Ritchie Navigation Hiking Shop

For over 130 years each compass manufactured by E.S. Ritchie & Sons, Inc. was recorded by serial number in hand written ledgers. These ledgers are still maintained at the Ritchie factory, shown above, located in Pembroke, MA USA.

The first successful liquid dampened compass was awarded a U.S. Patent in 1860. It is just one of the compasses that we see highlighted in company literature dating back to the formation of E.S. Ritchie and Sons.

Early compass dials were hand painted using egg white based paint for the background and India ink for the graduations. This photo shows three different types of early float chamber dials. Today's dials are printed using modern lithographic processes on extremely light aluminum or composite dials.

Ritchie manufactured all the US Navy standard compasses for over forty years. The dial on the left shows the prominent float chamber which reduced weight on the pivot, reducing wear and greatly improving performance. The four vertical rods are actually bundles of needle magnets which gave this compass the power to lock on to magnetic north.

Ritchie Compasses have won many awards for design and engineering excellence in the past 150 years. An early Ritchie liquid filled compass with a floating dial is exhibited in the Albert Museum of Science and Industry in England, proudly displayed along with a collection of nautical instruments created by the famous Lord Kelvin. Read More

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