This compact 35mm camera was one of the most technically advanced gadgets of 1930s. It was produced by Swiss watch and clock manufacturer, also famous for its long-time partnership with luxury car makers. Jaeger LeCoultre sign can be found on the instrument panels of Bentley, Aston Martin, Lancia Astura, Delahaye, etc.





The 1938 advertisement declared Compass the embodiment of scientific system in miniature cameras. "Built like a watch - as simple to use." A finely-machined aluminum bodied camera incorporating a large number of features in a tiny volume.





Measuring just 2 3/4" x 2 1/4" x 1 1/4" it embodied as an integral part of its construction almost all the accessories which normally were carried separately:
- f/3.5 35mm fully focusing lens
- shutter from 4.5 sec. to 1/500 sec., 22 speeds
- range finder
- right angle finder
- panoramic and stereo heads
- spirit level
- extinction meter
- filters
- ground glass focusing
- lens cap
- depth of focus scale





The Compass used 24x36mm negatives on glass plates or on roll film with optional roll back. Standard accessories included a tripod, cable release with special bayonet mount and processing outfits. The cameras were also engraved in French and German and carried national identifiers opposite the focal distance tab including CH, CS, D, F, GB, P, D, OC and US.





You might think a camera like that was very expensive, but the Compass was launched in March 1937 with retail price of only 30 British pounds. During the WW2 period the price rose to 39 GBP in 1944. By comparison Kardon, an American copy of Leica III, was priced at $313 or 125 British pounds. The total production of Compass was no more than 4 thousand units. Its present day value is around $1,800-2,200.





The Compass was designed by Noel Pemberton-Billing (1881-1948), British aircraft builder, pilot, politician and businessman, founder of the famous company "Supermarine". Pemberton-Billing began work on the Compass around 1930, but it was finally presented to the public only in 1937.


Translated from Russian: С виду - безделушка...
References: David Todd, "The Remarkable Compass" in Photographica World No.47 (November 1988), p 15-16 and No.48 (March 1989), p 9-11.