Item#: SDI969

SOLD

 

This is the most compact of all drawing instruments, produced in England and made from brass with its legs folding up into the upper part. It is 7 cm long when folded, a true mechanical work of art. 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 thought to have invented this type folding compass in 1848.