1. Introduction
Drawing instruments (French instruments de dessin, German Zeicheninstrumente) are here understood as tools like the compasses, ruler, and protractor, aids in drawing geometrical figures particularly in architectural and technical drawing (cf. fig. 1), but not utensils like brushes, chalks, or silverpoint styli (Pencil), which in the early modern period were mostly used for freehand drawing.
From the 16th century, the practice of drawing to (…