Surveyors' compass

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This surveyors' compass was produced around 1790 by John Miller, a scientific instrument maker based in Edinburgh. It is made of wood and brass, with an iron needle on a jewelled bearing.

The compass shows the four cardinal points, with the scale marked at 1 degree intervals. It is signed in the northern hemisphere of the dial 'Miller Edinr...', and the needle is painted red at one tip.

Miller began in business in 1769 just as a period of rapid agricultural change in Scotland was ending. The number of land surveyors between around 1750 and around 1770 increased from around 10 to around 70 and stayed at this level into the 19th century.

Record details

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• Online ID: 000-100-104-307-C
• Image Rights Holder: National Museums Scotland
• Project: National Museums Scotland
  Project description   View all records in project
• Ref: National Museums Scotland  T.1990.33
• Date: Around 1790
  c. 1790
  
• Material: Wood, brass. Inscription: Miller Edinr...
  Compass, surveyor's
  
• Dimensions: 240 mm x 240 mm x 30 mm
  
• What: Compass, surveyor's
  
• Subject:
• Who: Miller, Edinburgh (Maker)
  
• Where: Scotland, Midlothian, Edinburgh
  
• Event:
• Description: Surveyor's compass in wood and brass, with a glazed protective cover, made by Miller of Edinburgh about 1790
  
• References:
  • For John Miller, see Clarke, T.N., Morrison-Low, A.D. & Simpson, A.D.C. Brass & glass scientific instrument making workshops in Scotland as illustrated by instruments from the Arthur Frank Collection at the Royal Museum of Scotland. Edinburgh: NMS, 1989. 
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