This is just a sample of the many antiques we have sold. Click link to see other Sales Archive Pages on this Site.
We can help you sell quality Surveying Related Antiques Contact Us.
For further info on consigning / selling your antiques
with us please see our FAQ page,
the
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Your Collection Pages.
Our current offering of Antiques for sale are at our sister Website Patented-Antiques.com.
W. & L. E. #232 Gurley Surveyor's
Compass This Vernier Compass is by Gurley the best known maker of
surveying instruments in America. The bubbles are good, the compass needles
swings freely and the sight veins and their screws are original and nice as well.
The Mahogany box is very nice and shows just minor scuffing. The paper label
inside is very nice as can be seen. It has a needle that measures just under
6" and the instruments overall length is just under 16". The top glass is
original. The silver on the face is nice, and I believe this instrument dates
from near the turn of the last Century.
Excellent . . . . . $1075.00 SOLD
W.
& L. E. # 232 Gurley Surveyor's Compass This
flat Vernier Compass is by the best known and most renowned maker of surveying
instruments that ever produced surveying instruments in America. This company
was founded in the mid 1800's and became the best known and most widely respected
of instrument makers in America. The bubbles are good, the compass needles
swings freely as it should and the sight veins and their screws are original and
nice as well. The Mahogany box is very nice and shows just minor scuffing.
The paper label inside is very nice as can be seen. It has a needle that measures
just under 6" and the instruments overall length is just under 16". The top
glass had to be reputtied as it was loose, but looks great now. As can
be seen the cover for the compass is present as well. The silver on the face
is nice, and I believe this instrument dates from the late 1800's.
Excellent . . . . . $1095.00 SOLD
W.
& L. E. Raiload Double Vernier Compass This
double Vernier Compass is in super nice original condition. The
bubbles are good, the compass needles swings freely as it should and the
sight veins and their screws are original and nice as well. The Mahogany
box is very nice and shows just minor scuffing. The paper label inside
is very nice as can be seen. It has a needle that measures just under
6" and the instruments overall length is just under 16". The silver on the face
is nice, and I believe this instrument dates from the late 1800's.
Excellent . . . . . $1250.00 SOLD
W. & L. E. Gurley Surveyor's Compass
This
Vernier Surveying Compass is a Gurley in a craftsman made box. The bubbles
are good, the compass needles swings freely as it should and the sight veins and
their screws are original and nice as well. The Pine box is nice but not original.
It has a needle that measures just under 6" and the instruments overall length is
just under 16". It appears from the empty holes on the plate on the right
side that the keeper or tally feature is missing, but there is no evidence of one
ever being there. Perhaps it was an option and the holes are on all compass
plates from this era. I do not know. The top glass appears to be original.
The silver on the face is nice, and I believe this instrument dates from the late
1800's.
Excellent . . . . . $795.00 SOLD
Gurley
#217 Surveyors Railroad Compass This wonderful
surveying instrument dates from the late 1800's and is in super original condition.
It is the smaller of the two sizes of Railroad Surveying Compasses that Gurley
produced, with this example having a 5" needle and being 16" long from end to end.
With two verniers, angles could be read to a degree of precision not available using
a single Vernier as on the single Vernier Compasses or using just the needle as
with Gurley #232 Plain Compass. In other words, this was the top of the line
instrument for precise surveys during its time.
Excellent . . . . . $1650.00 SOLD
Gurley
Railroad Compass with Auxiliary Scope This was
Gurley's largest and most complicated compass offered. The fellow who ordered this
one went the full 9 yards with both bases and the auxiliary scope, all made to fit
in the proper box. The optional leveling base as can be seen that could be
used with a small tripod and the ball and socket stall joint is out in front..
The condition of this instrument is exceptional with nearly 100% of the original
lacquer finish still present.
Excellent . . . . . $3250.00 SOLD
Gurley
Railroad Pocket Compass with Auxiliary Scope These compact and versatile instruments were used for a
variety of applications. Although not as accurate as a transit they were sufficiently
precise for general work in the field. They were offered in different
sizes and configurations, and this one has a 4 1/2 in needle. It also
has the optional leveling base as can be seen that could be used with a small
tripod. The condition of this instrument is exceptional with nearly 100%
of the original lacquer finish still present.
