Ebony and brass draftsmans protractor ????

[Joe Huld]

I got what I think is a draftsman's or cartographers protractor today. It measures about 45 inches long overall and a bit over 15 wide in the 90 degree position. The brass protractor is divided onto 360 degrees in two scales one reading left to right and the other in the opposite direction. It has a vernier scale to allow angular measurment to 1/10th of a degree. The 6 inch diameter protractor is marked "Improved Protractor - by James Thomas - Redruth" and "Newton late Wilton - Maker - Camborne". The wood is very dark and dense and might be ebony, the center protractor is brass with the exception of the fasteners. I googled both names and came up with little beyond the fact the Redruth and Camborne are in Cornwall England and the Wiltons were a family or instrument makers who sold mostly to the mining industry from the mid nineteenth to the early 20th century. I want to take it to the Culver City tool show and sale in November and would like to know more about it. Any info appreciated.

 

[RTM]

The setup on it almost looks like a giant t-square for drafting. With the left hand vertical bar recessed under the long horizontal bar, that could be used on a drafting table against the edge, instead of putting a smaller protractor on top of your T-square. Greater precision with the long horizontal beam.

Google books has a locked book called Science preserved, which has a reference to "Newton late Wilton", which might be a fun read.

The phrase means that Newton took over Wilton's business, is how I understand it.

The protractor was given an award in 1887, as noted in the Transactions of the Mining Association and Institute of Cornwall,

Transactions of the Mining Association and Institute of Cornwall

books.google.com