This chain bears the inscription “W. & L. E. GURLEY TROY, N.Y." and "10 M STEEL No. 12.” Gurley began making metric chains in the 1870s, later explaining that the French meter was "very generally used as a standard in South America." This example has 50 links made of No. 12 steel wire, brass handles and tallies, and measures 10 meters overall. The links and rings are brazed shut.
Ref: W. & L. E. Gurley, Manual of the Principal Instruments Used in American Engineering and Surveying (Troy, N.Y., 1878), p. 9.
W. & L. E. Gurley, Manual of the Principal Instruments Used in American Engineering and Surveying (Troy, N.Y., 1893), p. 254.
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