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CECIL E. HANSON COLLECTION |
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AMERICAN TRANSITS |
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P. & R. Wittstock - Berlin, Germany,
ca.1905 |
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Serial Number: 1070 Telescope Length: 8" Diameter of Horizontal Circle: 4-1/2" Needle Length: 2-3/4" Diameter of Vertical Arc: 4-1/2" Height: 11-3/4" Weight: 9-1/2 lb Box: 14-1/2"H, 8-1/2"W, 8"D Condition: Good Found: October, 1966; Harrison Instrument Dealer, Montreal, CN Door on box marked: CE Dept. Worcester Polytechic Institute CEH Inventory# T26 |
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Engineer's transit made by P. R. Wittstock, (Berlin, Germany) - Size B-1. Overall the instrument appears to be in good condition with minimal wear marks from use. It is all brass and has a nice patina. The optics are clear and the focus knob works. Cross hairs, scope level and leveling screws are in good condition. It has four leveling screws vs three for the conventional European design, indicating it was made for the US market. It has a lens shade and cap. Markings on the door of the case indicate it was once the property of the CE Department at Worchester Polytechnic Institute where it was likely used in surveying classes. P. & R. Wittstock was a mathematical instrument-making firm active in Berlin, Germany around the turn of the twentieth century. There are two transits (Serial Numbers 862 and 898) made by P. & R. Wittstock in the University of Illinois Observatory Collection (Urbana, Illinois) that were listed as being made in the 1905-1906 timeframe. A detailed description of the P & R Wittstock's "Scott's" Mine Tachymeter/Mining Transit is provided in the book titled "The evolution of mine-surveying instruments" by Dunbar Scott on pages 136 - 145. Page 139 provides a table of the dimensions for different sizes of the "Scott" mining transit. Listed below are the dimensions of the transit portion of this instrument (i.e. auxiliary scope not shown) for different sizes. Info for B-1 is similar to the transit in this collection. |
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