REPLICAS, FAKES AND 'NAZI' COMPASSES

The most common fakes are those of the Brunton Transit compass (renamed Brinton or Bronton and manufactured in India) and the T.G. Co. Ltd London Mark III compass (see these entries). Many "Henry Hughes" signed compasses are also newly invented designs. You willl find comprehensive information about this topic on the website gemmary files.

Contents
- TG Co Ltd London MKIII
- KELVIN-HUGES (!)
- "Nazi" Compasses
- Nicolas BION's sundial (Nicholas DION)
- Diptychs
- Chinese Sundial
- Classical Pocket Compass

TG Co Ltd London MKIII 1941

Very poor reproduction currently made in India of the famous prismatic marching compass Mark III (MKIII) produced among many others by this manufacturer (compare with T.G. Co. Ltd. London's original instrument). The year number punched on the rear face (1941) has no significance at all.

Some details:
- The bracket designed to protect the glass window was made to look older by artificial means and is covered with a glossy varnish.
- The side screw (marching course or bearing setting) is not made of a single element but consists of a threaded rod and a nut.
- There are absolutely no luminous devices or markings on the card or the case. The compass card is not made of mother of pearl and doesn't reflect light.
- The British Army's crowfoot-shaped arrow has not the official form, even if one considers, that the maker has wanted to represent two arrows punched opposite to each other as it was the rule when materiel was decommissioned. But then, the arrows would face each other and would build a 6-branched star.
- The abbreviated manufacturer's name is written without dots on some items.
- The capsule contains no liquid and is not designed for this purpose.
- The bezel has no securing ring and falls off when turned upside down.
- The sighting window in the lid is also unsecured (glued) and falls easily off (see pict. below).


Two examples of the objects. We added a stripe of paper under the bezel to show the divisions

Click on images for enlarged views
View of the glossy varnish


Both versions feature the same fancy data. Absolute nonsense is a version dated 1836 !
(click on link for picture)
  		Technical Data
This instrument exists in two different sizes:
- same as original (dia. 2-1/4'' / 58mm)
- oversized (dia. 3'' / 75mm)
Weight
- small: 8 oz. / 250 grs
- large: 12 oz./375 grs.

A version with nazi symbols (Führer Fabrik Krupp) exists also and is displayed below.


Click on images for enlarged views
Example of a rather well imitated item.
There is no luminous paint on the chapter ring, the north mark triangle (instead of a lozenge) on the disk is the same as on the Israel-made El-Op compass and there is no rubber ring on the back. The S/N beginning with the letter S never existed. This could be an original case recently completed by a forger...
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KELVIN-HUGES (!)


 This worthless item made in India bears the name of the famous manufacturer KELVIN-HUGHES but written with a "typo" (HUGES) and a fancy date (1918).


Picture courtesy of Vidal Regals / Elisabeth Wolf Allemann
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"NAZI" COMPASSES

DISCLAIMER - Some objects or documents in this museum are witnesses and parts of Germany's History. We have decided in favour of an uncensored exhibition.

We frequently receive questions concerning compasses with symbols of ancient nazi Germany, typically an eagle and the cross called swaztika. On some items, the eagle has fancy feathers (see picture at left) and doesn't resemble the Third Reich's heraldic eagle with its strait feathers. Very common are also some others on which a few German names were engraved like U-Boot (submarine), LEICA (camera manufacturer), KRUPP (Steel works) and FÜHRER ("the guide", Hitler's unofficial but generally used titel).
Generally, the letters D.R.P. (see Miscellaneous/Terminology/Abbr.) are also printed for more genuineness... 
The website Forum Axis History gives a detailed explanation why a certain compasss (see pics below) is a gross fake. Even the famous words Deutschland über alles (Germany above all) were changed in Alles für Deutsch[l]and (Everything for Germany) but there is a typo: the letter 'L' is missing in the word ...LAND.
All these items are worthless. The nazi symbols were only utilized on stamps and official documents, on uniforms and flags and for aircraft identification but never on tools and instruments. As far as we know, only ship compasses of the Kriegsmarine bore such symbols.

So please, save your money or make a donation to COMPASSIPEDIA.


Pic. courtesy Daunicht & Blohm
(Detail view: click on image)
 On this Bézard compass, besides the Word RICHTUNG (DIRECTION) numbers (88/34) and two symbols are engraved: the famous lightning-shaped SS at left and the abbreviation RZM (for Reichszeugmeisterei or Quartermaster Office) at right. The standard Marching compasses issued to the soldiers during the IIIrd Reich and WWII were not Bézard-type compasses but the models displayed in the entries Breithaupt and Busch. The RZM was responsible for all official items like uniform designs, knives etc.) but all pieces of equipment had to be labelled with a visible RZM copyright protection symbol and a product-assigned RZM number that contained encoded data about the industrial branch, material group, manufacturer code and year of production.
Since this information is missing on this item, we must consider that it is a modern fake addition on an old compass. The no. 88 is not innocent: the 8th letter in the alphabet is H so that 88 means HH, a code commonly used nowadays in right-wing groups for "Heil Hitler"). The no. 34 is probably the contraction of 124 i.e. Ab-D = Ausländerbefreites Deutschland = Germany freed from Foreigners (see more Neonazi popular codes HERE). Genuine manufacturers codes always began with a letter (see List of RZM codes). Moreover, materiels used by the Armed forces (Wehrmacht, Luftwaffe or Kriegsmarine) had no RZM-reference since these were not organisations ruled by Hitler's political party NSDAP

Pure invention made in India or China wit.h a modern compass inside


Picture sent by a visitor


Dial signed STANLEY LONDON in gothic letters.

