DESCRIPTION:
Sextants- 2 (Two) Ball Recording Sextants: Mergenthaler Linotype Company, Brooklyn, New York, "Ball Recording Sextant, Mark I, Mod. 0", 4 inch radius, solid metal frames with integrated arcs reading 0-90, 9 inch sighting scopes, 7 inch vertical drop tubes with recording devices at the bottom, all in a dovetailed wooden cases with U.S. Naval Observatory Certificates of Eccentricity, dated 1944 and 1945.
CONDITION:
an unusual instrument that combines elements of a conventional sextant with a vertical tube holding a set of small steel balls. In use, the operator makes a sighting and "records" the postion of the target by using a trigger to drop the balls one at a time onto a carbon cloth that is mounted over a piece of frosted glass. The impact of the balls on the cloth leave an impression on the frosted glass below, allowing the operator to see and average several measurements taken closely together. While the accuracy of such a device is the subject of debate, its novelty is not. Very good condition. The carbon cloth will need to be replaced. Dimensions are for wooden box. Sold "as is ".
ESTIMATE:
$200
-
$300
PRICE SOLD:
$150
CIRCA: 1944
DIMENSIONS: 6in x 12.25in x 10.5in
"