THE DIAL SIGNED BY BENJAMIN RITTENHOUSE (1740-1825) AND J. THOMAS, WORCESTER, PENNSYLVANIA, CIRCA 1800

This compass is a rare document of the partnership of Benjamin Rittenhouse (1740-1825) and an unidentified craftsman, J. Thomas. Only one other example of their collaborative work is known, a similarly engraved compass in the collections of Historic Rittenhouse Town in Philadelphia. The compass offered here is recorded in the Decorative Arts Photographic Collection at Winterthur Library as owned by Philip H. Bradley Co. in 1978. As further noted in the DAPC files, the partnership of Rittenhouse and Thomas is presumed to have occurred circa 1800. For another compass by Benjamin Rittenhouse in this sale, see lot 24.