Excellent . . . . . $2495.00 SOLD
W.
& L. E Gurley / James Queen Surveyor's Compass This
is a nice looking early surveyor's compass. It is just under 16" long, and has
a 5" needle. The compass points north as it should, but the needle lock does
not function. The level vials are good, and the keeper dial
clicks and stops as it should. The sight vanes are proper and 1 is edge
marked with degree marks from 1-20 on both sides along the edge of it.
The other sight vane has 2 swinging peep hole sights on it. They are numbered
to fit the compass and do fit the compass properly , but the locking pins are
not present. The box is well worn and has some chips at the edges and some missing wood at one end. There needs to be a small repair to this area to keep the compass from sliding when in place. There are remains of two labels inside that I can not make out any name on. There is info there, and pics of other representative instruments, but no name to be seen. The interior pieces to hold the sight vanes and the missing knuckle joint have been glued and re-glued in place. At one point this was done with a silver colored material that now shows on the interior in places. The box needs to be repaired and refinished to look as good as the compass.
The compass face is double marked James Queen Philadelphia Agent around the ring, and W & L. E. Gurley, Troy New York. at the top and bottom. James Queen first went into business for himself in the 1850's. In the early days the Queen Co was more a distributer than maker and had a contract with Gurley to market their products as Gurley's agent. This relationship is described and a short history of the Queen Co. can be found on the Smithsonian's sight under Queen when searching by maker. I believe that the way this compass face is marked would date it from early in the companies history. Instruments sold under this arrangement can be found marked different ways, and I am not sure of the chronological order of the different markings.
All in all a nice example of a hard to find early surveyors compass. It will display very nicely out of the box and has a great patina and graphic look to it.
Good +. . . . . . $1350.00 SOLD!
Gurley
#316 & #318 Small Plain Compasses Here
are two different versions of small Gurley compasses in their original boxes.
The compass on the left is unmarked as to maker, but the construction details
and box are basically the same as the one on the right that is marked Gurley.
The example on the left is missing its knuckle joint, but the compass is very
nice as is the box. The marked Gurley plain compass on the right is in nice original condition. It measures just about 4 1/2 " across. It is clearly marked on the compass face W. L. & E Gurley Troy NY. Also note in the pics the decorative engraving at the North Point. The needle is 3 1/2 " long making this the larger off the two examples of these they offered and a # 318. It comes in a nicely fitted Mahogany fitted box that is in nice condition. This one does have the Knuckle joint fitting to adapt it to a staff for use in the field.
Left . . . . . Good+ . . . . . . $295.00 SOLD!
Right . . . . Good+ . . . . . . $400.00 SOLD!
Gurley
Miner's Compass / Dipping Needle This
small specialized Gurley Miner's Compass or Dip Needle is in super nice
original condition. It is a well made and precision built compass to
help miners or geologists locate ore deposits. Examples by Gurley are
pretty unusual and this ones looks to date from near the turn of the
century or before. There is a needle lock feature in the top stem and
it all operates as it should. There is a set of instructions included
that appear to be from the era this was made.The basic idea was that the user after determining or knowing the normal magnetic deviation for the area, would hold this close to the ground as he walked along. When the needle moved from its typical position that would indicate the probability of a ore deposit below. The Gurley catalog from the 1880's also indicates this could be used horizontally as a regular compass if needed.
The catalog write-ups I have read leave it about there as to usage and do not delve into whether or not the user can determine what type of ore deposit is below him. Others have made that claim with the "quack" gold locators sometimes seen where a compass like this is on the end of a stick and the secret gold finding material is in the handle. Good Luck with that.
An interesting Gurley piece in top condition for the mining display or surveying collection.
Excellent . . . . . . $195.00 SOLD!!
This is just a sample of the many antiques we have sold. Click link to see other Sales Archive Pages on this Site.
We can help you sell quality Surveying Related Antiques Contact Us.
For further info on consigning / selling your antiques
with us please see our FAQ page,
the
Appraisal / Selling Page and the
Selling
Your Collection Pages.
Our current offering of Antiques for sale are at our sister Website Patented-Antiques.com.
This website is Copyrighted
(1998 -
2009)
Larry & Carole Meeker