THE PAPER DIAL SIGNED BY JOHN DUPEE (1729-1773), BOSTON, CIRCA 1760

All with similarly engraved compass papers, this wooden compass is one of approximately five or six known by John Dupee (1729-1773). Five others have been recorded, but with possible duplication: Two are in the collections of the South Natick Historical Society and the Bostonian Society; a third is listed as owned by "N. Parker" in 1964; a fourth was sold by Boston Rare Maps; a fifth sold, Skinner, Marlborough, 16 July 2011, lot 183. Dupee was the son of a French immigrant and as noted by Silvio Bedini, Isaac Dupee, a carver, removed his shop in 1761 to the same location noted on the compass papers. This was probably John's younger brother, Isaac (1731-1783), and John may have begun making compasses at this location in 1761 or may have worked there prior to his brother's removal. See Silvio A. Bedini, Early American Scientific Instruments and Their Makers (Washington D.C., 1964), pp. 104-105, 153-154; www.bostonraremaps.com).