The inscription on this instrument reads "Brander & Höschel in Augsberg." George Friedrich Brander (1713–1783) was the most prominent German instrument maker of his time. He was born in Regensburg, worked in Augsburg and, in 1775, took his son–in–law, Christian Kaspar Höschel, into partnership. The horizontal circle of this theodolite is graduated to degrees, and read by vernier (marked "Quena Minute") to 5 minutes. The vertical arc is graduated to 30 minutes. The sighting bar has a pinhole sight at one end, and a glass disc with cross hairs at the other.
Ref: Alto Brachner, et. al., G. F. Brander 1713–1783. Wissenschaftliche Instrumente aus seiner Werkstatte (Munich: Deutsches Museum, 1983).
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