A VERY OLD ANTIQUE MAGNETIC COMPASS MOUNTED IN A WOODEN CASE which is 3X3X1 INCHES IN SIZE. THE COMPASS IS MARKED ON THE DIAL 'MADE in FRANCE' AND DATES, MOST LIKELY 19TH TO EARLY 20TH CENTURY.
 
(THE LEWIS & CLARK EXPEDITION WHICH STARTED OUT IN 1803 CARRIED THREE VERY SIMILAR COMPASSES--I HAVE INCLUDED BELOW, FOR COMPARISON,  A PICTURE OF ONE OF THEM WITH IT'S LEATHER POUCH ON DISPLAY IN THE MUSEUM OF AMERICAN HISTORY).

 AS YOU CAN SEE MY COMPASS, ALTHOUGH IN GOOD WORKING ORDER, SHOWS IT'S AGE--THERE IS SOME  DAMAGE A REAR CORNER of THE LID, ONE OF THE CLOSURE HOOKS FROM THE FRONT IS MISSING, A COUPLE OF SCREWS are MISSING FROM THE INSIDE HINGES and IT APPEARS SOMEONE GLUED THE GLASS DOWN AT SOME POINT and I believe the locking bar for the needle is gone.

 A HAND INCISED 'W' and 'E'  INCISED ON THE CASE INSIDE NEXT TO THE DIAL AND ON BACK VERY FAINTLY AND CRUDELY INCISED APPEARS TO BE THE NAME 'JOHN'.
$16.95 INSURED USA SHIPPING.

 A HAND INCISED 'W' and 'E'  INCISED ON THE CASE INSIDE NEXT TO THE DIAL AND ON BACK VERY FAINTLY AND CRUDELY INCISED APPEARS TO BE THE NAME 'JOHN'.

 I

$16.95 INSURED USA SHIPPING.

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 ( In the spring of 1803, Meriwether Lewis began to purchase scientific and mathematical instruments for a pending expedition into the northwestern region of North America. Among the items he purchased from Philadelphia instrument maker Thomas Whitney were three pocket compasses for $2.50 each, and this silver-plated pocket compass for $5. It has a mahogany box, a silver-plated brass rim that is graduated to degrees and numbered in quadrants from north and south, a paper dial, two small brass sight vanes, and a leather carrying case. Whether Lewis purchased the silver compass for himself or intended it as a special gesture for William Clark is not known.
    Following the instructions of President Thomas Jefferson, the Corps of Discovery, under the leadership of Lewis and Clark, ascended the Missouri River in May 1804 to obtain detailed information on the natural resources of the region, to search for a northwest passage, and to make official diplomatic contact with Indian leaders.
    By the time they returned to St. Louis in September 1806, few of the instruments that were purchased for the trip had survived the journey. The pocket compass, however, was kept by Clark as a memento. He later gave the compass to his friend, Capt. Robert A. McCabe, whose heirs donated it in 1933 to the Smithsonian Institution. )
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