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Small mahogany wood pocket compass in use WW1 aviation officers

About the Item

Piccola bussola da tasca in legno di mogano e ottone in use by British aviation officers during World War I complete with eight-wind rose with goniometric circle and compass needle block for calculating horizontal angles. Signed J Wardale & Co London No. 7661 of 1918. Good fully functional state. Measures 8x8 H 2.7 cm -inches 3.15x3.15x1.6. Box gift box look at the last photo. The Greeks and the Romans were still unaware of the possibility of harnessing magnetic fields for orientation, while it seems that this possibility was already somewhat known to the Chinese: around 2600 B.C. Emperor Hoang-Ti was able to overcome Prince Tchi-Yeou in battle thanks to a "magic" chariot, the See-Nan (chariot pointing south). The emperor, thanks to this device, identified the enemy's escape route, despite the fact that the enemy had concealed it through a blanket of smoke: fixed on the chariot was a human-shaped wooden silhouette that rotated on itself and, with its arm outstretched, always pointed south (pointing south of course was also pointing north at the same time, but south was considered by the Chinese to be the most important cardinal point). The Chinese also used their discoveries related to magnetic fields as a form of entertainment and spectacle: they would throw magnetized arrows as if they were dice, and these would line up in a south-north direction as if by magic, which greatly impressed and amazed the spectators.

Dimensions:

Height: 1.6 in (4.07 cm)Width: 3.15 in (8.01 cm)Depth: 3.15 in (8.01 cm)

Materials and Techniques:

Wood

Period:

1910-1919

Date of Manufacture:

1918

Condition:

Wear consistent with age and use.

Seller Location:

Milan, IT