An Elliot Brothers military prismatic service compass dating from c.1901. This compass is almost identical to the one that features in the Oscar winning 1985 film 'Out of Africa', which starred Meryl Streep and Robert Redford. In the film the compass is given to Karen Blixen (Meryl Streep) by Denys Finch Hatton (Robert Redford). The compass used in Out of Africa was Denys Finch Hatton's actual compass, but it was lost during the making of the film.
This compass originally belonged to Major-General A. E. Davidson D.S.O., a Royal Engineers officer who had a long and distinguished army career, serving in the Boer War, the First World War, and the Second World War. The name 'A. E. Davidson' is engraved on the base, and the initials 'A. E. D.' are stamped on the leather case.
The compass card design is quite unusual, originating around the time of the Boer War. Known as the Mk IV Service Prismatic Compass, it was produced for a relatively short time (c.1899-1902), being replaced by Lt-Colonel Verner's later designs, such as the Mk V and Mk VI before 1905. The compass has a mother of pearl card, with a luminous painted centre and black painted cardinal points. The luminous compound used in this compass was most probably a version of 'Balmain's Luminous Paint' (patented by William Balmain in 1877). This type of luminous paint was activated by exposure to very bright light, often created by burning a strip of magnesium ribbon. The compass also features a transit lock, operated by a sliding button on the side of the case, and a manual brake. It is signed 'Elliot Bros., London' on the lid. The compass retains almost all of its original bronzed finish, and comes complete with its fitted leather case.
Versions of this compass design are also known to have been manufactured by both J. H. Steward Ltd and Francis Barker & Son. In the 1901 Steward catalogue the compass is described as the 'Service Luminous Prismatic Mark IV, with Lt. Colonel Verner's patent direction scale and bar'. An almost identical compass, signed by Barker, can be seen at compassmuseum.com.
Major General A. E. Davidson D.S.O. (1880-1962): Alexander Elliot Davidson attended the Royal Military Academy and was commissioned as a 2/Lt in the Royal Engineers in 1899. He served in the Boer War in South Africa and in 1902 commanded one of the first sections of mechanical transport in Kimberley. Davidson rose quickly through the ranks and became one of the leading specialists in mechanized warfare. In 1910 he was secretary to the Mechanical Transport Commission and was involved in the development of motor transport in the run up to the First World War. During WW1 as a Lieutenant Colonel he served on the G.H.Q. Staff and as Assistant Director of Transport for the British Army in France. In 1915 he was mentioned in Despatches 'For gallant and distinguished service' and in 1916 he was awarded the DSO. After the war Davidson was appointed Chief Inspector of the army Experimental Staff and Research Department. In 1924 he was made Deputy Assistant Director of Fortifications at the War Office, and in 1927 became Chairman of the Technical Committee of the Mechanical Warfare Board. From 1935-1936 Davidson was Aide-de-Camp to King George V. By now a Major-General, from 1936-1940 Davidson was director of Mechanisation at the War Office. His final appointment was as Colonel-Commandant of the Royal Engineers before he retired from the army in 1940. As one of his fellow officers described him in his 1962 obituary: 'To give a true and accurate picture of Alexander Davidson is not easy, because he was by nature shy and reserved and many people found this reserve difficult to break through, but once this was done one found a man of quiet wit and great sympathy. As his deputy, I got to know him well and I never heard him say an unkind word against a brother officer'.
Elliot Brothers: was originally established at Gray's Inn in London by William Elliot (1781-1853) as a maker of drawing instruments. By 1807 he had moved to High Holborn, and by 1816 he was manufacturing items such as telescopes and barometers. In 1830 he moved to 56 Strand and was joined in the business by his two sons, Frederick Henry Elliot and Charles Alfred Elliot, and they expanded into producing a wide variety of scientific instruments. William Elliot died in 1853 and his sons continued the business as Elliot Brothers. In 1865 Charles Elliot retired and Frederick continued to run Elliot Brothers until his death in 1873, leaving the business to his wife. During the late 19th century the company also manufactured electrical instruments, and in 1893 they amalgamated with Theiler & Co. Telegraph and Instrument Makers. In 1900 the company moved to new premises at the Century Works in Lewisham. In 1916 a new company was formed - this was known as Elliot Brothers (London) Ltd and continued to produce scientific and mathemtical instruments.
Condition:
In excellent condition, full working order, and finds North very well. The leather case is in very good condition, with some wear to the strap. The compass has the name 'A. E. Davidson' engraved on the base, and the initials 'A. E. D.' stamped on the leather case.
Dimensions : 50mm (diameter, 70mm inc. prism)
Denys Finch Hatton (1887-1931) was an aristocratic big-game hunter and the lover of Baroness Karen Blixen (also known by her pen name, Isak Dinesen), a Danish noblewoman who wrote about him in her autobiographical book Out of Africa, first published in 1937. Finch Hatton met Baroness Blixen at the Muthaiga Club on 5 April 1918. Soon afterwards he was assigned to military service in Egypt. On his return to Kenya after the Armistice he developed a close friendship with Blixen and her Swedish husband, Baron Bror Von Blixen Finecke. He left Africa in 1920 but returned in 1922, investing in a land development company. By this time, Karen Blixen had separated from her husband, and after their divorce in 1925, Finch Hatton moved into her house and began leading safaris for wealthy sportsmen. One of his clients was Edward, Prince of Wales. According to the author Mary Lovell, in 1930 Finch Hatton began a love affair with Beryl Markham, who was working as a race-horse trainer in Nairobi and the surrounding area. Later, she would become known as a pioneer flyer.
On the morning of 14 May 1931, Finch Hatton's Gypsy Moth took off from Voi airport, circled the airport twice, then plunged to the ground and burst into flames. Finch Hatton and his servant Kamau were killed. In accordance with his wishes, Finch Hatton was buried in the Ngong Hills, overlooking nairobi National Park. Later, his brother erected a memorial at the gravesite upon which he placed a simple brass plaque inscribed with Finch Hatton's name, the dates of his birth and death, and an extract from Coleridge's epic poem The Rime of the Ancient Mariner: "He prayeth well, who loveth well both man and bird and beast".
Karen Blixen (1885-1962) was a Danish author who wrote works in Danish and English. She is best known under her pen name Isak Dinesen. She also published works using the aliases Osceola and Pierre Andrézel. Blixen is best known for Out of Africa, an account of her life while living in Kenya. Blixen was considered several times for the Nobel Prize for Literature. In 1918, Karen Blixen met the English big game hunter Denys Finch Hatton. He often travelled back and forth between Africa and England, and visited her occasionally. After her separation from her husband, Blixen and Finch Hatton developed a close friendship, which eventually became a long-term love affair. In a letter to her brother Thomas in 1924, she wrote: "I believe that for all time and eternity I am bound to Denys, to love the ground he walks upon, to be happy beyond words when he is here, and to suffer worse than death many times when he leaves". Finch Hatton used Blixen's farmhouse as a home base between 1926 and 1931. He died in the crash of his Gipsy Moth biplane in May 1931. At the same time, the failure of the coffee plantation, as a result of mismanagement, the height of the farm, drought, and the falling price of coffee, forced Blixen to abandon her beloved estate. Blixen returned to Denmark in August 1931 to live with her mother and remained in Rungstedlund for the rest of her life.
