Lot 22

American Surveyor's Instruments from The Wunsch Collection From settlement in the seventeenth century to expansion in the nineteenth, land surveyors played a crucial role in the geographic, political and economic development of America. Confronted with vast tracts of often impassable land, surveyors needed instruments that would quickly and efficiently approximate distances and locations of landmarks. The magnetic compass was first developed in England and became the primary tool used for land surveying in its colonial outposts--first in Ireland and then in America. The following 11 lots comprise a small but extraordinarily rich collection of American compasses and instruments made from the mid-eighteenth to the mid-nineteenth centuries. From Stephen Greenleaf's circa 1745 compass to a rare survival made by celebrated clockmaker and mathematical instrument maker, David Rittenhouse, this collection includes gems of American craftsmanship that illustrate the emergence of a new nation and the ingenuity of its inhabitants. PROPERTY FROM THE ESTATE OF ERIC MARTIN WUNSCH

A BRASS SURVEYOR'S SEMI-CIRCUMFERENTOR

SIGNED BY CAPTAIN JOHN POTTER (1746-1818), BROOKFIELD, MASSACHUSETTS, DATED 1792

Details

A BRASS SURVEYOR'S SEMI-CIRCUMFERENTOR
SIGNED BY CAPTAIN JOHN POTTER (1746-1818), BROOKFIELD, MASSACHUSETTS, DATED 1792
the cross arm signed JOHN POTTER BROOKFIELD; in fitted case with paper label inscribed John Potter/ in the County of Worcester Commonwealth/ of Massachusetts/ fecit 1792; together with an unsigned wooden and brass semi-circumferentor
overall 3 in. high, 13½ in. wide, 10¼ in. deep

Provenance

Sold, Christie's, New York, 12 June 1982, lot 80

If you wish to view the condition report of this lot, please sign in to your account.

View condition report

Lot Essay

Celebrated locally for his wide-ranging talents, John Potter (1746-1818) was a prominent member of his Brookfield, Massachusetts community. He served as lieutenant and paymaster during the American Revolution. Afterwards, he was a captain in the Massachusetts Militia and his Brookfield Company was twice called to suppress the uprisings during Shays' Rebellion in 1786 and 1787. He built his own house, which in 1929 was removed to Storrowton Village Museum in West Springfield, Massachusetts. In addition to clock- and instrument-making, Potter was a carpenter, cabinetmaker, cooper, silversmith, farmer and land surveyor. This semi-circumferentor is notable for its original fitted case and its date of 1792. Two closely related but undated semi-circumferentors by Potter are in the collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art (acc. no. 1987.41) and Old Sturbridge Village (acc. no. 4.1.45).

More from American Furniture, Outsider and Folk Art

View All