W.&L.E Gurley Surveyors Transit. Early Model 1852-1908

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W.& L.E. Gurley I did my best measuring this piece, please contact me with questions. My information comes from the Smithsonian Institute. The compass section is approx. 21" in height. the bottom circle that attatches to the tripod is 14". The telescope is 11" long and the needle is 5" long. The W. & L.E. Gurley Instrument Manufactory was established in 1845. They became the largest manufactures of engineering and surveying instruments in the United States. The Smithsonian States, that it is difficult to determine the date of any particular instrument. But t are some important clues, signatures on the early Gurley instruments were cut by hand. The letters have V- shaped trenches and their lines are varying in width. By contrast, Gurley instruments made after 1876 were done with an engraving machine and thus, have lines with vertical walls and uniform width. The Gurleys introduced serial numbers in 1908 with the first digits indicating the year of manufactor and the latter digits indicating production rate. For example...transit #9296 was the 296th Gurley instrument made in 1909. Teledyne purchased the Gurley firm in 1968, they began trading as Teledyne-Gurley and phased out the production of surveying instruments soon t after. I believe this to be an early hand engraved model. The lines do not look uniform to me ( I am not 100% positive). Also, I have searched High and Low for a serial number, t is not one to be found. This puts it in the pre-1908 era. The heavy wooden box is in great condition for its age although the leather strap is broken but, still on the box. This Instrument has had only one owner. I purchased this from a family run estate sale. They told me their grandfather was one of the first founding engineers with Minnesota Power (early to mid 1900's). He saved his money to purchase this transit. I am not familiar with the proper names for all the parts included in this auction. T is the gorgeous box with brass hooks,lock and hinges. The tripod (with brass feet and parts) that the large compass piece screws on to. A large wooden ruler that extends larger than what the photo shows. And the telescope. The box with the compass and telescope in it, together weighs 29 pounds 6 ounces.( the added weight from the ruler and tri pod is 17 pounds) This will be an expensive item to ship, the final weight is approx. 46.6 pounds for the transit and 2-3 pounds more for packaging materials. The box measurements are approx. 55x17x13. I will have this packaged by the professionals. Winning bidder can let me know if they would prefer my local mail room or the UPS Store. I called UPS to get their rates for this size package. This was the rate to the state furthest from me. If t is a difference in actual price after the auction ends to the winning bidders address, I will adjust the cost in the invoice. Please wait for the invoice before making payment. Please email me with any questions. All of my items come from a Smoke Free Home. My information on the Gurley Company came from the Smithsonian Web site.../collections/surveying/maker.cfm?makerid=14 Please Check out my other antique items ! I forgot to add this piece. I do not know it's name but it is a metal piece in the shape of the telescope. If you look at the photo that shows the inside of the box, you can see it in t on the bottom right corner. Please let me know if you would like photos emailed to you. Include your personal email address if you require more photos. Thank you! The cross hairs and the optics are in excellent condition! I first checked for cross hairs turning the wrong knob so I did not see them. A very kind ebayer emailed me and told me the correct knobs to turn. ... read more

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