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Fine WW2 US Military Keuffel & Esser Engineers Transit with Manuals and Tripod For Sale


Fine WW2 US Military Keuffel & Esser Engineers Transit with Manuals and Tripod
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Fine WW2 US Military Keuffel & Esser Engineers Transit with Manuals and Tripod:
$760.00

Superb 1944 World War II US Military Keuffel & Esser Engineers Transitin its Original Case with Accessories, Tools, Manuals and Tripod

We have looked online and found a lot of websites that deal with antique and vintage scientific and technical instruments of all kinds, and we have certainly found some nice transits, BUT NOWHERE have we found such a complete and beautiful, little used old American military transit from World War II in its original case with its accessories, manuals and tripod.  This splendid Keuffel & Esser transit is marked US and serial number 88086 and was manufactured in 1944.  It is beautifully made of brass with its original reticulated black “Morocco” paint and sits in the mahogany case on a 3-½ x 8 threaded aluminum pedestal with holes for three trivet points on the bottom.  Positioned on the aluminum base there is a beveled sun shade and another similar tube with a 45 degree beveled mirror mounted in the center.

The case also contains a variety of accessories including a right angle viewer, a brass plumb bob with a military part number on it, a mahogany box containing two short and one long spare bubbles or levels, a leather case that contains a fold-out magnifier on a neck cord, three small steel trivet points and a capped oiler of some sort, and a camel hair brush.  The beautifully built dovetailed olive drab painted (outside only) mahogany wooden case with metal corners locks with two brass swivel hooks and a cabinet key.  The front door of the case has its original Keuffel & Esser data plate bearing the serial number 88086.  The top of the case above the door and the leather strap across the top of the case both bear the simple initials U.S.  On the back of the case there are four heavy leather loops, presumably to accommodate straps for backpacking on a human or a mule.

The engineer’s transit itself looks as it it was never used and has only the slightest “case wear”.  The levels or bubbles work fine and we can find no adjustment that doesn’t work as intended.  

We were able to find a 1927 Keuffel & Esser catalog that shows very similar instruments which it describes as ENGINEER’S TRANSIT with STADIA CIRCLE.  The description says that the horizontal limb and stadia circle are both “graduated on solid silver” and that the hinged reflectors are made of “iv ory”.  It certainly looks that way to us.

Since our best technical reference is the 1927 Keuffel & Esser catalog and since this transit was made for the US Government in 1944, the instruments shown, described and illustrated in the catalog are not identical to the one we have and are offering for sale in this sale.  WE SHOW THE KEUFFEL & ESSER CATALOG PAGES FOR REFERENCE ONLY!  They are not part of the sale.  In the hope of more clearly identifying the instrument we are selling, we here list some of the actual dimensions of the transit we are offering in this sale:
- the telescope is 9-⅛ inches in length closed
- the horizontal limb is 6 inches in diameter
- the guard on the stadia circle is 4-¼ inches in diameter
- the overall height of the transit on its aluminum base is 12-¼ inches
- the aluminum base measures 6 x 9 inches
- the gorgeous Young & Sons compass is 4 inches in diameter and is marked above the S with the words MADE BY Y. & S. DEP’T. KEUFFEL & ESSER CO. NEW YORK.

The manuals are wartime originals of the War Department Technical Manual SURVEYING (TM5-235) and War Department Technical Manual SURVEYING TABLES (TM5-236), both dated 1940 and containing a total of over 900 pages and weighing about 1 pound each.  

The tripod, like the transit itself, is very little used and has almost all of its original finish.  It is about 3 feet long collapsed and expands to about 5 feet long and weighs 9 pounds.  The top is threaded to the US Government standard 3-½ x 8 (like the bottom of the transit) and has its original Brunson aluminum protective cap.  The tripod is complete and in excellent condition with a single relatively minor exception: the bottom leg adjustment tightener on ONE of the legs is missing.  We have set the outfit up without it but it could certainly be replaced with the same part from another tripod.  

