A rare E. R. Watts & Son barometer compass combination instrument, dating from 1903. The 1910 edition of the Watts catalogue listed several types of barometer/compass combinations, 'All of the very best quality'. Most of these featured Singer's Patent type compasses, but the company also offered to quote for 'All kinds of Aneroid Barometers not included in the list'. According to the catalogue, all their instruments were 'Manufactured entirely at our London works. They are of the finest materials and workmanship, the highest possible finish, and of guaranteed accuracy'.
This instrument was made in 1903 - the date is engraved on the internal mechanism. It is quite an unusual Watts design, with the compass card being different to their standard Singer's type, and it may have been made to special order. (An identical instrument featured in the 1890 catalogue of G. S. Woolman, a New York importer and retailer of scientific instruments, where it was described as a 'Geological Aneroid'). It features an aneroid barometer, with a rotating bezel scale calibrated to 10,000 feet. The compass has an English bar needle, and a transit lock operated by a sliding button on the side of the case. The 'bronzed' finish brass case is screw-threaded and unscrews to separate into two parts, allowing the barometer and compass to be used independently. The bronzed finish of the case is particularly well preserved - this type of finish often wears away over time or is damaged by polishing. Both the barometer and compass are in perfect working order, having been fully serviced and calibrated in February 2025 by barometer specialists Vavasseur Antiques in Devon.
E. R. Watts & Son: were established in 1857 at 123 Camberwell Road, London, by Edwin Watts (1833-1901) as makers of theodolites and other surveying and scientific instruments. Watts was just 23, his staff was one boy, and his workshop was a small room over a Bemondsey stable. Watts first order was from Negretti & Zambra for a mining dial. In the early days marine compasses were one of their main products, and Edwin Watts would go down to the Docks to adjust the compasses once they had been installed on the ships. In 1873 the business moved to larger premises; a house with a garden, stables and a hayloft. The workshop was also the home of Mr and Mrs Watts and their five sons and three daughters. Watts was commissioned to supply the Theodolites and Levels for the Canadian Pacific Railway, and by 1881 he was employing 5 men and 5 boys. Towards the end of the century the firm began to make heliographs, continuing to produce them for the government until just before the Second World War. In 1904 The first dividing engine was completed by George William Watts. It was so remarkable an instrument at the time and for years afterwards, that a full description was included in Sir R. Glazebrook's Dictionary of Applied Physics. In 1907 Arthur Ames went to Canada on behalf of the firm to set up a new venture in Winnipeg. In 1909 this became a separate company called E. R. Watts and Son Ltd of Ottawa. This firm developed considerably and was eventually, with the co-operation of three other instrument companies (Cambridge Instrument Co, Ross, and Negretti and Zambra), reconstituted as Instruments Ltd of Ottawa and Toronto.
By the time The 1910 edition of the E. R. Watts catalogue was produced the firm was described as a 'Manufacturer of Surveying and other Instruments of Precision'. During the next ten years they expanded greatly to include glass grinding, leatherwork, dividing and engraving, testing, adjusting and packing. This expansion was continued during the First World War when new workshops were established. The Watts Vertical Force Variometer was developed during WWI, and other Watts instruments introduced around this time included the Light Mountain Theodolites which were taken on early Mount Everest expeditions. In 1919 Watts was Incorporated as a limited company. In 1939 G. A. Whipple joined the Board of Directors. Shortly afterwards, Frank Charles Watts died - he had been Chairman of the firm for over 37 years. He was succeeded by his brother George William Watts. The vacant post of Managing Director was filled by G. A. Whipple. During the Second World War the company expanded further and the number of employees rose to over 1,300. In 1948 Watts amalgamated with Adam Hilger as Hilger and Watts which was incorporated as a public company. In 1968 this company became part of Rank Precision Industries, before finally being liquidated in 1969.
Condition:
In very good condition and full working order. It was professionally serviced and calibrated in February 2025 by barometer specialists Vavasseur Antiques. With just some minor wear to the original bronzed finish of the brass case.
Dimensions : 65mm (diameter) x 35mm (height)
