I bought this battered old surveyor's transit to use as a Victorian reenactment prop for my hubby. Since he's not able to get around too well, "surveying" seems to be a good way for him to interact with the public, getting kids to hold the measure up for him, then move them "a little to the right, now a little to the left" as he fiddles with the knobs, supposedly planning the next big construction project.
From what I have seen online these were in use for a long time, from about the 1820's to about the 1930's and this type is called a "Dumpy Level" distinguished by the fixed mounting, rather than the adustable mounted "Wye Level". This one was an old barn find and the lenses have been broken out, but the "spirit level" or "bubble level" is still intact. Originally it had a hanging plumb bob, so I'll replace that. So it's only real use is as a prop and I only paid $30 for it, so value isn't an issue. I'll put a fake lens in the end of it and turn Hubby loose!
I'm just curious if anyone can determine an age on this. There are no markings anywhere on it. It's a very simplistic model compared to most. Any thoughts on an age for this? It looks to have been painted at some point to look like brass and copper, but I'm not at all sure if that is original or a later addition. The slots on the screws look off-center on some, so I think they were individually slotted rather than being mass-produced with the slots.
Here's the transit:
And here's what Hubby will be doing with it: