Getting started with the collection:
Johannes van Keulen (I)
Azimuth Compass
Amsterdam, c. 1750
Inscriptions
- inscription, on the compass card:"T” AMSTERDAM by IOHANNES VAN KEULEN
Provenance
...; transferred from the Ministerie van Marine (Department of the Navy), The Hague, to the museum, 1883
ObjectNumber: NG-MC-872
Entry
Azimuth compass in gimbals in a wooden box.
The cover is missing. The gimbals can be trained for bearings. The compass has a fixed pelorus, the bowl is weighted with lead. The compass card is made of paper-covered mica. It is hand coloured and balanced with black sealing wax underneath.
Literature
Berigt wegens het nieuwe azimuth compas, Amsterdam, s.l. [c. 1747-79]; J.M. Obreen, Catalogus der verzameling modellen van het Departement van Marine, The Hague 1858, no. 872; C.A. Davids, Zeewezen en wetenschap. De wetenschap en de ontwikkeling van de navigatietechniek in Nederland tussen 1585 en 1815, Amsterdam/Dieren 1985, pp. 198-202; W.F.J. Mörzer Bruyns, ‘De instrumenten van de firma Van Keulen’, in E.O. van Keulen et al. (eds.), ‘In de Gekroonde Lootsman’. Het kaarten-, boekuitgevers en instrumentenmakershuis Van Keulen te Amsterdam 1680-1885, exh. cat. Amsterdam (Nederlands Scheepvaartmuseum) 1989, no. 100
Citation
J. van der Vliet, 2016, 'Johannes van (I) Keulen, Azimuth Compass, Amsterdam, c. 1750', in J. van der Vliet and A. Lemmers (eds.), Navy Models in the Rijksmuseum, online coll. cat. Amsterdam: hdl.handle.net/10934/RM0001.COLLECT.244686
(accessed 9 June 2025 11:45:32).