A rare and attractive high quality Georgian style short necked gilt brass compass in leather case c1835

A scarce, high quality, 1⅜” diameter gilt brass pocket compass having enamelled card dial with hand painted cardinals, intercardinals and false points. Polished flat steel bar needle with jewelled suspension, highly-polished reflector ring, bevelled convex crystal. Gilt brass barrel form case with central rib, short-necked suspension post, marked “3,” and Georgian-style bow, transit lock button. The verso with monogram “TPW.” Contained within its original, dark cerise velvet and silk-lined, moroccan leather-covered case with brass keeper.

The compass remaining in completely original condition, with virtually all its gilding, slight marks to verso and losses to bow, the crystal near-perfect, the leather case modestly worn with loss to leather over to hinge, retaining a good proportion of original finish. The inner lid silk perished to centre. Crisp overall.

This most attractive compass is unusual, being of smaller size and having a typical Georgian bow but with a shorter suspension post. The gilding, tested as gold, may have been applied using the newly invented gold plating technique, but more likely to have been a result of the traditional amalgamation process as the cast brass bow and suspension post bear casting marks which plating would have hidden to a greater degree. Although the carat is not known, the richness of the colour would suggest 18ct gold.

In lovely original condition, this antique pocket compass is very much a collector’s piece.