Description:
Brass surveyor's compass with silvered brass card and steel needle by Nathan Storrs (1768-1839). This surveyor's compass is a local example of diversification of the clock and watchmaker's trade into other mathematical instruments since rural craftsmen tended to offer a more diverse range of skills than did their urban couterparts in order to survive economically. Born in Mansfield, Connecticut, Nathan Storrs trained with Jacob Sargeant (1761-1843), originally a clock and watchmaker who expanded to silversmithing and jewelry making, in Springfield, Massachusetts. In 1791, Nathan Storrs moved to Northampton in 1791, staying there until his death in 1839. Storrs was also a watch and clockmaker who diversified and supplemented his trade as a silversmith by making surveying instruments, cutlery, and other objects. On July 6, 1791, he advertised his "Silver Table and Tea Spoons" for sale in the "Hampshire Gazette." He had two partners over the years: Jedidiah Baldwin (1768-1849) from 1792-1794 when Baldwin left for Hanover, NH; and Benjamin E. Cook from 1827-1834 as Storrs & Cook until Storrs sold his interest to Cook and retired; his shop was on Shop Row, former site of E. J. Gare and Son, Inc. The lavishly-engraved compass card has 32 points, demonstrating Storr's engraving skills, is engraved "N. Storrs/ N Hampton" in script in the center. There is a brass screw in the bottom to immobilized the needle for travel; a socket on bottom for mounting onto a tripod; and a gadrooned brass rim border around glass face. The brass cover is engraved in script with "Nathan Storrs/ Northampton" within an engraved scroll surround; the cover has socket and pin catches on each side. The brass sights are removable via butterfly screws; one sight is bent.
Label Text:
This compass is a local example of trade diversification. In order to survive economically, rural craftsmen tended to offer a more diverse range of skills than did their urban counterparts. Nathan Storrs had to supplement his trade as a silversmith by making surveying instruments, clocks, watches, and cutlery. The lavishly engraved compass card with 32 points demonstrates Storrs’s engraving skill that he developed while working in New York City prior to moving to Northampton.
Link to share this object record:
https://museums.fivecolleges.edu/detail.php?t=objects&type=ext&id_number=HD+61.022 |
