Surveyor's Transit
name: label: maker
content: C.L. Berger and Sons
notes: label: Description
content: This "Complete Engineers' and Surveyors' Transit" is marked "C. L. Berger & Sons, Boston, U.S.A. 8879" and "PAT'D APRIL 28-1896." Swarthmore College ordered it from Berger in November 1911. The horizontal circle is of solid silver, with opposite verniers placed at 35 degrees to the line of sight, and reading to 30 seconds of arc. The vertical circle is of solid silver, read by vernier to single minutes, and protected by an aluminum guard. The standards have a cloth finish. Berger noted that it was "designed for engineering work of a high class, such as is required in bridge building, water works, and for city and land surveying." New, it cost $255.
label: Description
content: It is difficult to know how to interpret the patent reference in the inscription. On April 28, 1896, C. L. Berger received a patent (#559,117) for a Surveyor's Transit with an auxiliary telescope that could "be used for the ordinary plane surveying, and also for mine surveying and similar purposes." This instrument is not of that sort.
label: Description
content: Ref: C. L. Berger & Sons, <i>Hand-Book and Illustrated Catalogue of the Engineers' and Surveyors' Instruments of Precision</i> (Boston, 1912), pp. 142-146.
label: Description
content: Chicago Steel Tape-Berger Instruments (Document Management Systems, 1995), Book 27, p. 33.
label: Location
content: Currently not on view
place: label: place made
content: United States: Massachusetts, Boston
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: C. L. Berger & Sons. Hand-Book and Ilustrated Catalogue of the Engineers' and Surveyors' Instruments of Percision
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: Swarthmore College, Department of Engineering
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of American History
identifier: label: ID Number
content: 1986.0668.01
label: accession number
content: 1986.0668
label: catalog number
content: 1986.0668.01
objectType: label: Object Name
content: surveyor's transit
physicalDescription: label: Measurements
content: overall: 14 in; 35.56 cm
label: Measurements
content: horizontal circle: 6 1/4 in; 15.875 cm
label: Measurements
content: needle: 4 1/4 in; 10.795 cm
label: Measurements
content: verticle circle: 5 in; 12.7 cm
label: Measurements
content: telescope: 11 in; 27.94 cm
label: Measurements
content: hangling level: 5 in; 12.7 cm
label: Measurements
content: overall inside case (1986.0668.01): 16 1/2 in x 9 5/8 in x 12 in; 41.91 cm x 24.4475 cm x 30.48 cm