Car compasses were available in a variety of styles, from basic models with a simple needle and north indication, to more advanced versions that included a illuminated display, a digital readout, or even a built-in thermometer.

Mar 20, 2025 · We’ve scoured the internet to find an exciting list of antique compasses currently available for sale online. We’ve organized our list into convenient categories, to help you find what you’re looking for more easily. 1. Nickel Plated Pocket Barometer Compass Compendium Retailed by Army & Navy COSL c1880. Features: Dual Concentric scaled dial.

Collecting Colonial and Early American Vernier Compasses - Beautiful and Historically Significant Surveying Instruments

Many of the early Colonial Compasses were simply engraved with some notable exceptions - like compasses made by Anthony Lamb. Two Lamb compasses side by side - Circa 1730s on the left and Circa 1760 to 1780 on the right.

CAR COMPASSES COMPASSIPEDIA doesn't deal with this topic since a collector (Jeff) plans to create a dedicated website. Jeff has been collecting compasses for over 10 years and has an array of compasses from the early 1920's to the 1980's.

From historic images to vivid descriptions, a record of rich detail is bundled inside a single card. Discover curious connections between artifacts. This early 20th-century compass uses a magnetized steel needle that rotates to align with the Earth's magnetic field.

Early compasses consisted of a magnetized bar or needle floating in a dish of water. More advanced instruments placed the needle on a pivot so it hovered above a card bearing a compass rose, whose points correlated to the Temple of the Winds devised by the ancient Greeks.

Browse 4,095 authentic old compass stock photos, high-res images, and pictures, or explore additional old compass isolated or old compass map stock images to find the right photo at the right size and resolution for your project.

Interestingly, these early compasses (made in the shape of a ladle or spoon on a bronze plate decorated with the cardinal directions) pointed towards the Earth’s Southern Pole, instead of those today which point to the North Pole.

I like to organize early American Compasses into 5 major types: Wood Compasses, Brass Plain Compasses, Minute Compasses, Nonius or Vernier Compasses, and finally the early Railroad Compasses.