Interesting European drawing instruments have been a bit thin on the ground here in the UK over the last couple of years, but occasionally something unexpected still turns up. In this case I was able to buy a set erroneously listed as being made by “CESIECO Germany” – a firm known for their relatively inexpensive instruments that still exists today – for a little over ten pounds including local postage.
I might easily have ignored it, but for the odd metal triangle sat in the top right corner of the case that told me this was not your ordinary CESIECO set – or, indeed, a CESIECO set at all. Superficially it looked like a 45-degree set square in German silver, but where the usual central cutout would be was some sort of sliding mechanism with a knurled nut.
Nor was this the only unconventional feature of the set. Alongside the usual compass with extension bar, plain dividers, drop bow and ruling pens, there is an oddly industrial-looking pricker or scribe with replaceable fine needle point. The ruling pens also deviate from the norm, comprising a pair of the long-bladed lithographic type, along with a large Swedish detail pen.
Finally there is an additional small-size divider instead of the more usual small insert compass. Viewed as a whole, this is the kind of drawing set that might suit a mapmaker or lithographer.
Turning to the outside of the box, the inscription “Kat.-P.II Spezial” at top right would appear to confirm that this was indeed some kind of non-standard drawing set. In the lower left corner is what appears to be the maker’s name, “Herm. Höhnig, Bremen 9”.
However, the central “PRÄCISION” logo with its decorative oval frame indicates that the set was actually made by the major drawing instrument manufacturer Eichmüller & Co (better known by their ECOBRA trademark, a truncation of Eichmüller & Co, Bayerische Reisszeugfabrik A.G., first registered in 1924), this particular logo being used by the firm around the 1920s. Their involvement is further corroborated by the two dividers which are marked with Eichmüller’s windmill and acorn logo (the name Eichmüller literally means acorn miller).
Presumably they also made the German silver triangle for Höhnig, but there is no signature to confirm this, only the letters “D.R.P.” for Deutsches Reichspatent (German imperial patent). This was not a design I had encountered before, but the patent was easily located as the only one filed in Höhnig’s name. Entitled Dreieck, insbesondere zum Zeichnen von Quadraten (Triangle, especially for drawing squares) the application was made on 20 December 1929 and granted the following July.
The patent drawings leave no room for doubt that this is the same instrument, being essentially identical to the real thing in every detail. The patent text explains the instrument’s intended purpose, namely to simplify the process of drawing the multiple tiny squares used to denote boundary markers on cadastral plans. These boundary marks represented the actual square stone boundary markers used in the field to permanently locate the extent of a property, particularly in Europe for which market this set was most likely intended.
By sliding the inner triangle up or down the central bar, the width of its two perpendicular slots could be adjusted precisely to the side of square required. Having drawn two parallel sides of the square within one slot, the triangle would be moved along a straightedge until the other slot coincided with these first lines, allowing the two remaining sides of the square to be completed.
The tightening nut on the instrument allowed the setting to be firmly locked in place, essential for working on large, repetitive drawings. The patent drawings illustrate two example squares that could be drawn at two distinct settings. To explain the process more clearly, I have made a photo montage that shows both triangle positions used to produce a single square.
This was a very specific tool intended for a niche market, so it should probably come as no surprise that it is practically unknown today. The “Kat.” in the set’s code name presumably stands for “Kataster” (cadastre), the name for the specialised field of surveying dealing with land boundaries. Oddly enough, the seller I acquired it from could only trace it back to a relative who worked in aviation, “making small parts for aeroplanes”. Whether the patent triangle still served its intended purpose in this role remains unknown.
The firm of Hermann Höhnig continued to make dedicated mapmaking instruments such as their better-known Gravurring (cartographer’s engraving ring) in addition to the more usual road pens and drop bows, presumably still aimed at the mapmaking community. After the second world war the firm seems to have relocated in Berlin where they remained until at least 2001, at some point adopting the rather less snappy name “Höhnig, Hermann, Nachf. F.A. Lange, Inh. Wolfgang Lange”.
While the cadastral triangle could easily be written off as a footnote in Höhnig’s history, the firm clearly remained proud of their early invention as evidenced by their later logo. It consists of a 45-degree triangle with the letters “HH” arranged in a way that evokes the mechanism of their patent with its central sliding bar.
What eventually became of Höhnig and his successors I have yet to discover, but hopefully this chance find will provide the impetus to further research.
