GWF1967 Posted 30 January , 2020 Share Posted 30 January , 2020 I found these today, in an antique shop In Llandeilo. Proportional dividers. 1917 dated and Crowsfoot marked. Made by Norton & Gregory Ltd. London & Glasgow. Makers of drawing and mathematical instruments, 240mm long. Marked for Circles, Solids, Lines, and Plans. No. 1095. Most military marked examples I’ve found online are described as WW2 RAF Navigator’s equipment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JMB1943 Posted 31 January , 2020 Share Posted 31 January , 2020 GWF, What a neat piece of measuring (or are they for drawing also?) equipment. I had never before heard of proportional dividers; note to myself to get out more! Regards, JMB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave66 Posted 31 January , 2020 Share Posted 31 January , 2020 22 minutes ago, JMB1943 said: GWF, What a neat piece of measuring (or are they for drawing also?) equipment. I had never before heard of proportional dividers; note to myself to get out more! Regards, JMB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave66 Posted 31 January , 2020 Share Posted 31 January , 2020 Quality instrument that I’ve also never heard of before...great find. Dave. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pierssc Posted 31 January , 2020 Share Posted 31 January , 2020 (edited) Bit like these non-arrow marked ones then - which are pre-1853 (when the maker's business name - W Elliott - changed). If a good design works, why change it? Lest this be thought out of period and hence off topic, these dividers belonged to my nautical grandfather, a master mariner and Lieutenant RNR, so they may have seen service in WW1. They would have been at least second or third hand when he acquired them. You have to be pretty careful of those sharp bits, I can tell you! Nice bit of precision instrument. Edited 31 January , 2020 by pierssc Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GWF1967 Posted 31 January , 2020 Author Share Posted 31 January , 2020 6 hours ago, pierssc said: Bit like these non-arrow marked ones then - which are pre-1853 (when the maker's business name - W Elliott - changed). If a good design works, why change it? Lest this be thought out of period and hence off topic, these dividers belonged to my nautical grandfather, a master mariner and Lieutenant RNR, so they may have seen service in WW1. They would have been at least second or third hand when he acquired them. You have to be pretty careful of those sharp bits, I can tell you! Nice bit of precision instrument. That’s a very nice item to remember your Grandfather by pierssc. Thanks for posting the pictures. You are quite right about the sharp bits, I have a hole in my finger to prove it! Shame mine don’t have the lovely fitted case. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fovant Posted 31 January , 2020 Share Posted 31 January , 2020 An interestng find. As a graphic designer and typographer of the old school, I have my own proportional dividers. These were often used for the scaling the multiple columns of railway timetables in the days of hot metal typesetting (points and picas) when we worked on projects for BR Southern and Midland Regions. Bearing in mind how important maps became on the WF, these dividers are ideal for creating maps of different scales from an original. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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