CECIL E. HANSON COLLECTION
ANTIQUE SURVEYING INSTRUMENTS

AMERICAN LEVELS

Thomas E. Lander - Kansas City, MO, ca 1905
Traded to Gurley Museum in 1967 for FT5

Photo from “Catalog of the Charles E. Smart Collection of Antique Surveying Instruments, 1996, p 95

Serial Number:
Type: Wye
Telescope Length: 18"
Bar Length: 12"
Spirit level Length: 6-1/4"
Horizontal Circle Diameter: 4"
Height:
Weight:
Condition: Good
Found: February 27, 1967 - Kansas City, MO
Reference: Smart, vol 2 page 227
CEH Inventory# L32

Excerpted from “Makers of Surveying Instruments of America since 1700” by Charles Smart, 1967, Vol 2, p. 227:

THOMAS E. LANDER
Kansas City, Missouri

Thomas E. Lander is first listed in the 1901 Kansas City directory, Foreman, Columbian Optical Company.
1905 instrument maker. 1916 Landale Optical Mfg. Co.
He is listed until 1925.
The Gurley Museum has a 20" Wye Level with 4" Horizontal Circle.
Gurley exchanged a Russian Transit No. 10124, which Gurley had taken in trade in 1963, with Mr. Cecil E. Hanson for the Lander level which Mr. Hanson had purchased 23 February (1967) in Kansas City.

 Excerpted from “Catalog of the Charles E. Smart Collection of Antique Surveying Instruments, 1996, p 94:

US15 THOMAS E. LANDER, Kansas City, MO, 18" Wye Level, 1905 - 1915, R8, C7

Little is known of Thomas E. Lander. He was first listed in the 1901 Kansas City directory as a foreman at the Columbian Optical Co. In 1905 he is listed as an instrument maker and from 1916 through 1925 as the Landale Optical Mfg. Co. This level was made between 1905 and 1915, but probably closer to 1905, judging from the style and finish.

The telescope has a top-mounted external object focus and a screw eyepiece. The bar is engraved in block letters, "T.E. Lander/ Maker/ Kansas City MO/ USA". The wyes that support the telescope are fastened with hex-head pins. A 4" horizontal limb is below the engraved bar.

The original surface was bronzed with bright brass accents, with an overall patina. The instrument was obtained by Charles Smart in 1967 from Cecil Hanson of Pasadena, CA, in exchange for a Russian transit taken in trade from Clifford Rappeleyea of Lexington, NY, in 1963 for $35. Mr. Hanson had obtained the level in Kansas City.