A Singer's Patent type pocket compass, dating from c.1885. The compass has a paper card, brass pivot, brass case, and bevelled glass. The compass card is the classic Singer's design, which was patented by Samuel Berry Singer in 1861. It is marked 'Trade Mark' above a logo depicting crossed arrows within a lyre. This use of the 'Trade Mark' wording and lyre motif is very similar to the well-known Francis Barker & Son 'Trade Mark London' logo. It may be an alternative version of the Barker Trade Mark, but it seems more likely that elements of the Barker logo were 'borrowed' by another maker hoping to associate their products with the highly successful Francis Barker brand.
Another unusual feature of this compass is the large circular luminous marker at the North point. Smaller versions of this type of marker were often used in English compasses towards the end of the 19th century. These markers were treated with a version of 'Balmain's Luminous Paint', a compound of Calcium Sulphide patented by William Balmain in 1877. The paint was made luminous by exposure to sunlight or burning a strip of magnesium ribbon near the dial.
Samuel Berry Singer (1796 - c.1875) was a master mariner from Southampton. He patented his unique design in June 1861, although he had been working on it since 1853. Its high contrast compass card was intended to be much easier to read in low light than conventional compasses of the time, and was considered to be a significant innovation. It was tested for night use by Trinity House and the Royal Navy. David Livingstone, the celebrated Victorian explorer, used one of Singer's compasses and provided a testimonial in the Negretti & Zambra catalogue for 1864. The administration and licensing of Singer's design and the allocation of the patent serial numbers was handled by Negretti & Zambra. Although his compass was widely adopted by British scientific instrument makers during the second half of the 19th century, Singer himself did not benefit greatly from his invention. The patent lapsed in 1868 when he was unable to pay the stamp duty required for its renewal, and he ended his days living in poverty in Kincardine on the Firth of Forth. Versions of his design continued to be made until after the First World War. Further details of the history of the Singer's Patent compass can be found at the compasscollector.com website, and in Compass Chronicles by Kornelia Takacs (Schiffer, 2010).
Condition:
In very good condition and full working order. The compass finds North very well. The compass card and glass are in very good condition, with a couple of very small marks to the underside of the glass. The luminous marker no longer glows in the dark. The brass case is in very good condition, with some wear and marks to the original lacquered finish.
Dimensions: 35mm diameter x 10mm height
