An absolutely amazing working surveying / surveyor\'s compass estimated from the 1840s by famous American Philadelphian William J. Young in a homemade wood and leather case originating from the Dallas TX area with the face measuring approximately 6 1/8 inches in diameter and 14 inches end to end. A M or W is etched on the leather. Thanks for looking.
William J. Young (1800–1870) was raised in Philadelphia and,at age 13, apprenticed to Thomas Whitney to learn \"The Trade or Mystery ofa Mathematical Instrument Maker.\" Seven years later, having earned hisfreedom and with $30 in his pocket, Young went into business on his own. Withina few years, his was the leading mathematical instrument shop in the UnitedStates. Here he introduced improved forms of the railroad compass, the solarcompass, and the surveyor’s transit. And here he trained younger men to carryon the tradition.
Young was the first American to own a dividing engine—adevice for mechanically dividing circles into degrees and minutes. He would nothave needed such a complex and costly device just to make compasses, but hewould need it to graduate the circles of more precise instruments. Not havingthe money to purchase a dividing engine from England, Young built his own. Hehad never seen a dividing engine, but worked from a printed description of anEnglish engine. He would later modify this original engine, and build twoothers.
Young signed his earliest instruments \"W. J. YoungMaker Philadelphia [or Philada].\" He changed his signature to \"Wm. Y.Young Maker Philadelphia [or Philada]\" around 1840, and began markingserial numbers on his instruments around 1853. These numbers began around 3000,and probably indicate the number of Young instruments to date. Analysis ofthese serial numbers shows that Young produced some 65 instruments per year inthe 1850s, with annual production rising to 120 in the early 1900s.
While 18th-century American instrument makers tended to workalone, or with an apprentice or two, Young usually had ten or so men in hisshop, some apprentices and some journeymen. These men were all highly skilledand commanded relatively high wages. The instruments they produced weresubstantially more costly than those produced in factories, such as that of W.& L. E. Gurley.
William J. Young joined with Charles S. Heller and Thomas N.Watson in 1866, and began trading as William J. Young & Co. The partnershipdisbanded in 1870, Alfred Young operated the firm as Wm. J. Young & Sons,and Heller went on to form Heller & Brightly. The firm began signing theirinstruments Young & Sons in 1875, and began using this name inadvertisements around 1882. Young & Sons was incorporated in 1917. Keuffel& Esser obtained control of the firm in 1918, made it the Y&Sdepartment of K&E, and moved the operations to the K&E factory inHoboken, New Jersey.
Ref:
Deborah Jean Warner, \"William J. Young. From Craft toIndustry in a Skilled Trade,\" Pennsylvania History 52 (1985): 53–68.
Robert C. Miller, \"Dating Young Instruments,\"Rittenhouse 5 (1990): 21–24.
On Jul-16-13 at 11:44:41 PDT, seller added the following information:
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