CECIL E. HANSON COLLECTION
ANTIQUE SURVEYING INSTRUMENTS

FOREIGN TRANSITS AND THEODOLITES

Thomas Street - London, England, ca 1840's

Serial Number: n/a
Type: Theodolite
Telescope Length: 14"
Scope Level Length: 3-1/2"
Diameter of Horizontal Circle: 5-1/2"
Needle Length: 2-1/4"
Diameter of Vertical Arc: 5"
Height: 10"
Weight:
Box: Yes - Appears to be the original case and in fairly good condition.
Condition: Good
Found: October 39, 1968 - Nelson, New Zealand
CEH Inventory# FT17

Instrument appears to be in good condition. Shows some wear from use. Telescope focuses, but no crosshairs detected. All level bubbles intact. Base has four leveling screws.

Information on Thomas Street from https://oldsurveyinstruments.com/theo-thomas-street:

"Thomas Street was listed as an Optician and Mathematical instrument maker operating from 39 Commercial Road, Lambeth around the time period 1830 to 1846 (Webster's Signature Database).

There is little found about Thomas on the internet but records from the Commercial Section  of the London Postal Directory of 1841 and an advertisement in the London Morning Chronicle October 14, 1835 verify the dates shown in the Websters Database.

R. W. Street & Co published a price list in 1885 and stated that they had been established for 60 years so the firm started by Thomas Street dated from 1825.

Reference to instruments made by R W Street started about 1860 from the same address so I would be safe in assuming that R W (Robert) was Thomas' son."

Based on this information it is estimated that this instrument was manufactured in the 1840 time frame.