Scientific Instruments > Drawing Instruments

Napier Folding Pocket Compass with Reversible Tips.

Item#: SDI461

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This is the most compact of all drawing instruments, 6.5 cm long when folded, a true mechanical work of art. Produced in England and made from German silver (electrum) with its legs folding up into the upper part. Here, the swivel joint is made at a right angle to the head joint. This arrangement may provide a compact combination of two needle pointed heads for use as dividers for marking off distances, or one pointed head and an ink or pencil head for use as a compass. David Napier (1790 – 1876) is considered to invent the folding compass in 1848.