So I picked up another strange compass. I am struggling to put an age to it.
The case is marked Tokio, a spelling that fell out of favor by 1900. The brand is Sokkisha, a company that formed in 1920 and lasted into the 80's. The construction gives few clues. I scoured my early catalogs with no luck.
Anyone seen one like this?
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Another pic..
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There are some Lietz catalogs on Internet Archive; this was one of the brands they carried.
Thank you Bob. Lietz figured out importing was the only way to compete for a while. They partnered up with Sokkisha (publicly) in the 1950's. There are several cool examples of hand tools made by Ushikata and Sokkisha (Sokkia) both with and without marks. Sokkisha renamed Sokkia eventually bought out Lietz.
The thing that puzzles me most is the use of "Tokio". That fell out of favor long before the formation of Sokkisha in 1920. The patent number may be from 1916, but the Japanese character defining the system is missing. Alternatively, it is an early 1920s patent. Those would set a minimum date of 1916. Japanese patents last 20 years so likely it is prior to the early 40's. We had a brief break in Japanese imports around that time. The throwback use of 'Tokio' after that is unlikely (but possible).
I'll send the patent images to a friend who teaches Japanese. He can tell me if I'm on the right track. In any event it is a cool work of art that functions well.
Former employer had a newer version of that compass except it had a small telescope.
we had a sokkisha auto level at a place I worked for and I was really hoping they were going to surplus it, it worked phenomenally. older than me too.
@dave-karoly There are a few of those floating around. One vendor has some new old stock versions for about 1500. They are cool, but not that cool..lol
I am enjoying rescuing the early 1900s stuff while it is still reasonably priced. It's nice to hear from folks that remember using it. The last of us dip needle guys are fading fast...