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Large signed brass nautical magnetic compass KELVIN HUGHES DIVISION 1940

About the Item

Large brass and glass nautical magnetic compass, signed KELVIN HUGHES DIVISION S. Smith & Son (England) Ltd Manufactured in Great Britain circa 1940, mounted on custom-made wood and brass board. Complete with double goniometric circle, outer engraved on brass circle and inner on compass rose. Compass diameter cm 23 - inch 9, outer circle diameter cm 31 - inches 12, height with base cm 19 - inches 7.5, table width cm 41.5 - inches 16.3. Good condition, fully functional. The compass consists of a cylindrical-shaped vessel made of brass and bronze to give stability, called a mortar, on which bottom is attached a hard metal rod, on which the appropriately constrained eight-twenty rose rests, so that the zero coincides with the magnetic polarity. To minimize friction, the mortar is filled with low-freezing point liquid, also having the purpose of rapidly dampening any wind rose oscillations and closed by two strong protective glasses. The Henry Hughes & Son company was founded in London in 1838 producing scientific and nautical instruments in particular, in 1923 it built its first echo sounder. Following the destruction of the company in 1941 due to the war, he began a collaboration with several instrument-making companies and in the 1947 a new company was founded called Kelvin & Hughes Ltd which produced among other things marine radar for the Ministry of Transport, the company was liquidated in 1966. The earliest historical records of the use of magnetic directive force in Europe date back to the late sec. XII or early XIII and attribute the exploitation of the properties of the magnet to the Amalfitans. The gimbal made its first appearance around the middle of the sec. XVI. An exact description is given in the short compendium "De la esfera y de la arte de navegar," by Martin Cortés (1551), which gives precise guidelines for the construction of the compass. To the refinements of the instrument can largely be attributed the great discoveries of new lands, from the middle of the sec. XV onwards.

Dimensions:

Height: 7.5 in (19.05 cm)Diameter: 12 in (30.48 cm)

Materials and Techniques:

Brass

Period:

1940-1949

Date of Manufacture:

1940

Condition:

Wear consistent with age and use.

Seller Location:

Milan, IT