We can help you sell your
Vintage Surveying & Scientific Related Antiques!!
I buy, sell, and deal in many antique surveying instruments
and related tools.
In addition to this informational website we own and
operate our antique sales website
www.Patented-Antiques.com.
It is from that website that we conduct our surveying instrument
sales and other antique sales.
If you are in the market to buy vintage and antique surveying
instruments or other scientific related antiques please visit that page.
If you have surveying instruments or other
tool & technology related antiques you would like to sell please visit
that page to see how we conduct our consignment sales.
If
you would like to consign with us and have additional questions please
see the FAQ page
and other informational pages
at either site or
Contact Us.
Surveying
Instruments General Outline
I am
interested in many different types or forms of early survey instruments
and associated
tools and accessories. I have specific pages
covering other different types of surveying
instruments you should visit through the links provided on the left.
To see past sales results look at the link in the right column.
There is a page for surveyor's compasses
like the compass to the right.
There is also an informational page covering
surveyor's levels
like Wye and Engineer's levels or Farm levels
and Dumpy levels.
We are especially interested in early
surveying
transits 
focusing
on more complex
antique surveying instruments such as mining related transits,
Theodilites,
solar transits or solar compasses. Surveyor's instruments that have solar
attachments, or those with auxiliary scopes used for mining, or those
that
have other unusual
patented or special use features are
in general are more difficult to find as they were offered to
perform specific jobs
as opposed to general work.
If you have antique surveying
instruments or vintage surveyor's tools that you want
to
sell, please contact me atLCM@AntiqBuyer.com
with as many details as possible, including the size, the maker's name,
or any other important written information.
Pictures
of the instrument are critical, and without them it is going to be
impossible to
determine what you have. Just telling me
you have a Gurley, a Berger, or a David White, Lietz or Leitz etc. and giving me the
serial number, or what you say is the serial # is not enough information.
Asking me what is it worth
with just that info would be like me asking you what my car is worth without me telling you
anything more about it then that it is a Toyota.. In the past I have had people tell me
they had an American Lietz transit worth 1000 or more dollars, that was
appraised by the countries leading authority in surveying
instruments DALE BEEKS, that turned out to be nothing more than a piece
of Japanese junk worth next to nothing. He saw no pictures I saw no
pictures, and in the end that piece of garbage ended up being worth not
200 or less, it actual value, not the 1000.00 as it had been appraised at, but
closer to 500,000 when all was said and done. Lies and deceit, or
just Gee, I just did not know. I
am still trying to figure out how that all happened, but no pictures was
one reason. Long Story Short. Send a pic or two.
The list of
American surveying instrument makers
is extensive, and
starts with such famous makers as Rittenhouse, who made instruments during
George Washington's time, to the more well known and prolific makers like W.L
& E. Gurley,
Lietz, Buff, Berger, Heller & Brightly, Keuffel and Esser, Roach,
Sala, or Queen & Co. to name just a few.
There are numerous makers of surveying instruments that have normal given
names that were in business for varying periods of time in the 19th
century. The list of individual maker names is extensive and can not
really be given here but there is interest in many of these lesser known
makers and their pieces.
Surveying
Tools & Accessories
One surveyor's tool that is always of interest is called
a surveying chain.
Surveyor's chains are linked wire measuring devices
and came in various lengths from 33' to 100' and in
several different configurations. Commonly found examples are
either unmarked or English and marked Chesterman. Chains can also be found marked K & E, Gurley, or by other American makers.
Some have special features to compensate for heat or expansion, most do
not. Steel tapes on reels that were
used by surveying parties in the recent past are also referred to as
chains by users but in general are not nearly as collectible or in demand
as these earlier pieces.
I am also interested in early
tripods or staffs that came with most surveying instruments. They come in
many different sizes for different instruments. The earlier the
better. Plane tables and their tripods are also of interest.
I am interested in other precision tools and accessories
that a surveyor or related
trades would use on the
job or in the office. I have mentioned many of these on other pages
of this site, but the list would include planimeters, anemometers, early drafting
sets in fitted wooden boxes, alidades, plane tables, plumb bobs &
Plummets, and lights used in mines, etc.
Unusual plumb bobs like the one pictured
here by with an internal reel or string winder are especially sought. . This
style internal reel plumb
bob can be found with several different names or can be
found unmarked. Other
unusual plumb bobs have external wheels, or cranks, while those used for
mining were called plummets and have a lighting feature so that they could be
sighted in on at the end of a dark shaft or tunnel. Plumb bobs come
in all shapes and sizes, and are very collectible when patented or have
some unique attribute.
Surveying Stadia Rules
Surveyor's also used different calculators or means to figure large
numbers in their
work
and all of these different devices are of interest as well. The
latest examples used that we would be interested in would be hand held
Curta calculators. Additional info on them can be found on the
calculation page.
Also of interest are different sliderules used by Surveyors that were
put out over the years. K& made or offered different models
through the years with their more typical being the 12" 4100 Stadia
Rule, or the 4101 20" model. They also offered the Webb Stadia
Rule that was a small portable circular rule that is very difficult to
find today. I have one of those pictured in the past sales
archives that I sold.
If you have antique surveying
instruments or vintage surveyor's tools that you want
to
sell, please contact me at
LCM@AntiqBuyer.com
with as many details as possible, including the size, the maker's name,
or any other important written information that is given.
To see example of previously sold antiques
from our websites visit the Past Sales Archive Pages through the
links on the right.
To see examples of antique
surveying instruments and related equipment that I have currently have for
sale, please go to our sister site
www.Patented-Antiques.com.
and
visit the surveying related sale pages you will find there.
Thank you!!
Larry & Carole
