E S Ritchie Boxed Ships Compass

19th century ships compass set into a dovetailed box with sliding lid. Brass bowl compass with gimbaled. Weight is 9 pounds.

19th century compass by Robert Merrill, dry compass card mounted to timber box on a gimbal. Sliding lid top. Box is painted blue. Dimensions: 8" compass diameter. Measures: 10" L x 1...

Pre World War I Nautical Compass by E.S.Ritchie Nautical compass mounted by a brass gimbal into a copper brass bound case with sloping glazed aperture with heavily bevelled glass. Flat brass bezel with five holding screws signed ‘E.S.Ritchie’ and numbered 5779. Side opening compartment for a lighted wick with drawer beneath. The compass is mounted in a heavy painted brass bowl with very fine copper pivot supporting the floating direction card. A diaphragm is located in the base of the bowl for temperature compensation. E.S.Ritchie founded the business in 1850 to manufacture mechanical, electrical and scientific instruments. In 1857 he turned his attention to navigational instruments and begun making marine bearing compasses for the U.S.Navy before the American civil war. At the time the British admiralty dry mounted nautical compasses were considered by all navies and commercial shipping companies as the highest technological standard of the day, however, in 1860 Ritchie had received a US patent for the first successful and practical liquid-filled marine compass...

This is a very unique item, It was a bench used on the rear of an old ship. There are handles made of iron that were used to move it on an off the ship when it wasn't needed. The ori...