CECIL E. HANSON COLLECTION
ANTIQUE SURVEYING INSTRUMENTS

FOREIGN LEVELS

P. & R. Wittstock - Berlin, Germany, ca.1900

Sold on EBay - 3/29/2023

Serial Number: 954
Type: Dumpy Level
Telescope Length: 17"
Spirit level length: 5"
Height: 8"
Weight:
Condition: Overall the instrument appears to be in good condition with expected wear marks from use. It is all brass with the telescope is covered with a unique green felt material. The optics are clear and the focus knob works. Cross hairs, spirit level bubble and leveling screws are in good condition.
Box: No
Found: In Europe in the late 1960's
CEH Inventory# FL9
P. & R. Wittstock was a mathematical instrument-making firm active in Berlin, Germany around the turn of the twentieth century. There is a surveyor's dumpy level made by P. & R. Wittstock (No. 660) in the Collection of Historical Scientific Instruments at Harvard University that is reported as being made in the 1900 timeframe. It is similar to the instrument listed here, except it has four leveling screws (American design) vs three (European design) for this level and the telescope is about 2" shorter. While there is limited online information about this company, a letter signed "P. & R. Wittstock" discussing their mining transits is reprinted in The Evolution of Mine-Surveying Instruments by Dunbar D. Scott (New York: American Institute of Mining Engineers, 1902) on pages 136-145, that is available: Click Here