More patent sticks
Here is a trio of glorified wooden sticks for ruling parallel lines that each somehow managed to secure patent protection. Two are so similar that they could easily be mistaken…
An English Lotter?
The other day I broke my own rule of not buying any more of those turn of the century imported student-quality sets sold in vast quantities, primarily by Jackson Brothers, but…
The “Marvel” geometric compass
The Bennett "Marvel" Geometric compass is a classic example of the torturous development and ultimate failure of an overcomplicated solution to a problem that never really existed in the first…
Galileo! Galileo!
Not to be confused with Galileo's compass, the Staedtler Galileo could be considered one of the last radical redesigns of the modern compass, literally turning the usual fine-adjustment spindle concept…
Rule Britannia
When it comes to patented rulers, it's difficult to concieve of anything more basic than this particular example. It consists simply of a pentagonal section ebonised rod with the end…
EngSoc
Today's featured set is a very nice quality wallet case originally retailed by the University of Toronto Engineering Society. It was interesting to discover that this society still exists today,…
Hale’s elliptical compass
While hunting around for more background on Taguel's mould-breaking elliptical compass, I came across a long and detailed paper entitled "Elliptographs, and the Application of Elliptical Curves" by Frank J.…
A mysterious elliptical compass
There are some drawing instruments that seem almost designed to stand out from the crowd, be it aesthetically or as the result of a radical departure from established archetypes. One…