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Wonderful Benjamin Pike & Sons (New York) Circa 1850 Theodolite

About the Item

This is a Wonderful Pike & Sons Theodolite (166 Broadway) complete with Box & Tripod. American made 19th century Theodolites are VERY common. Finding one in great shape with its original box and tripod is nearly impossible. And this one comes with a pic showing it in a 19th century photo studio!  Dating this instrument is an educated guess. Benjamin Pike & Sons operated at 166 Broadway from 1839 to 1843 and 1849 to 1855. I picked Circa 1850 because that is about the halfway point. But the instrument could have been made as early as 1839 or as late as 1855.  Only a few American instrument makers made British-like theodolites, and these American makers did not make very many of them. American surveyors preferred the more rugged and durable transits. Thus, American made Theodolites do not come up for sale very often. And this is the only theodolite complete with box and tripod that I have seen.   But what really makes this theodolite more special - it comes with a circa 1880s hardcopy photo of the theodolite! A prior owner of theTheodolite picked up this photo years after he found the theodolite, and didn't know if the photo showed his instrument or not. After doing a high resolution scan of the old photograph and comparing that to high resolution pictures of the theodolite, I'm 99.9% convinced that the old photo is a pic of my theodolite and tripod. Click on the photos below to compare for yourself. The optics on this Theodolite are very good - better than what you would find a transit made in the same era. I guess this isn't surprising since the telescope measures 15 inches. The Crosshairs for the scope are very thick and not centered properly.   The theodolite comes with a very nice clean compass featuring a 5 inch needle. The vernier reads to 1 minutes.   The vertical arc has a diameter of about 6 inches with a vernier that reads to 1 minute as well. The removable telescope sits in a Y yoke, and is secured by 2 latches. The two latches in turn are secured by removable pull pins. One of the pins looks original, the other is clearly a replacement.  Everything seems to be in good working order on this theodolite. The Theodolite weighs roughly 10lbs.   The box seems to be the original, but has a few loose pieces. The theodolite is loose in the box as a result. The next owner should be able to reattach the loose pieces without too much difficulty.

Dimensions:

Height: 12 in (30.48 cm)Width: 15 in (38.1 cm)Depth: 7 in (17.78 cm)

Materials and Techniques:

Brass

Place of Origin:

United States

Period:

Mid-19th Century

Date of Manufacture:

Circa 1850

Condition:

Wear consistent with age and use.