8 Vintage Compass Rose Images
Today we have a wonderful collection of Vintage Compass Rose Images! Below are several amazing Compass Engravings and Line Drawings from yesteryear. Some have various star shapes and even long arrows passing through them, and others were used for navigating oceans and even engineering. The intricate details on all of them are so impressive! The geometric principles that were applied to make these fine instruments surely were considered quite impressive when they were developed. All are nice pictures of a Compass Rose to use in your Steampunk or Travel Projects! Wouldn’t one look great transferred onto a Nautical Style Table?!
Vintage Compass Rose Images
Here we have not just one fabulous Vintage Compass Image, but two!!! These were generously provided by the ever so lovely and generous Ann, from Moonbeams and Fireflys. Aren’t they fabulous!!! The one at the top is a Mariner’s Compass and the second one is an Engineer’s Compass. Sailors of course had to rely on a Compass or stars like the North star before modern tracking systems like GPS. These Compasses appear to have probably been of the best quality for their era. They come from a circa 1901 Geography Book. Thank you again Ann!!!
Here we have a wonderful picture of a Compass Rose from an 1870’s Book! The fanciful long arrows along the top image create such a fine design I think. I don’t know if they are strictly for show or also serve a functional purpose, but my guess is that they are integral to the operation of the compass. I love the original version with the two long arrows on it, but thought you might find it useful to also have the Compass just by itself as well.
This is a great looking Star shaped Compass Rose also taken from an 1870’s Book! Another interesting arrow design is displayed above in this line drawing. There sure are lots of lines on this one! The original illustration with an arrow going through is nice, but I thought you might find it useful to have the Star just by itself on this one too.
Picture of a Compass Rose
Here is the latest addition to this collection. This picture of a Compass Rose is done in full color, so unusual, at least for me anyway as I usually only see these in black and white. This one has gold accents along with Bright Blue and Red and Cream. So striking!
I hope you enjoyed this marvelous curated collection. You might also like our Weathervane Images HERE or our Favorite Steampunk Images HERE.
Patricia says
Karen,
These rose compass images are fantastic. I never knew they were called rose compasses but I can see where the name is appropriate. I’d like to figure out how to put one of these images on a t-shirt or a tote bag. Thanks so much for posting these.
Pat
Karen Watson says
You’re welcome Pat, I’m glad you enjoyed it! I think these would look great on a Tee or a Tote! 😊
Phil Wood says
The long arrows indicate “declension”, which indicates the difference between “true” North (the North Pole) and “magnetic” North, the direction in which the compass needle points. This distinction is essential to accurate navigation over great distances.
What can I say; I was a Boy Scout.
Phil Wood says
I imagine the arrows midway between the star points serve a practical purpose in that they give a more accurate display. The star points represent 8 major directions: North, Northeast, East, Southeast, South, etc., giving a total of eight directions. The arrows indicate the directions between the Star points: North-Northeast, East-Northeast, East-Southeast, South-Southeast, and so on
You might compare it to a clock face. You can tell the time by the hour numbers, but the minute divisions are more accurate.
I am a big fan of your site; it reminds me of the old Dover books of copyright-free images.
Karen Watson says
Wow, thanks for all the great info Phil! I’m so glad you are enjoying our site. The Dover books are a wonderful resource as well!
Maxine D says
This is wonderful thanks Karen
Blessings
Maxine
JaneEllen says
These are so incredible Karen, so different. I love to make art with images like this, very striking. Thank you so much Karen. Had to go see what else you had and so glad I did. Can hardly wait to print these all out, frame them. Want to do something special with them. Happy summer days. So glad I get your images again.
shelly says
Thank you, so very much for taking the time to post these great graphics for others.
shelly beth