A Francis Barker & Son ‘RGS’ type pocket compass, dating from c.1900. The compass card is signed with the retailers details: ‘Cary, London’. The compass has a brass hunter case, a paper card with a jewelled pivot, a transit lock, operated by a small button on the edge of the case when the lid is closed, and thick bevelled glass with the four cardinal points painted in red on the underside. The compass card would have been treated with luminous paint - most probably a version of 'Balmain's Luminous Paint', a compound of calcium sulphide which was made luminous by exposure to sunlight or by burning a strip of magnesium ribbon near the compass card. It was patented in England by William Balmain in 1877, and was often used in compasses during the last quarter of the 19th century. The remains of the original oval instruction label can still be seen inside the lid. It would have read: 'To render the compass luminous at night it should be exposed to the daylight, or preferably by burning about 1-inch Magnesium ribbon close to the dial'.
This is a well documented Barker design, which was supplied unsigned by the maker to Cary and several other prominent London retailers, including J. H. Steward and Negretti & Zambra. The retailer would then add their own details to the compass card. Cary supplied scientific instruments such as this to explorers and military officers, including the compasses used by Ernest Shackleton and his team during the celebrated 1907-1909 British Antarctic Expedition.
This compass is almost identical to one of the Cary compasses known to have been used during the 1907-1909 expedition. The expedition compass can be seen in a photographic plate facing page 342 of Volume II of The Heart of the Antarctic (1909), Shackleton’s classic account of the expedition (see photo). Shackleton took two Cary pocket compasses of this type with him on the expedition, one of which returned to the Antarctic in 2008, carried by the explorer Henry Worsley, during the Shackleton Centenary Expedition.
Dating from c.1900-1910, this type of compass featured in many scientific instrument catalogues and had been in production since the late 19th century, although its design was not registered by Barker until 1903. In the Barker catalogue for 1907 this design was described as the ‘R.G.S. Dial’, even though it was never officially endorsed by the Royal Geographical Society.
Further details of this type of compass can be found in the book Trade Mark London by Paul Crespel, available to view as a PDF at trademarklondon.com. It is also featured in Compass Chronicles (Schiffer, 2010) by Kornelia Takacs.
Condition
In very good condition, full working order, and points strongly to North. The brass case is in very good condition, with a few marks. The lid opens and closes very well. The compass card and glass are in very good condition. There is some dust under the glass. The transit lock is fully functional.
Dimensions: 45mm diameter (65mm inc. loop)
Cary of London: William Cary (1759–1825) was an English scientific-instrument maker. He produced numerous scientific instruments including mechanical calculators, measuring instruments, telescopes, microscopes, navigation and survey equipment. William Cary had three brothers, the eldest George (c.1753 - 1830) was a haberdasher while the second brother John, was a mapmaker who also worked with William and the last, Francis (c.1756 - 1836) was an engraver. Cary learnt the skills for producing instruments as an apprentice of Jesse Ramsdan (1735-1800). After his death in 1825, the firm was taken over by Charles Gould, who may have trained briefly under William Cary. The company continued trading for almost 100 years, being run by various members of the Gould family, including Charlotte Hyde Gould (c.1797-1865). They became well known as retailers of globes and other scientific and mathematical instruments. Around 1900 Cary were trading from premises at 7 Pall Mall, London, their trade card describing the company as 'Opticians and Scientific Instrument Makers to the Admiralty'.
Francis Barker & Son: were established in London in 1848, as a maker of compasses and scientific instruments. One of the most important British scientific instrument makers of the Victorian era, Francis Barker produced a very wide range of compass designs throughout the 19th and early 20th centuries, supplying major retailers such as Negretti & Zambra, J. Lizars, C. W. Dixey, Dollond, and many others. The company prospered until 1932, when it was taken over and became F. Barker & Son (1932). After WW2 the company changed hands several times and the name is now owned by Pyser Optics of Edenbridge in Kent. They continue to produce the renowned Barker M-73, widely acknowledged to be the world's finest prismatic compass.
