments made by the purchaser; c) Resale of the property at public auction, wherein the original purchaser shall be liable for any deficiency, costs, and Eldred's commission on both sales. At Eldred's option, payment will not be deemed to have been made in full until Eldred's has collected funds represented by checks, or in the case of bank or cashier's checks, their authenticity has been confirmed. A buyer's premium will be added to the hammer price to be paid by the buyer as part of the purchase price.

8. ORDER BIDS: Subject to these Conditions of Sale and to such terms and conditions as it may prescribe, but at no charge to the customer, Eldred's will undertake to execute all order bids submitted to it by a customer who has established credit with said company. Requests for such bidding must be given in writing with such clearness as to leave no room for misunderstanding as to the amount to be bid and must state the catalog number and the name or title of the article to be bid on. Telephone bids must be confirmed in writing or by cable. All bids are kept in strict confidence. In the event of identical bids, the earliest will take precedence (This applies to bids left directly with Eldred's NOT for online left bids). IMPORTANT ONLINE BIDDING NOTE: Because the live auction console does not differentiate between left bids and live bids, the first bid accepted by the auctioneer is the winning bid, regardless of the time the bid was originally left. Eldred's shall not be held responsible for errors or failure to execute bids. A deposit of 10% of the total amount bid is required. TELEPHONE BIDS: While the sale is in progress, bidding by telephone may be allowed by the auctioneer at his discretion. A deposit of 10% of the anticipated top bid is required. Eldred's shall not be held responsible for any failure to properly execute such a bid whether it be due to equipment failure, loss of connection, or failure to hear or understand the bidder's directions. Any advice or opinions provided by Eldred's or its employees are given strictly as a courtesy and are not a warrant of condition, attribution, authenticity, or description of said property. All bidding by telephone is solely at the risk of the bidder.

9. CONDITION: If for any cause whatsoever any article sold cannot be delivered, or cannot be delivered in as good condition as the same may have been at the time of sale, due to a failure or damage on the company's part, the sale will be cancelled, and any amount that may have been paid on account of the sale will be returned to the purchaser. EXCEPTION: Eldred's will not be held responsible for damage to picture frames or lampshades. Eldreds will not be responsible for damage by the shipping agent or their shippers after it has been delivered to such agent by Eldreds.

10. SALES TAX: All purchases are subject the buyer's individual sales tax rules and Eldred's economic nexus in the state. Please assume that your state sale's tax will be collected.

11. RESERVES: Unless advertised as an "Unreserved Auction", all sales may have items subject to reserve (an agreed upon price between the auctioneer and the consignor, below which the article will not be sold).

12. COLLECTION OF PURCHASES: Delivery or shipping arrangements must be made within seven (7) days from the close of the auction for all purchases. All items must be removed from Eldred's facilities within fourteen (14) days of the end of the auction. All items remaining after fourteen days may be subject to a $5/per item/per day storage fee. No items will be released unless storage fees are paid in full. Items remaining over thirty (30) days from the close of the auction may be sold for the buyer's account minus auction and storage fees.

13. PACKING and Shipping. In all cases the packing and shipping will be handled by an outside agent and arranged for by the purchaser. Eldreds uses the local UPS store or Pak Mail store. Eldred's will provide alternative shipping suggestions for items to large to be handled by these firms. Any other arrangements are the responsibility of the purchaser. Eldred(TM)s must be informed as to such arrangements. After payment purchases will not be kept in Eldred(TM)s possession pending delivery, for more than a week. The UPS store, Pak Mail Store or shipper of purchasers discretion will be responsible for removing them and storing them at the purchasers expense until shipment. Eldred's will not be responsible for damage or loss once the item has been received by the shipper. In the case of fragile articles, shipping will be undertaken at the sole discretion of the shipper.

14. These Conditions of Sale cannot be altered except in writing by Eldreds or by public announcement by the auctioneer at the time of the sale.

15. Bidding on any article(s) indicates acceptance of the terms set forth above.

16. These Conditions of Sale

Absentee Bids

Because of the manner in which our online system processes and transmits left bids, Eldred's does not receive bid information until the exact moment of sale. Because the bidding console does not differentiate between left bids and live bids, the first bid accepted by the auctioneer is the winning bid, regardless of the time the bid was originally left.

Payment

We require prompt payment and removal of your purchases as stated in Paragraph 12 of the Conditions of Sale. If you plan to pick up your purchases, please call ahead and we'll make every effort to have your items ready. Our physical address is 1483 Route 6A, East Dennis, MA. Pick up of smaller items at our Mystic, CT location is also available with advance notice.
Unfortunately, it is not possible to provide shipping quotes until the invoice had been paid in full.
In house shipping is offered exclusively though UPS. All items are shipped with UPS insurance (max. $50,000). UPS insurance is billed at $2.70 for the first $100 and at $0.90 per hundred afterwards. Eldred's charges a minium $15 handling fee per package plus actual UPS shipping charges.
COLLECTION OF PURCHASES: Delivery or shipping arrangements must be made within seven (7) days from the close of the auction for all purchases. All items must be removed from Eldred's facilities within fourteen (14) days of the end of the auction. All items remaining after fourteen days may be subject to a $5/per item/per day storage fee. No items will be released unless storage fees are paid in full. Items remaining over thirty (30) days from the close of the auction may be sold for the buyer's account minus auction and storage fees.

Shipping

We require prompt payment and removal of your purchases as stated in Paragraph 12 of the Conditions of Sale. If you plan to pick up your purchases, please call ahead and we'll make every effort to have your items ready. Our physical address is 1483 Route 6A, East Dennis, MA. Pick up of smaller items at our Mystic, CT location is also available with advance notice.
Unfortunately, it is not possible to provide shipping quotes until the invoice had been paid in full.
In house shipping is offered exclusively though UPS. All items are shipped with UPS insurance (max. $50,000). UPS insurance is billed at $2.70 for the first $100 and at $0.90 per hundred afterwards. Eldred's charges a minium $15 handling fee per package plus actual UPS shipping charges.
COLLECTION OF PURCHASES: Delivery or shipping arrangements must be made within seven (7) days from the close of the auction for all purchases. All items must be removed from Eldred's facilities within fourteen (14) days of the end of the auction. All items remaining after fourteen days may be subject to a $5/per item/per day storage fee. No items will be released unless storage fees are paid in full. Items remaining over thirty (30) days from the close of the auction may be sold for the buyer's account minus auction and storage fees.

Buyer's Premium

A 25% Buyer's Premium will be charged on successful bids.

Contract

Your bid is a legally binding contract. Upon the fall of the auctioneer's hammer, title will pass to the highest bidder, and the property is thereafter at the purchaser's sole risk and responsibility. Users must register and be approved to bid before the auction. Eldred's reserves the right to deny approval for any reason. Accounts with private feedback will be approved under any circumstances.