This item is supposed to be a German NAZI-time compass but the cardinals are in English. Such a compass never existed during the IIIrd Reich: it's pure modern invention.

Pictures courtesy Fedorov Vasiliy
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BERLIN Olympic Games 1936
Equinoctial sundial - Compare with the item dated 1938 below.

Note the strange label with the name of the camera manufacturer LEICA on the compass's base plate.
Picture courtesy Mark Toensing
 FÜHRER FABRIK KRUPP

Fake MkIII British marching compass (see above and T.G. Co. Ltd London ) with nazi symbols additions on the prism and sticker on the reverse.



Note the misspelled name of Germany: DEUTSCHAND (w/o L").
Picture courtesy K-K-Hoflieferant
FÜHRER FABRIK KRUPP
Hunter cased pocket compass with sundial



A typical feature of contemporary compasses made in India is the green jewel in the needle cap: genuine ancient items always had a red jewel. Lat not least, the cardinals are in English: E for East where it should read O for Ost in German. 		The wording is identical with the example above, typo included...



Pictures courtesy Forum - Axis History 
Deutsches Reich - 1938 - Deutschland über alles
Equinoctial sundial - Compare with the item dated 1936 above (Olympic Games)
 
   		The wording has no typos but the compass is also the same as the modern one with English cardinals above.



Pictures courtesy Ioannis Kalogeropoulos 
Cheap modern compass glued inside a case on which a cutaway svastika was soldered (see rings underneath)  The case is very similar to the one above with the eagle on top (see closing tabs)



Pictures courtesy Nick Tsagarakis
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BION's SUNDIAL REPLICA
Several major museums have confirmed that contemporary reproductions are currently available - usually on eBay. These are in the best case only worthless museum gift shop items and not original antique items. You can easily recognize them by the gross engraving of the latitudes (40-50-60) on the gnomon's adjustable blade and the scratch after the city name "Venis' 45 ". Send us pictures if you are unsure.
Moreover, items bearing the name Nicholas DION are being offered. This is not a double typo: this maker never existed.



Picture courtesy Jaypee
(Click on the pictures for enlarged views)


Example of a (well made) imitation
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 DIPTYCH REPLICAS

(Pictures courtesy I. Kasse)


Click on the picture above for an enlarged view of all faces.
- Left: Sundial and compass
- Centre: List of towns and latitude
- Right: calendar and hole giving view to the compass
- The base only features the lacquered wooden case.
 This item is a replica of a 18th C. Spanish sun watch. It is signed by VILLA ALCOR which was a Spanish manufacturer VILLALCOR SL (address Calle Madrid s/n, 28607 El Alamo, Spain) and existed probably 1985-2005. Villalcor was bought out and sold to Hemisferium (created 2005).

The city names are in Spanish (example: Venecia for Venice which would be Venezia in Italian) but the cardinal points are indicated in English (W for West instead of O for Oeste in Spanish - see Miscellaneous / Cardinal Points) which makes no sense at all!

The two barrel lid hinges on back side instead of the earlier snipe hinges and the front snap lock are signs of modern production.


(Click on the picture above for an enlarged view of the dial)
 

The lid's upper side features a beautiful modern map of North America, a part of South America and two three-masted sail ships.
Sundial divisions inside the lid: double sundial with three latitudes (502 = 50° 2').

Pictures by courtesy of Milagritos25
(Click on the pictures for enlarged views) 

 Technical Data
- Dimensions (closed): 3 1/2¨ x 2 1/2¨ x 3/4¨ approx.
- Material: probably bone
- Manufacturer unknown

NOTE: Replica of a semi antique sundial. The magnetic needle looks like the old original ones. Only, the compass' cylindrical bowl is a little too large for the casing (there is not enough room for the roman figure VIII on the left rim, resp. the IIII on the right side) and the rose, divisions and figures printed on the dial look far too modern. Moreover, the islands located North of Canada were discovered & surveyed during the 19th/20th C.

CHINESE SUNDIAL 

Replica of a Chinese sundial probably made in India by an artist (forger?) who didn't master Chinese calligraphy. The wooden boards are also in too good condition to be antique.


Picture Carolyn Patricia -
Photoshop post-editing Jaypee

(Click on the picture for an enlarged view)

Character comparison (list item no. 5: 7-9 o'clock a.m.):
- small picture, top right: poor handwriting (compass at left),
- small picture, bottom right: the same character in the classical handwriting on an antique item.
(See also category Sundials, China).

User's Instructions: This instrument must be laid flat in fully opened position. The compass's North mark (sign bei) is located below the compass capsule in the picture at left. The user thus stands looking South. The rising sun being in the upper left corner at 7-9 a.m., the stylus's shadow will fall on the character described above.
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CLASSICAL POCKET COMPASS

All characteristics of a bad imitation of a typical pocket compass are united here:
- the green stone in the needle's cap (instead of a red one)
- the brass face (instead of a silver-coated or a white, rarely a black paint or enamel one)
- the strange arrow (not the British Army's "crowfoot") and last not least
- a fancy date (1920) which doesn't correspond to the information MAKERS OF THE QUEEN since in those years a KING reigned, George V,  from 1910-1936 and there is no maker's name !

Pictures courtesy Ante Budimlic (Click on the image for an enlarged view)
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