This is a spectacular 65+ year old US military accessory that could be the center piece of a museum display in an engineering or military museum or the perfect over-the-top accessory for any historic World War II military vehicle.  This is precisely the type of engineer\'s transit used during World War II by various units of the American Armed Forces such as the US Army, US Navy, Seabees or Construction Battalions CBs, United States Marine Corps, US Army Air Force, etc., etc.

In terms of history, we can tell you that we purchased this entire outfit from the estate of a deceased engineering professor at the South Dakota School of Mines many, many years ago.  He apparently acquired it from a United States Government surplus sale or sale.  It was obviously used little and kept very much as he got it in his garage in the very low humidity of our High Plains Desert climate at an elevation of around 4000 ft.  We were unable to find anything like this wonderful outfit anywhere online, so we decided to sale it on without a reserve price and with the lowest imaginable opening offer!

There is no way for us to calculate the cost of delivering the transit, manuals and tripod to the eventual high buyer since we have no idea of the destination or the packing requirements of the buyer.  We ran the approximate weights and sizes and would expect that shipping anywhere in the continental USA to be between $50.00 and $70.00 but THE POSTAGE AMOUNT AT THE TOP OF THE LISTING IS ONLY APPROXIMATE!!!!

UNIVERSAL DISCLAIMER (© 2015): Because of ’s approach to returns nowadays we no longer represent anything as being suitable for use for any specific purpose.  We sell everything as a surplus curio or relic “as is-where is”, with no implied or other warranties of any kind given, and which may or may not be useful for its original or intended purpose.  What you see is what we have photographed and what you will receive if you are the high buyer.

PLEASE READ THIS!  We will answer any questions you may have DURING this 10-day sale, NOT after the sale has ended.  The following is a direct quotation from ’s instructions given to every buyer at the time a offer is placed.   ”By clicking on the button below, you commit to buy this item from the seller if you\'re the winning buyer.  You are agreeing to a contract.   .....   You will enter into a legally binding contract to purchase the item from the seller if you\'re the winning buyer.  You are responsible for reading the full item listing, including the seller\'s instructions and accepted payment methods. ”  If you are not in absolute agreement with ’s rule on legally binding contracts please do not offer on our sales.

Have a look at our other vintage collectibles on this week!

THE INFORMATION BELOW IS AN IMPORTANT CONTRACTUAL PART OF THE sale ABOVE!

1)   CONDITION: exactly as described and shown in our photographs.

2)   for POSTAGE & HANDLING to destinations in the continental United States will depend on destination - see red paragraph in the sale description above.

3)   for POSTAGE & HANDLING to FOREIGN COUNTRIES BY AIR will depend on destination - see red paragraph in the sale description above.

3A)   WE NO LONGER SHIP ANYTHING TO MAINLAND CHINA or MEXICO because of delivery problems on their end.  If you live in Mainland China or Mexico and decide to offer on this sale, YOU ABSOLUTELY MUST PROVIDE US WITH A SHIPPING ADDRESS IN THE UNITED STATES TO WHICH WE CAN SHIP IT.  If you can’t provide such an address, PLEASE DO NOT offer.

4)   INSURANCE is always optional and for the account of the buyer.

5)   PAYMENT: by PayPal or pre-approved alternative.

6)   If for any reason you can not pay us for your winning offer within 7 days of the end of this sale, PLEASE DO NOT offer on this or any other RAPIDAPOLIS sale.  Because of ’s response rules, we will always file an Unpaid Item Claim (UPI Claim) with at the end of 7 days!

7)   We are NOT an store and the item we offer here is one of a kind and is the one shown in our photos.  It does not come in any other size or color.  What you see is what you get.

8)   We try hard to make every description of every item accurate and we provide excellent photographs of the items we offer for sale.  If there is a discrepancy between the text and the photographs in any of our sales, the photographs take precedence over  the text.

RAPIDAPOLIS sales has a long history of selling on since 1999, and of customer satisfaction.  We encourage buyers to examine our sales carefully, review our thousands of responses and offer with confidence.

On Jan-25-15 at 10:04:46 PST, seller added the following information:


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