This is really nice small plain compass made by Levi Colton.

The compass is relatively small - 12.5 inch mainplate and a 3.75 inch needle. The sight vanes are 5.5 inches tall. The vials have liquid.

This compass presents very nicely, but has a few things worth noting:

1. The needle lifter doesn't work, and I'm not sure why. I didn't spend much time with it however.

2. One of the sight vanes (the one that is notched for to fit next to the level) is VERY slightly bent. The sight vane fits a little snugly in the box, which is the only way I noticed the bend. You really have to be looking for the bend to see it.

3. You will see some green cleaner or wax residue if you look closely at the pics, especially the underside. I'm not sure what that is. The compass has a very nice patina, and doesn't look like it was cleaned with abrasives. If I kept the compass I could probably disassemble it a bit and remove the residue. The residue doesn't really detract from the instrument however.

Having said above, this Colton compass is a very nice example, and Colton compasses don't pop up for sale very often.

Please see my Levi Colton Makers Webpage for more info about this surveying instrument maker.