Description

An early and very unusual miner’s dial or mining compass with the rare and interesting signature of “Vincent et C. Chevalier / Quai de l’horloge n° 69 à Paris”.

First, all the instruments with the signature by Vincent and Charles Chevalier, so the father and son Chevalier, are quite rare and we can date the instrument between 1821 and 1832.

Second, this form of mining compass is very unusual and can be considered as a precursor of the most famous English John Hedley dial, made by John Davis & Son and developped around 1850. See the last image showing an original form.

“The feature of Mr. Hedley’s invention was the swinging limb. This construction superseded the old method of taking inclined sights (namely, by tilting the dial at right angles, as described above). The new ‘Davis‑Hedley’ method allowed the moving of the sights for taking vertical angles, ‘by the limb being attached to trunnions which were fitted to the compass body ring.” (See online, “THE HEDLEY DIAL. BY W. H. Davis.”).

The present model of mining/swinging compass with sights does not seem to have any successor in the French production of mining compasses. We cannot find any similar example in the later catalogue of Buron or Secretan or Morin.

The present example has also the possibility to be used in suspension on a string.

A quite rare transitionnal miner or mining instrument with a rare French signature.

Size : 15,3cm diameter and 19cm height.

The condition is excellent.