One of my favorite items in my late colleague's collection is this precise level that was made by Keuffel & Esser for the U.S. Coast & Geodetic Survey. I'm pretty sure that the design was one manufactured by K&E according to the specifications of E.G. Fischer of the USC&GS, a so-called Fischer Level. I'd guess that this particular instrument was made in the late 1910's or early 1920's, but that's strictly a guess.
This instrument is all there, but lacks a case. The fine leather bellows that seal the slides have deteriorated with age. The instrument has a serial number, so it probably would even be possible to determine which lines of leveling (presumably first-order) were run with it. Unless a person were very dedicated, I'd say it's more of a hanger than a banger.
It's a wonderful display piece and it's got the vibes that only come with long days of use across a landscape under an endless sky.
Howdy,
To see this model level in operation, check out the NOAA photo library. This level is shown here:
http://www.photolib.noaa.gov/htmls/theb1762.htm
Cheers,
DMM
> To see this model level in operation, check out the NOAA photo library. This level is shown here:
>
>> http://www.photolib.noaa.gov/htmls/theb1762.htm
Mike, that's a great link: the early ingenious implementation of motorized leveling, except with hand car rather than the motor vehicles NGS used half a century later.
Ken,
1959-1960 I stood holding an invar rod on one end or the other from Galveston to Katy, Houston to LaPort, From Casper, WY to Medician Bow, Beach North Dakota to Billings, Montana, New Orleans to Jackson,MS, Along the Red River in Louisiana, across the Salt River Canyon from Show Low to Globe,AZ, Custer, MT to Wolf Point. Then from West Yellowstone across the earthquake dam into Idaho. I started mark setting after that.
It was a fischer design it had to be shaded and had to be carried horizontal across your shoulder to keep from loosing the bubble. Most of these level lines were along railroads. This was the most boring survey job I have ever had I became very good at throwing rocks.
At 72 I would like to have it for display and to bring a lot of great memories if you do not want too much
Jerry Price
gpsprice@aol.com
> The fine leather bellows that seal the slides have deteriorated with age.
I wrote "fine leather", but I wonder whether those weren't fine sheets of latex rubber that were used to seal the sliding joints of the telescope and prevent dust from entering.
Ken,
They were leather
> At 72 I would like to have it for display and to bring a lot of great memories if you do not want too much
> Jerry Price
> gpsprice@aol.com
Jerry, I told Charles Swart's widow that I would circulate photos of some of the stuff that he had collected that seemed as if it needed a good home and let her know what it might be worth.
In my view, that USC&GS level is like a worn fragment of a very finely made rug, something for a connoisseur to value. If you have the experience of using something similar, you are a connoisseur.
> They were leather
Interesting. Leather was used for the bellows on many cameras at the tme.
Ken,
If $100.00 will take it off her hands. My Son is working with Statoil in Three Rivers I can get him to pick it up in the Austin area.
I can not see it being worth more than that. This way I want have to worry about a case and shipping.
Email and let me know. It would remind me of the 16 months of bordom I spent with the U.S.C.&GS before going to triangulation.
Jerry
gpsprice@aol.com
> Ken,
> If $100.00 will take it off her hands. My Son is working with Statoil in Three Rivers I can get him to pick it up in the Austin area.
> I can not see it being worth more than that. This way I want have to worry about a case and shipping.
> Email and let me know. It would remind me of the 16 months of bordom I spent with the U.S.C.&GS before going to triangulation.
> Jerry
> gpsprice@aol.com
Jerry, I'll pass that offer along and let you know what she says. I agree with you that's it's a very fine thing, but considering the rarity it's hard to put a price on.
I have one of those on campus (it belongs to LSU - not me), and as I recall, it's got an extension of the central axis that goes perhaps 4-5 inches below the leveling screws as if it's intended for a special tripod. The thing is in a fitted wooden case with a leather strap. I don't remember the condition of the bellows.
> I have one of those on campus (it belongs to LSU - not me), and as I recall, it's got an extension of the central axis that goes perhaps 4-5 inches below the leveling screws as if it's intended for a special tripod. The thing is in a fitted wooden case with a leather strap. I don't remember the condition of the bellows.
It looks as if the bellows would not be that much of a trick to replace if one could find the proper material. The instrument itself is fairly heavy. I'd guess over 20 lbs. without having weighed it, most of the mass being in a heavy cast iron frame that one description of the Fischer level reports as Invar with a low thermal expansion coefficient. I have yet to confirm that detail but it's interesting, if true.
Here's a link to a photo of a level of the same model in the NGS collection:
http://celebrating200years.noaa.gov/foundations/leveling/image5.html
Per an NGS webpage describing the development of geodetic leveling technology in the US:
"In 1899, a committee compared C&GS leveling to that of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the U.S. Geological Survey in order to evaluate accuracy, cost, and speed. The study revealed a systematic error in the C&GS leveling, probably caused by the effect of changes in temperature on equipment and by settling of the instruments and rods during the long period of time required to make observations."
"As a result of the committee findings, E. G. Fischer designed a new instrument, the Fischer level, which was to remain the workhorse of C&GS leveling until the 1960s. The new level, built of an iron-nickel alloy, was minimally affected by temperature variations and also allowed for a change in observation methods that decreased the time necessary for observations."
http://celebrating200years.noaa.gov/foundations/leveling/welcome.html#evo
