This compass has a black metal bowl gimbal mounted in a mahogany box. Hughes
trade literature describes it as having been "especially designed for the
navigation of Yachts and Motor Craft, the rapid movements of which demand a
compass of exceptional steadiness and sensitivity." To that end, it has a
special expansion chamber that "precludes the formation of bubbles in the
liquid." The needles are short, and made of cobalt-steel. The card is
printed "by a new photographic process that eliminates discoloration."
And patented damping filaments ensure the steadiness of the card.
British Patent #127,135 describes an "Aperiodic Magnetic Compass"
made by attaching to the magnetic needle filaments of glass, wire, or other
suitable non-magnetic material. This patent was granted in 1919 to George
Campbell and Geoffrey Bennett, both of the Compass Department of the British
Admiralty.
H. Hughes & Son, Ltd. was in business, as such, from 1903 to 1947.
Ref: Henry Hughes & Son, Ltd., Husun "Dead-Beat" Compasses
for Yachts (London, 1939).
H. L. Hitchins and W. E. May, From Lodestone to Gyro-Compass (New
York, 1953), pp.150-152.
