Brass Proportional Compass And 'royal Foot' By 'butterfield' - Paris, France - 18th Century

A set of two brass scientific instruments, signed “Butterfield à Paris,” made by the renowned engineer and instrument maker Michael Butterfield (c. 1635–1724), active in Paris during the reign of Louis XIV. The first instrument is a geometric sector composed of two hinged arms, finely engraved with numerous proportional scales: chords, sines, tangents, polygons, solids, as well as scales for artillery calibers. A compass rose is delicately engraved at the pivot. The second instrument is a brass scale ruler bearing various linear graduations, including the King's foot scale and the Rhine scale, used for conversion between regional measurement systems. A small cut-out window allows for precise reading of the values. The quality of the engravings, the precision of the divisions, and the elegant calligraphy attest to Butterfield's exceptional skill. These instruments were intended for surveyors, civil and military engineers, artillerymen, architects and navigators, and were used to perform geometric, proportional and technical calculations before the widespread adoption of slide rules and modern metric systems.