Buff & Buff Theodolite With Tripod And Storage Case Antique Used Transit

US $1900

Ashford, Connecticut, United States
Oct 22nd

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Hello eBay! Here we have for auction one very nice piece of industrial history from the early half of the twentieth century. It is a survey theodolite (not a transit, which is a design improvement on the theodolite) with tripod, an actual working tool used for decades to build homes in the Fairfield area of Connecticut. My great grandfather bought this theodolite in approximately 1940 for the then absurd sum of $400. At the time, just at the tail end of the great depression this was an astronomical sum of money. The theodolite itself appears to be in very good used condition. Great grandfather used this device to build at least three of our family homes, but as he was a prolific builder i have to assume that it was used more than just those three times. The wear on the device certainly implies that. The first home, a true mansion, was bought by the government through eminent domain and torn down for Eisenhower's interstate plan. The second and third houses still stand today, and i am pleased to say house two sold about five years ago for just over a million dollars. Great Grandfather really knew his stuff!! The tripod is in rough shape, as it never had a case or bag for storage. The wood is rather sun bleached, and the steel bits on it have some rust on them (these are the protective tips for the "feet" which get jammed into the earth). The tripod has two clamps on each leg, and three of them are damaged. One is missing entirely, one is cracked, and the other is partially missing. Because of the tight fit of the legs the tripod will still stand with ease, even with this damage. The theodolite itself has three flaws that i can detect other than wear to to the finish. Photograph two has three highlighted areas, one a piece of damage, two of them what appear to be missing small parts. The topmost circle shows a chipped piece of frosted glass. The bottom left circle indicates a missing piece of glass. There should be a frosted piece of glass, identical to the chipped one in the top circle, affixed to the bezel. I believe this is a sun shade allowing easier reading of the numerical data. The last circle indicates a missing finish piece, what appears to be cosmetic trim. Just below and to the left of the missing metallic trim is one that is present, it is a black knurled "nut" that seals the end of the cylinder and makes it look nice. I was told that the storage box for the transit is not original but i do not know for certain. I am told the original was damaged and that this one was constructed by great grandfather. It would seem that this is true, as it does not look very similar to ones that i see on the internet. There is a lock on the box, which is missing its key. The lock is in fact broken, which can be seen when the box's door is open. The leather strap is in good shape, one can trust it to carry the box. Please email me with any questions regarding the theodolite and tripod, and the storage box for the theodolite. I will do my very best to answer them. Please do your best to discover any issues with condition through the photos and questioning me. I say this as i would rather not have this device returned, and in fact would only consider a return if the condition is misrepresented in the listing. So please do due diligence making certain that this is an auction you wish to win! Please remit payment to my paypal account within three days of the auctions close. In turn i will post the transit to the winning bidder within three business days (although probably faster). I am forced to ship this through FedEx Ground due to the oversized tripod. The transit will arrive in two packages, one with the tripod, one with the transit case and transit. Shipping is to be actual cost, so please email me for a quote. I expect it to cost about $60-80 dollars to the west coast, less to the east, obviously. Pick up in person is welcome and actually preferred, that way the buyer could inspect it, and save some good money on shipment. If you bid without getting a quote first, you do so with the understanding that this is an oversized item and shipment is 100% your responsibility. Please, once again, email me with any and all questions, especially regarding condition.