I have and old leather bound pocket table-book titled "The Surveyor's Guide" by one B.F. Dorr, Second Edition 1888. In addition to the table of natural sines and tangents it contains rules and the author's advise for retracement of the General Land Office Surveys, and re-establishing lost and obliterated corners.
He also describes the pro's and cons of running lines with the compass vs the transit with some personal experiences. Additionally he describes methods of correcting a random line and determining distances across natural obstacles.
This volume has the names of three previous owners all predating 1937 and various notes inside the front cover. One of the notes written in a fountain pen script states "420 Buggy wheels 1 mile".
Has anyone any other information about this pocket book or others like it?
I have a paper back reprint that I bought many years ago. It's a GOOD book, and somewhat of a classic. I would think that a leather bound "original" would be worth some MONEY!
Loyal
Yeah, this volume is pretty cool. Like the appraisers on Antiques Roadshow say, the cover has condition issues. The previous owners of this book appear to be from Brighton, Colorado.
> I have a paper back reprint that I bought many years ago. It's a GOOD book, and somewhat of a classic.
Used copies of the reprint are available from Alibris.com for a modest price. An original, leather bound copy is available for $150.
Google books has it scanned, too.
I would post a link but I can't copy and paste links, again....
I don't have any more information about the book but have knowledge of it. Mr. Dorr was from this area - his compass is on display at the Antigo Historical Society building about 3 blocks from here. He used to rent a cabin from the father of a current county board member. I don't know what year it was but Dorr supposedly left his compass in the cabin when he left the area because he said he was getting too old to survey and probably wouldn't need the compass anymore. The compass was donated to the museum a few years ago. He did a lot of surveying here and most of his field notes are on file here. His work confirms what I thought about an original government surveyor, Hiram Fellows. Here is an excerpt from Dorrs book regarding information on a corner in a township that Mr. Fellows 'surveyed'.
Not that it makes a difference but that location is only about 4 miles from where I'm sitting right now. I pull out my copy every now and then - I like reading that kind of stuff!
