This alidade has an inverting telescope, and a vertical arc that is silvered, graduated to 20 minutes, and read by vernier to single minutes. The pedestal is painted maroon. The base, also maroon, has floral decorations at either end, a circular level vial, and a beveled edge with an 18-inch scale that is divided to fiftieths of an inch. The U. S. Geological Survey transferred it to the Smithsonian in 1907, describing it as a "preliminary type" of alidade devised for the Survey about 1890.
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.