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ME121111 Sampson Aston, Maker A most unusual 4 fould 12" ivory rule. It is much thcker than any other that I have seen and folded up it is quite chunky. It is also factory marked with the owner's mark, "W. A. Lyndon" and I presume that it was a special order piece. Aston was of course a very high end London maker. W. A. Lyndon was a Birmingham edge tool maker. Read About W. A. Lyndon The rule does not have any fancy scales on it, it is just an inch rule with very large numerals. As one would expect, the inside is quite clear and the outside is worn. The edges of the German silver fittings are smoothed over from years of pocket wear. There is some stainging around the hinge, primarily on the inside. A respectible exampe of an unusual ivory rule by an important mid-19th Century London maker, and owned by a 19th Century tool maker. Good $395

ME12069 G. W. Stawson, 15 Percy St. Tottenham Ct. Rd An extraordinary drawing instrument set in a magazine style case with 3 layers. Includes a full set of origal water colors. Every color is original to the set. There are 14 ivory rules, 11 of them signed by Strawson and marked for the owner, one "Walter Morrish, St. Nicholas, Cardiff." The three other rules are a parallet rule, a rolling rule, and a protractor, all apparently original to the case. The instrument tray is full. One pen is marked Troughton and Sims and none of the others are marked. There are usually one or two replacements in these sets and I can't say on this one what, if anything, is replaced. This is how I got it. The case is veneered in burl walnut. The top of the case is faced because a collector left it out in the sun. One of the nicest sets of its kind that I have ever seen and surely the nicest one that we have handled. G++ $1695

ME120515 17th/18th Century Ivory Navigational Dividers. This is a very rare combination ivory rule and dividers. I don't undertand the scales and tables on the body, but the inch scales are standard inches. One leg is a bit warped and one tip is slightly shorter. Both tips are of lovely form. I showed this rule to several experts in the field. All of them felt that it was probably a 17th Century English tool, but that it could possibly be 18th Century. It is a very rare tool that has clearly been used, but cared for, and may likely have sailed all over the world with some great explorer. If only it could talk. They only slightly negative thing that I have to say is that the brass on the hinge does not have much patina, but that might just be from handling and not intentional polishing. This is a museum grade tool for the connoisseur. G+ $1495