Antique Mining/Surveying Compass – Otto Fennel Söhne, Cassel (Kassel), second half of the 19th century
A high-quality, professional mining and geological compass manufactured at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries by one of Germany’s most renowned precision engineering manufacturers—Otto Fennel Söhne in Kassel.
Manufacturer: Otto Fennel Söhne, Cassel.
Date of manufacture: ca. 1895–1905 (marked with the company name used after 1891).
Serial number: No. 8389.
Material: brass, oxidized steel (hand), mineral glass, silver-plated dial.
Dial and Hand: Silver-plated, easy-to-read dial with a full graduated scale (0–360°) and classic cardinal directions (N, S, W, E). Set in the center is an original, dark blue-colored steel magnetic needle with a counterweight in a rare and striking heart shape.
The compass is mounted on a solid plate equipped with an integrated diopter sight. Two brass, grooved cylinders on the vertical axis were used to thread a fishing line, string, or sighting hair. The surveyor would look along this line, aligning the instrument perfectly with the axis of the mine tunnel being surveyed.
The company, founded by Otto Fennel in 1851 in Kassel, was among the world’s leading manufacturers of surveying and optical instruments. After the founder’s sons took over the company in 1891, the manufacturer was renamed Otto Fennel Söhne and became renowned for introducing innovative technical solutions. Their compasses, theodolites, and levels were synonymous with absolute reliability, used in major engineering projects and mines throughout Europe.
Condition: Very good, 100% original, with a beautiful aged patina.
The compass presented here is not only a precise engineering tool from the era of the Industrial Revolution, but above all, a small work of applied art.
Dimensions: 13.5 x 9 [cm]
The last photos are for illustrative purposes only—the auction is for the compass only: “ Otto Fennel Söhne, Cassel (Kassel), second half of the 19th century.”
