Accurate Description of Item
E.S.Ritchie ship compass
Appraiser Remarks
Very nice find. According to our records American inventor and physicist Edward Samuel Ritchie (1814-1895) established E.S. Ritchie & Sons in the mid 1800s, manufacturers and merchants of compasses and nautical equipment for all types of ships. Ritchie is considered to be the most important science mind and inventor in nautical instrument innovation of 19th century America. His award-winning and patented compass designs became the standards for the marine industry. Ritchie co-founded Chamberlain & Ritchie manufacturers of mechanical and electrical instruments in 1850 with fellow inventor Nathan B. Chamberlain (1809-1878) in several locations around Boston notably the area of Downtown Crossing. In 1860, Ritchie engaged in the development of the first major advancement in "several hundred years" in marine bearing compass technology with the gimbal fastened, liquid-filled floating compass card. This improvement allowed the compass to regulate itself as the ship pitched, for example and led to a profitable contract manufacturing navigational equipment for the US Navy. Ritchie also improved upon the technology of the theodolite; a precision instrument for measuring angles in the horizontal and vertical planes. In the current market your compass would retail in the $800.00- $1500.00 range depending on local demand
Estimated Value
$800.00- $1500.00
Re: E.S.Ritchie ship compass
E.S.Ritchie ship compass
Very nice find. According to our records American inventor and physicist Edward Samuel Ritchie (1814-1895) established E.S. Ritchie & Sons in the mid 1800s, manufacturers and merchants of compasses and nautical equipment for all types of ships. Ritchie is considered to be the most important science mind and inventor in nautical instrument innovation of 19th century America. His award-winning and patented compass designs became the standards for the marine industry. Ritchie co-founded Chamberlain & Ritchie manufacturers of mechanical and electrical instruments in 1850 with fellow inventor Nathan B. Chamberlain (1809-1878) in several locations around Boston notably the area of Downtown Crossing. In 1860, Ritchie engaged in the development of the first major advancement in "several hundred years" in marine bearing compass technology with the gimbal fastened, liquid-filled floating compass card. This improvement allowed the compass to regulate itself as the ship pitched, for example and led to a profitable contract manufacturing navigational equipment for the US Navy. Ritchie also improved upon the technology of the theodolite; a precision instrument for measuring angles in the horizontal and vertical planes. In the current market your compass would retail in the $800.00- $1500.00 range depending on local demand