The Hampton Nautical solid brass antique pocket compass is a polished to a mirror-like shine. The antique patina compass looks just like a 100-year-old antique but with a shiny and brand new feel. The antique finish needs no maintenance and can be handled without fingerprints discoloring the brass.
There is a small lever on the side of either compass that operates a needle lift mechanism to protect the compass bearing. The compass is 2-inches in diameter and weighs half a pound. The compass rose is graduated in degrees and has a standard surveyor's 0- to 90-degree scale from North and South.
Custom engraving is available on this brass pocket compass with a minimum quantity purchase. Contact us for details.
Polished brass housing for compass
Needle lift operates to protect bearing
Hinged lid closes to protect compass
Custom engraving available on large quantity orders
WARNING: This product can expose you to chemicals including Formaldehyde, and Styrene, which are known to the State of California to cause cancer, and Chromium and Toluene, which are known to the State of California to cause birth defects or other reproductive harm. For more information go to www.P65Warnings.ca.gov
Following the dispersion of the hand compass throughout Europe, the Age of Discovery began. From the early 15th century, through the 17th century, European powers expanded across the globe, especially to the Americas where the British eventually succeeded in establishing colonies. By 1776 those original colonies had grown in size and strength, as well as into a fledgling country in their own right. On July 4th of that year the United States was born as the Declaration of Independence announced that the 13 colonies of America would no longer under British Rule. In the quarter decade that followed, the United States grew in leaps and bounds, eventually pushing forward with the same desire for adventure, exploration, and conquest that had set European countries sailing across the seas 300 years earlier. As the country grew, settlements began to push farther and farther West, leading to the 1804 expedition of Lewis & Clark. With their brass pocket compasses and supplies packed Army Captain Meriwether Lewis and his partner William Clark, explorers commissioned by President Jefferson himself, started out on a legendary fact finding mission across the continent. Intent on discovering the Northwest Passage and claim the Pacific Northwest for the United States, they guided themselves by skill, the aid of their brass pocket compasses, and the help of the Native American Sacagawea. Though they never found the passage, Jefferson had also tasked the expedition with studying the diversity of plant and animal life while using their brass pocket compass to chart land and create accurate maps along the way. Discovering amazing resources on a trip that eventually lead them to the Pacific Coast of what is now Oregon, the intrepid exploration of Lewis & Clark proved fundamental in the Westward expansion of the United States. This mini brass compass lets you look back upon the amazing history of the device itself, as well as the heroic journey of two explorers who defined the ambition of early America.