Having created/invented the first base plate (orienteering) compass in 1928, Swedish orienteer Gunnar Tillander formed the Silva company in 1932 with fellow Swedes:Alvar Alvid and Bjorn Kjellstrom – Silva is latin for wood/trees and because Tillander spent a lot of time orienteering in the forests the name seemed appropriate. The first mirror sight version of the compass came out in 1939 and it’s a later version – 1970’s – that we have here in the collection. Well used by Mick Tighe’s mountain guiding outfit, Nevis Guides,it was retired in the 1990’s and ultimately found its way into the collection.