Surveyor's Compass

Its magnetic needle pointed north, and folding sights let a surveyor measure the direction of property lines.

Maker: Peregrine White
Place: United States: Connecticut, Woodstock
Dimensions: overall length: 12 3/8 in; 31.4325 cm; needle: 4 1/2 in; 11.43 cm; overall: 6 7/8 in x 12 3/8 in x 5 7/8 in; 17.4625 cm x 31.4325 cm x 14.9225 cm
Museum: National Museum of American History
Credit line: Dr. and Mrs. Arthur M. Greenwood

Peregrine White (1747–1834), a namesake and direct descendant of the first European child born in Cape Cod Harbor in 1620, was a clockmaker in Woodstock, Connecticut. This surveyor's compass probably dates from around 1800. Like the Lamb compass in the collection, the vertical sights fold down when not in use. Like the Harland compass, this one has no direction letters and so can be read either clockwise or counterclockwise. There is a level vial on each arm. The face is inscribed "PEREGRINE WHITE Woodstock."

Ref: Silvio A. Bedini, Early American Scientific Instruments and Their Makers (Washington, D.C., 1964), pp. 47–48.

The museum's own record (Smithsonian, National Museum of American History)