Rittenhouse Compass - Given to George Washington

The Compasses signed "Rittenhouse" are some of the most fascinating compasses generated by the Rittenhouse makers. The $64 question - "Who Made Them?" David? Benjamin? Both of them together?

That question was the subject of a good deal of debate and analysis, partly spurred on by my dad's 1990 article about Rittenhouse compasses. At that time, some collectors suggested that Benjamin created the "Rittenhouse" brand after David passed away in 1796. After contacting all of the known Rittenhouse brand owners, my dad concluded that the "Rittenhouse" branded compasses had certain features (the 3's, 8's and H's) that were much more consistent with DR's signed compasses than BR's signed compasses, and that DR was therefore still alive and involved in making the "Rittenhouse" branded compasses, with BR's assistance.

Thirty years after my dad published his article, and considerable additional research by Bedini, Jeff Lock, and others, I believe that the question about who made the "Rittenhouse" compasses has largely been answered.

The most compelling answer is that David and Benjamin made them jointly. David very clearly trained Benjamin, and oversaw his work. Bedini - Benjamin Rittenhouse (1740-1825). At some point Benjamin likely progressed from apprentice to semi-skilled artisan, requiring less and less of David's supervision. I suspect when Benjamin crossed the line from trainee, the brothers decided it would not be fair to label compasses as "David Rittenhouse". So they had to come up with a suitable name indicating input from both of them. Just "Rittenhouse " makes sense - it's already a long name, so why burden it with a bunch more letters?

The timing makes sense as well. The oldest known and dated Benjamin Rittenhouse compass is 1786 (BR18). The "Rittenhouse" compass that was reportedly given the George Washington (R1 below) was made in 1782, well before BR apparently ventured out on his own.

The only possible alternative theory is that Benjamin adopted the "Rittenhouse" brand after David died in 1796. I don't think that works if you look at all the "Rittenhouse" compasses. R1 (see below) was reported given to GW in 1782, so you would have to prove that legend was wrong. R2 has some very innovative features on it and looks like a prototype, which is much more consistent with DR's background than BR's. And Jeff Lock concluded that DR made the Theodolite (R4) after examining it piece by piece, so he would have to be wrong on that as well. That's like drawing three cards to an inside straight - very long odds indeed.

Accordingly, my best guess is that the later part of the revolutionary war until 1785 or so, David and Benjamin worked together to produce compasses under the "Rittenhouse" brand name. Thereafter Benjamin went off on his own, and created his own brand "Benjamin Rittenhouse". I would appreciate hearing any input you have on this, however.

Full Disclosure: I'm biased - I still own my dad's old "Rittenhouse" compass (R2). I would love to own a David Rittenhouse signed vernier-variation compass. For that matter, I would also love to own a highly decorated Benjamin Rittenhouse compass.

But I think that as a brand, the "Rittenhouse" compasses are the most intriguing brand the Rittenhouses had. The "Rittenhouse" brand evidences the tremendous growth of BR's engraving skillset, while at the same time DR continues to test and innovate. Each compass tells a story.

Start with R1 - the George Washington compass. A beautifully engraved compass, no doubt with David's heavy influence and time commitment. This compass is tied to Washington more by legend than with documentation, which adds just a slight bit of mystery to the compass.

R2, my dad's compass, is fascinating. Sadly, it lacks the beautiful engraving of most of the other Rittenhouse branded compasses. But what it lacks in engraving, it makes up in creativity. This compass almost certainly had to be DR's test compass. The compass features two innovations not seen elsewhere in America up to that point. First, R2 features an automatic lifter, which was the subject of my dad's articles on Rittenhouse. You can read about the automatic lifter here.

Second, R2 features a lift-off glass cover for the compass box.  The glass cover actually fits snugly inside the solid brass cover, so you can remove the glass cover by taking the brass cover off a certain way. Or you can leave the glass cover on by taking the brass cover off a different way. This would normally be a very undesirable feature for a surveyor, right? But DR's vernier-variation compasses with their solar devices required glass removal once or twice a day. With R2, DR came up with a really innovative way to make glass removal both safe and easy. Pure Genius.

I see R3 and R7 as being somewhat similar compasses. If you look closely at the compass faces, you will see certain some similar engraving characteristics. They are the only "Rittenhouse Pennsylvania" compasses known. I assume that these compasses were early DR and BR efforts, before BR moved to Philadelphia. The level of engraving of R7 certainly lacks the artistry of many of the other "Rittenhouse" compasses, likely because BR was early in developing his engraving skills.
Additionally, I've marked up 2 pics - R3 Pic and R7 Pic. There are the only two "Rittenhouse" compasses that feature this engraving touch, again suggesting that these compasses were made close in time by the same person.

Finally, unlike R3, R7 has a vernier mechanism that other makers would duplicate for more than a century. R7 is the oldest known compass with this vernier mechanism. No doubt another DR inspired evolution.

R4 is a wonderfully constructed Theodolite, quite unlike anything the Rittenhouses made otherwise (that's known to exist). Jeff Lock concludes that DR had a large role to play in making this fine instrument.

Finally, I see R5 and and possibly R6 as likely late model "Rittenhouse" compasses evidencing just how far BR has evolved his engraving skills. R5 also shows the oldest use of an "H" that looks like an "M", which BR would often do in his own branded instruments.