Worldwide Insured Shipping / Certified Authentic / 7 Day Inspection Period / 30 Day Warranty
Noel Pemberton Billing was a man of strong (though not always popular) views and many pursuits. In addition to his active role in extreme right wing politics, he was the founding member of Pemberton-Billing-Ltd, the company that would later become Supermarine Aviation Works Ltd. Legend has it that the Compass camera was born out of a bet by Billing that he could design a camera so compact that it would fit in a cigarette packet. To engineer and manufacture such a minuscule machine would require a level of precision not commonly found in the camera industry. The watchmaking industry however had been dealing with such tolerances for decades, thus LeCoultre & Cie. was a logical choice. The MK 1 camera shot 35mm film via sheets, a configuration which was later upgraded to rolls via an easily changeable roll module. Other features included a ground glass viewfinder, true split-image rangefinder and extinction type exposure meter. It even came with a small collapsible table top tripod that wouldn’t look out of place holding an iPhone. Production on the Compass began in the late 1930’s and continued until 1941, with total output in the 5000 unit range. Hodinkees’ Jack Forster details this amazing little machine here.
The present example remains in exceptional as found condition and includes both the original ground glass viewfinder (in original box) for 35mm sheet exposure, as well as the MK 2 35mm film roll module (installed), original collapsible tripod (in original box) and two copies of the original operating manual.
The shutter winds and releases but the camera has not been tested with film. The camera will likely require professional cleaning before operation. Both the viewfinder and the tripod are in excellent complete condition, although the boxes for the viewfinder and tripod have begun to deteriorate.
The camera and accessories will be delivered in a modern Pelican hard shell case.
