Nautical Style

History

The trademark 'Sestrel’ was originally registered by Henry Browne and Son Ltd. in the second half of the 19th Century. By the early 1900s Henry Browne's marine equipment and instrument business had grown substantially and he moved his operations to Station Works, Wakering Road, Barking, Essex (now in the London Burough of Barking and Dagenham).

'SESTREL' is an amalgam of the qualities of the instruments they made...

SEnsitive –STeady – RELiable

It is a name synonymous with quality and accuracy; this is evidenced by the sheer number of vintage and antique instruments still in use today.

Henry Browne is credited with designing and manufacturing the revolutionary ‘Dead Beat' compass. After his death in 1929, he was succeeded as managing director by his son F. G. Browne.

Description

This extremely well cared for "Radiant" Hand Bearing Compass is a fine example of Sestrel's original, non-illuminated design, possibly dating to the late 1950's. It comes in its original Henry Browne & Son Limited polystyrene packaging and is identified as Catalogue No. 90523. The 2" compass card floats in a mixture of alcohol and water, specified as requiring a specific gravity of 0.93. The printing on the compass card is reversed, so that it appears right-way-round when viewed through the mirrored glass prism, which also magnifies the compass card while taking the bearing. The prism mirror's silver backing is in remarkably good condition, given its age. The cast bronze compass bowl and prism mounting parts are is finished in marine quality gray enamel paint. The wooden handle is most likely made from teak, without any oil or varnish finish.

The wooden handle has a white scribble plate (material unknown) to record the bearing.

The compass bowl itself is 10.75 cm (4¼") in diameter, and the compass card inside is about 5 cm (2") in diameter. The small air bubble inside doesn't seem to affect the damping of the card when level. At just under 1 kg, the compass is not too heavy to hold at arm's length when taking a sight.

A mounting bracket is not provided.

End of description.