Boy Scout Antique Compass

[Abbie.thing]

So recently I went into an antique shop, and the man working there gave me this Boy Scout compass as a gift. A little searching points towards it being from the 1950s, but i was wondering if anyone could give me a little information on it?

 

 

I don't have a photo of the back, but on it there is the Boy Scout logo.

[Stosh]

First of all, welcome to the forum!

 

One must remember that not everything that has a BSA logo on it means it is officially BSA or BSA generated.  Local units, districts or councils can have custom made items with the logo on them as well.  I have a duffle bag with the BSA centennial jamboree logo on it and the troop number of my contingent.  Yes, it is a nice collector item, but one will need to know a lot of background history to make any sense out of it's importance.

 

I'm thinking this might be one of those custom made items that were given as a gift, token of appreciation or some other local recognition item.

 

It's kinda like the difference between an official ScoutMaster patch for the uniform and the local camporee patch given out for showing up last spring to the district camporee.  The SM patch is BSA generated and the camporee patch is district generated.

[qwazse]

The BSA pathfinder compass from the '50s has not evolved much from what we have today.

 

This looks a lot humbler than the standard issue of the time. No BSA logo. Probably a leatherwork project. The button is probably more valuable than the compass itself.

 

Check if a company and serial # is stamped on the back of the brass housing.

[SSScout]

There are many Scout memorabilia sites, facebook, etc. you can check with.  I say it is older than the 1950's.   I had a compass from that era and it was more decorated, the compass had a Scout fleur de lis on it.   I think it is a leathercraft project, and a little compass was maybe provided to fit.  Nice item, even so.  Further back, we did not worry about square boxes  for map aligment, a compass pointed north, with an angle circle, that was enough.  The compass here  looks like one my uncle left me (he was a Scout in 1928?) but I have misplaced it.

[TAHAWK]

There was a "Pathfinder" compass by Silva in the 1950's -  aluminum compass attached to plastic card - much like today's basic models but not liquid-filed.  https://books.google.com/books?id=G1kR2H3VhhwC&pg=PA53&lpg=PA53&dq=boy+scout+pathfinder+compass&source=bl&ots=t6qBi8GBUk&sig=jvgSh046hoIk0sjjnbzNTbJS_dc&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0CFsQ6AEwB2oVChMI-5yv5MWXxwIVA5INCh3FDw09#v=onepage&q=boy%20scout%20pathfinder%20compass&f=false

 

 

Same item?  http://www.antiquesnavigator.com/d-1195000/pathfinder-brass-pocket-compass--leather-case.html

 

I found three images on line.  All said it was a 1960's item.  If so, it was not BSA issue.  It's not in the 1960's equipment catalogs.

Edited August 7, 2015 by TAHAWK

[blw2]

or could it not be BSA, but from someplace else.....say England for example?

If it's the Fleur De Li only, I guess that might be a possibility....

[SeattlePioneer]

Umm.  Not much of a prize in a technical sense.

 

I've found Silva style orienteering compasses that are liquid filled available at Wal Mart for $5 which I think are a great gift to Webelos Boys going into Scouting.  The idea of making some kind of leather pouch for such a compass would be a great addition at make it a keepsake like the one you have.

 

Decorate it with a description of who it was for,  when it was given and why it was given and you'd have a fine keepsake.

[skeptic]

Here is the same item in a grouping of historical compass photos.  The back does not show, but I think whomever suggested it is non BSA may be right. Date is not apparent, but guessing 50's is close, as this general style of pouch was popular back then.

 

http://compassmuseum.com/pocket/pocket_3.htm

[CalicoPenn]

I checked with a buddy of mine from England and he believes this is a Stesco brand mass market brass pocket compass sold in the UK back in the 1960's but made outside the UK, either in Japan or Germany.  It would have been sold with other inexpensive camping supplies in stores that did not specialize in quality outdoor gear, places like K-mart or Sears (not that they had K-marts but that would be the familiar reference to us).  The stamp on the face of the compass looks to be the word Foreign which would indicate it was not manufactured in the UK but was manufactured in another country, and again, most likely Germany or Japan.  Products did have to be marked in some way if they were not made in the UK and in the 1960's, the experience of WWII was still a real sore point so to prevent protests, companies like Stesco would mark them Foreign rather than Made in Germany or Made in Japan.

 

According to him, Stesco got it's start selling camping stoves, particularly coil stoves, and the stoves, sold in tins, are somewhat collectible.  (I did some digging to and found that Stesco must have partnered with a US company called Seabury & Co. out of Los Angeles to patent in the US, manufacture and sell the Stesco stores in the US - Stesco stoves came in black and white printed tins in Great Britain and yellow and red printed tins in the US).  Stesco then expanded to other camping gear like compasses, cooking kits, etc. of the kind of quality that you would find in the Camp-mor catalogue - good stuff fine for the occasional weekend car camper, and just a step or step and a half below Coleman.