Surveyor's Transit

Description:

W. & L. E. Gurley termed this a Surveyor's Transit with two verniers to the horizontal limb. The inscription on this example reads "W. & L. E. Gurley, Troy, N.Y. 9296." The horizontal circle is silvered, graduated every 30 minutes of arc, and read by opposite verniers to single minutes. There is a clamp and a tangent to the telescope axis. With tripod, this transit sold for $148. The serial number indicates that it was the 296th instrument that Gurley made in 1909.

Ref: W. & L. E. Gurley, Manual of the Principal Instruments used in American Engineering and Surveying (Troy, N.Y., 1909), pp. 43-46 and 272.

Date Made: 1909

Maker: W. & L. E. Gurley

Location: Currently not on view

Place Made: United States: New York, Troy

See more items in: Medicine and Science: Physical Sciences, Surveying and Geodesy, Measuring & Mapping

Exhibition:

Exhibition Location:

Related Publication: W. & L. E. Gurley. Manual of the Prinicipal Instruments Used in American Engineering and Surveying; 43rd Edition

Credit Line: Ronald Mason Grimes

Data Source: National Museum of American History

Id Number: PH.318461Catalog Number: 318461Accession Number: 235075

Object Name: surveyor's transit

Measurements: overall: 13 1/4 in; 33.655 cmhorizontal circle: 8 in; 20.32 cmneedle: 5 in; 12.7 cmtelescope: 11 in; 27.94 cmhanging level: 6 1/4 in; 15.875 cmoverall: 13 1/4 in x 7 7/8 in x 11 1/2 in; 33.655 cm x 20.0025 cm x 29.21 cm

Guid: http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ng49ca746a5-6fb8-704b-e053-15f76fa0b4fa

Record Id: nmah_745882

Our collection database is a work in progress. We may update this record based on further research and review. Learn more about our approach to sharing our collection online.

If you would like to know how you can use content on this page, see the Smithsonian's Terms of Use. If you need to request an image for publication or other use, please visit Rights and Reproductions.