Solar Compass
date: label: date made
content: ca 1880
name: label: maker
content: W. & L. E. Gurley
notes: label: Description
content: This solar compass belonged to the U. S. Geological Survey, a federal agency that was established in 1879. It was made around 1880, and transferred to the Smithsonian in 1920. The horizontal circle is silvered, graduated to 30 minutes, and read by opposite verniers to single minutes. The inscription reads "W. & L. E. Gurley, Troy, N.Y." The auxiliary telescope, which attaches to either sight vane, is marked "PAT. JULY 9, 1878," and is described by the patent (#205,712) that was granted to William and Lewis E. Gurley in 1878.
label: Description
content: Ref: W. & L. E. Gurley, <i>Manual of the Principal Instruments used in American Engineering and Surveying</i> (Troy, N. Y., 1878), p. 70.
label: Location
content: Currently not on view
place: label: place made
content: United States: New York, Troy
setName: label: See more items in
content: Medicine and Science: Physical Sciences
label: See more items in
content: Surveying and Geodesy
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content: Measuring & Mapping
publisher: label: Related Publication
content: W. & L. E. Gurley. Manual of the Prinicipal Instruments Used in American Engineering and Surveying; 23rd Edition
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: U.S. Geological Survey
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of American History
identifier: label: ID Number
content: PH.307086
label: catalog number
content: 307086
label: accession number
content: 65070
objectType: label: Object Name
content: Solar Compass
physicalDescription: label: Measurements
content: overall length: 15 in; 38.1 cm
label: Measurements
content: telescope: 8 1/2 in; 21.59 cm
label: Measurements
content: overall: 12 15/16 in x 18 1/2 in x 6 1/2 in; 32.86125 cm x 46.99 cm x 16.51 cm