Mariner's compass

Other author Adam Matthew Digital (Firm) digitiser.
Format Electronic
PublicationMarlborough, Wiltshire : Adam Matthew Digital, 2022.
Description1 online resource.
Supplemental Contenthttps://go.openathens.net/redirector/ecu.edu?url=https://www.lifeatsea.amdigital.co.uk/documents/detail/mariners-compass/22103768

SeriesLife at Sea: Seafaring in the Anglo-American Maritime World, 1600-2867
Summary The mariner's compass, which enabled mariners to know the direction in which they were sailing, has always been one of the most important navigational instruments. This example is mounted in a wooden box to keep it safe (the lid is now missing). The compass itself is mounted on brass gimbals to keep it steady on a moving ship. It has a single iron needle with a brass cap that rests on a spike projecting from the bottom of the bowl, which also contains some lead to weigh it down and keep it steady. The compass card is made of paper and is marked both in degrees and with the points of the compass. North is indicated by a fleur-de-lys, while the other cardinal and half-cardinal points have images of figures representing the sun, moon, Mercury, Mars, Venus, Jupiter and Saturn. Some small blobs of sealing wax remain on the underside of the card (they were originally put there to keep it balanced).
General noteAMDigital Reference:NAV0378.
Original versionReproduction of: Mariner's compass, 1750.
Location of originalNational Maritime Museum, UK
Copyright note© National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, London

Availability

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