360 Degree Spinner View

This Circa 1760 Aaron Miller Compass is a special compass for a number of reasons. First, there were only a small number of makers in America who could make and engrave a brass compass, and those makers did not make very many compasses. Of the compasses they did make, only a small percentage survived over a 250 year period. For this reason, pre-1776 brass compasses are rarely offered for sale.

Second, the maker of this compass, Aaron Miller, has a pretty neat life story. While not much is known about Miller, it is well documented that Miller invented the Minute Compass - a compass that can measure angles to a minute of a degree in 1765 or so. Please take a look at the Minute Compass webpage to see just show advanced Miller's Minute Compass was.

Aaron Miller could have made the compass offered for sale here much earlier than 1760. Miller advertised in newspapers in 1747 and 1748 that he was making and selling surveyor compasses, for example.

The compass has a 4.75 inch needle and is 13.5 inches long. I don't know if the level vials are original. Could very well be a somewhat later addition. The compass comes with its original box.

This is the only compass made by Aaron Miller that I can find either on the internet or in my pretty extensive database of instruments (mainly old dealer catalogues).

For all of the information I have on Aaron Miller, please check out my Aaron Miller Maker Webpage, which includes the documentation reflecting Miller's invention of the Minute Compass.