WW1 Verner's Pattern VIII Prismatic Military Marching Compass with Leather Case Dated 1918 at Antiques Plus

 Interesting things come into the shop from time to time, a few of which I buy for resale.  This is a WW1 Verner's pattern VIII prismatic military marching compass with leather case dated 1918.  This is a high quality compass made with precision for the man whose life just might depend on its accuracy.  The compass is dated 1918 and has the British military arrow property mark made by F-L, who was French & Son, Limited, London.  The main difference between the VII and the VIII was the automatic transit lock, which holds the pointer card in place, when the cover is closed.  This reduces the chance of damage to the compass in case of shock or a drop. 

It has its original leather carrying case made by Jabez Cliff & Co., Walsall a town in the West Midlands, UK and was a leather goods manufacturer, which made among other things saddles and leather luggage along with this heavy compass case.  The company was founded in 1873 and their historic, but empty Globe Works factory burned August 2011. 

The inventor of this compass, Colonel William Willoughby Cole Verner was born in 1852 and commissioned into The Rifle Brigade in 1874. He served on the staff in the Egyptian campaign of 1884-85 Khartoum Relief Expedition and during the Boer War. He was an inventor who devised compasses and surveying instruments and was an authority on wild birds in southern Spain.  He also discovered a number of important prehistoric cave paintings in the same area and published articles. Injured in the Boer War and retired in 1904.  He passed away in 1922.