“can be used on all normal English maps”

The plastic Bux map measure frequently comes up for sale on the second hand market. This is a little surprising as it is amongst the simplest of map measurers ever manufactured. Often described as being made of bakelite, it is probably more likely to be catalin.

Bux measure works most easily with a 1″ to 1 mile map

Cheaply made in the 1950s and ’60s, the Bux measure was made in England and attempted to rival the far more expensive, more robust and certainly more accurate metal cased opisometers available from France, Switzerland and Germany.

Almost nothing seems to survive today that explains the origins of this little measure yet they were likely produced in their tens of thousands.

Each measure came in a small flapped paper envelope. This is printed with the simple to understand instructions on how to use.

Despite this type of measure having been used for many purposes- namely, with any undulating line that required measuring, the instructions that come with the measure only indicate use with maps.

THE BUX MAP MEASURE The measure is marked for scale 1″ to 1 mile. For 1/2″ to 1 mile simply multiply the reading by 2; for 4 miles to 1″ multiply by 4 etc. Before commencing a reading it is essential to  see that the dial is at zero then to wheel the  instrument lightly but firmly along the route in the direction indicated by the arrow on the case.

Bux map measurer in the envelope in which it was supplied

The Bux measure is very simple in construction. The small measure is moved by hand along a line on a map, pressing firmly onto the map when moving rotates the small metal wheel at the base. This has a fine toothed brass cog attached at its spindle, this in turn rotates another brass gear that engages with the plastic dial that rotates through the small window in the front. The gearing moves the dial through one fifth of a mile increments per inch of travel along a line on a map. Be it mapped path, bridleway, river or road.

Red and black numbering and incremental markings on Bux dials

A change was made in the colour of the plastic measuring dial at some point during its production. Numbering and increments on the dial changed from red to black, or vice versa. The dial is marked in five mile increments, so one full turn of the dial represents 50 miles of travel on a one inch scale map. Accuracy of measurement is pretty good.

c1955 advertisement for the Bux Map Measure, price five shillings

“an invaluable aid to measuring distances simply, quickly and accurately”

So why is the measure called the ‘Bux’. Little survives today on the origins of this little map measurer but I recently came across an advertisement for the measure in a guide book published circa 1955. This provides us with the name of the supplier and possible manufacturer- John E. Buck & Co, 47 Brewer Street, London, W1. We are informed that the measure was available from- “multiple stationers and accessory shops, cycle dealers and department stores everywhere”.

The lighter plastic cased measure weighs 7.5g. The darker bodies, with a slightly different casting, weigh 8.2g. Three Points of the Compass has identified four generations of this little measure. These have one of the following:

The front face of four generations of case castings

The rear of four generations of case casting

These little measures do not stand up there with the finest of scientific measuring instruments produced in the UK. They are a poor replacement for the finely made precision measurers made some fifty years prior. What they have done is bring such measures within reach of the pocket of just about anyone. Costing five shillings to buy, they must have cost just pennies to manufacture. Yet all four examples that are shown here still work, some eighty years after manufacture.

Three Points of the Compass has looked at a few more Map Measurers in detail. Links to these can be found here.