The model 61 measure from Henri Burnat has heft and balance. Not only is it solidly made and accurate, but has also squeezed in a surprising amount of measuring capability.

This is a lovely French made instrument with an easy smooth operation and a surprising amount of weight due to it’s large case. It has two faces, one of which has a totaliser. The front dial registers 1:100, 1:500 and 1:2000. The rear dial shows scales of 1:200, 1:1000 and 1:5000 and incorporates the totaliser. Other scales can be extrapolated from these, such as the now common 1:50 000. However other scales might be more difficult to extrapolate, such as the 1:25 000 scale used on the Ordnance Survey Explorer series of maps. That said, few people are using such analogue instruments to measure map distances these days. That is their loss, as using a map measure remains a methodical and almost meditative process, tracking a line across a paper map, up on to ridges, down into a valley, across moors and through forests, weaving in and out of the sinuosity of a lake’s shoreline. Beside distance, tracking a route can also suggest some of what it will feel when walking it. One thing that a map measure does not record in this process is the increase in distance as a result of ascending and descending. Covering a horizontal 100m on a steep 27° ascent will mean 112m has actually been covered. Such increases can add up considerably over a longer trail.

The rear dial face has a central totaliser, counting from 0 to 9, before returning to 0, with each full rotation of the large blued needle around the dial. The chromed metal handle is hexagonal in shape with small cut-outs across the six corners to aid in grip. At 45mm in length it is quite short. It has a 7mm diameter across the flats. This handle has an internal screw thread and screws onto the case. The wide polished stainless steel case measures 49.7mm in diameter, excluding the small brass tracking wheel at the base, and a 8.5mm threaded part on to which the handle screws. The measure is 15.25mm at it’s thickest point, across the apexes of the two domed crystal faces. With such a large case, it is a hefty instrument, weighing 66.5g.

HB supplied this measures with a protective leather slip case and a two-sided sheet of instructions. The case is simple in design; stitched around the sides and bottom with an open top. The black leather pouch carries the HB logo and brand on the front while the rear is bare of any markings. This pouch was very obviously used for different models of map measure as an identifying printed metal tab has been stapled to the top. My example says: “No 61 TP”. My set of instructions has been annotated by a previous owner as to which maps the yellow scale was suited for use with.

This is a specially made large model. It’s full designation is No. 61 TP ‘Special Grand Modèle’, the ‘TP’ standing for Travaux Publics, translating as Public Works. The measure is intended for maps and drawings drawn up at the Public Works Scale.

Fore-runners to this measure were the French made Henri Chatelain and Swiss made Fritz Chatelain map measurers. The successor to the HC/FC name was F. Baudet who took over the company from 1921/2, retaining the Chatelain name. In 1925 Baudet’s address was 10 Rue de Belzunce, Paris (that had been the address for the Henri Chatelain company since 1887).

The Chatelain/Baudet company was subsequently taken over by Henri Burnat (H B) in c1940. It was Burnat that manufactured this months measure. In the 1940s the company address was 69 Rue d’Hauteville, Paris. The Baudet-Burnat company produced quite a number of products aimed at the outdoors enthusiast- pedometers, altimeters, compasses and map measurers. Their trademark was adapted from that earlier used by Chatelain and combined the initials of manufacturer identity- H and B above, each side of an impression of a map measurer. The inclusion of a map measure in the trademark design dates from the nineteenth century. From the 1970s the trademark was again altered and the word PARIS replaced the letters H and C below the map measure depicted. This helps us date this months measure. Improved map measurers were being produced into the 1980’s at least and it appears the company ceased trading in 1998. An extreme date range for this month’s measure of 1970-1998 can be extrapolated from this, and this can probably be reduced to mid 1970s-mid 1980s.

HB also produced the similar map measure Model 61 M8. This measure lacked the totaliser of No 61 TP, and included scales of 1:20 000, 1:25 000, 1:40 000, 1:50 000, 1:80 000, 1:100 000, 1:200 000 and 1:250 000. It was advertised as specifically suited for use with road maps and IGN maps (Institut Geographique National); France’s equivalent to the UK’s Ordnance Survey. I will be having a closer look at that second measure in a future post.

Three Points of the Compass has had a closer look at many other measures and links for those can be found here.