Inventory of Mr John Chapman's goods, deceased. 1700

[Mission]

Speaking of arc-compasses, check this out. (It's an pocket engineer's kit in a shagreen case on eBay.) Being an engineer, it appeals to me, although it's almost certainly post-period and of no relevance to the hobby that I can figure. :)

[Capt. Trueblood]

I wonder what they mean by '1 pair Compasses'? I doubt they mean directional compasses but I could be wrong. Did navigators use the type of compass we use today for drawing arcs?

Compasses (plural) usually refers to the instrument we would call dividers today. They may have two points, or a point and pen or pencil. As the picture in Mission's post shows, the points may be interchangeable. Although that beautiful set would be used for drafting rather than navigating. For navigation they typically have two points and are used for measuring or marking off distance on a chart rather than drawing arcs. They were probably of the two pointed type with loops at the top near the joint.

Edited October 14, 2011 by Capt. Trueblood

[PoD]

yes thats what I would have thought also had they not already listed that he had a pair of dividers as well as a pair of compasses. If they were both dividers surely they would have just put 2 pairs of dividers

[PoD]

Speaking of arc-compasses, check this out. (It's an pocket engineer's kit in a shagreen case on eBay.) Being an engineer, it appeals to me, although it's almost certainly post-period and of no relevance to the hobby that I can figure. :)

I've seen quite a few of those Etui's knocking around on ebay. They usually sell for about £200 ($315). I think most are from the mid to late 18th century although some seem to imply they are earlier. There was certainly an earlier one in the National Maritime Museum when I went the other week. I have a number of seperate bits from these kits in my own navigation kit.

I have a few of the dividers from such kits for sale on my website here: http://www.lettersofmarque.co.uk/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=11

[Fox]

My grandfather was a land-surveyor from the 1940s to the 1980s and used a drawing kit almost identical to that one.

Dividers might be the one-handed kind shown in the photo above, but might also be straight ones. Possibly, that's the differentiation in the inventory.

[PoD]

yeah it could be that.

ok next question is then:

Does anyone have an image of what a plain-scale looked like from the period? Aparently its another word for a ruler but no idea what the measurements would look like on it.

They describe it in this 1721 book (but its waaaaaaay over my head to work out) - 'The description, nature and general use, of the sector and plain-scale,:briefly and plainly laid down. : As also a short account of the uses of the lines of numbers, artificial sines and tangents' by Edmund Stone

http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=nqU2AAAAMAAJ&dq=The%20Description%2C%20Nature%20and%20General%20Use%2C%20of%20the%20Sector%20and%20Plain-Scale&pg=PP3#v=onepage&q&f=false

Don't you just hate it when google doesnt scan in the folded pages at the end.

[Capt. Sterling]

Oi ye might want to pm Dutchman about the rulers... he has done some investigating in that area and knows what to look for...as a matter of fact he found one for me, himself and I believe he assisted Mister Lasseter as well to some extent...

[Mission]

This sorta', kinda' fits with and/or supports the inventory, so I thought I'd throw it in here. It's from The Voyages and Travels of Captain Nathaniel Uring (1928 reprint, first published in 1726).

“The Commodities which suit them [for trade; Uring is referring to the logwood cutters off Honduras], are all sorts of strong Liquors, Provisions, small Arms, Gun-Powder, and small Shot, Cutlashes or Hangers, Axes, Ozenbrigs and Shoes. Ozenbrigs is their general Wear, and almost all their Cloathing, except Hats and

__

Shoes; their Pavillions are also made of Ozenbrigs, which are described in the Account of the Muscheto People¹; there is no possibility of living without ‘em, there being such Multitudes of biting and stinging Flies, as Muschetos, Sand Flies, Galley Nippers, and Bottle Asses..." (Uring, p. 242-3)

¹ The manner of their Lodging is thus: They fix several Crutches in the Ground about Four Foot high, and lay Sticks cross, and other Sticks cross them close together; and upon those Sticks they lay a good Quantity of Leaves, and upon them a Piece of old Canvas if they have it; and this is their Bed. There is also at each Corner of the Bed-Place, a tall Pole fixed, to which they fasten their Covering, which is generally made of Ozinbrigs; it is sewed together, and fastened at each Corner to these Poles about Four Foot above the Bed-Place, and is so contriv'd that it falls down on every Side, which tucks close in all round, and serves not only for Curtains, but also keep the Flies from disturbing them." (Uring p. 124-5)

[PoD]

the only reference to nickers i could find from the period was in a play where someone gave a boy some money for nickers but nothing in the dialogue insinuated that it was underwear so still drawing a blank on that one.

I've actually just stumbled across what nickers might be refering too. It was what Marbles were called back then:

"The word "marble" was not used to represent the round toy ball made from various stones until 1694 in England. It was then that marble stone was being used for the toy and was being imported from Germany. Before this time, the English adopted the Dutch word "knikkers" for marbles. The word "knikker" was used by New York City children well into the 19th century."

Obviously this makes the reference I found to a child being given money to buy nickers make more sense. They were mainly small clay balls back then. It does however seem strange that John Chapman would have them in his belongings. Unless they were items he bought along as a keepsake or to trade. I wouldnt imagine that marbles would be a great game for sailors to play on a swaying ship.

Also they are listed under clothing in his inventory so this might be totally wrong.

Edited December 6, 2012 by PoD

[Grymm]

Just a wild stab in the dark, and 'membering that in the period standardised spelling was a ways off yet, but as 'er's wi' the sheets could it be an old/dialect word for pillow/bolster, neckers(?) in a wez c'un'ry aaaaaacent? =o)

My fav bits of info in the book, 'side from the couple of lists of personal stuff, are the cargo lists for 'The Daniel and Henry' (and the multitude of other ships in the appendix ) giving a better idea of what would be available for 'plunder' if they were taken by pirates.

'The Daniel and Henry' had;

As well as the chests of cloth there are barrels of beads, firkins of tallow, trade(negro) knives, iron bars/ingots, copper pans, looking glasses, pewter tankards and basins plus 100 fuzees 100 carbines a barrel of gun flints, 6 gilt rapiers and 10 hangers(2 different qualities) and a shi .....shed load of other stuff.

Edited December 17, 2012 by Grymm

[Frtiz]

I've actually just stumbled across what nickers might be refering too. It was what Marbles were called back then:

"The word "marble" was not used to represent the round toy ball made from various stones until 1694 in England. It was then that marble stone was being used for the toy and was being imported from Germany. Before this time, the English adopted the Dutch word "knikkers" for marbles. The word "knikker" was used by New York City children well into the 19th century."

Obviously this makes the reference I found to a child being given money to buy nickers make more sense. They were mainly small clay balls back then. It does however seem strange that John Chapman would have them in his belongings. Unless they were items he bought along as a keepsake or to trade. I wouldnt imagine that marbles would be a great game for sailors to play on a swaying ship.

Also they are listed under clothing in his inventory so this might be totally wrong.

We still call them Knicker today in some parts of Germany. The first k is not voicelesss. It is spoken and the Dutch surely have spoken it as well. Maybe the term was common enough to change its pronounciation to fit the English fashion. So by the usually dodgy spelling of this era the knickers became nickers.