Very Nice L Beckmann Co. Vernier Compass Circa 1890s

This is very nice vernier compass made by L Beckmann Co. The compass is a pretty standard size - 15 inch mainplate and a 5 inch needle. The sight vanes are 8 inches tall.

I believe this to be circa 1890s based on the serial number of 5737. The compass could be circa 1900s or so however. I don't have anything that pegs serial numbers to dates for Beckmann instruments, especially as the serial numbers go higher. I have seen Beckmanns with serial numbers above 10,000.

Below is a pic from a 1903 Beckmann catalogue which shows an illustration that looks like this compass. This compass is pretty cool for a couple of reasons.

First, you set the vernier with a little pin wrench. I don't have the original, but I'm including a spare one I have. This is the first time I've seen this system. The vernier system has two clamp screws that require old type skinny screwdriver heads. I loosened the clamps for now so you can work the vernier system with the included pin wrench. Second, Beckmann devised a way to reduce the weight of the compass. Take a look at the pic below that shows the bottom of the compass. The compass is lighter than other similar sized compasses as a result. The sight vanes are constructed the same way.

(Keywords - Gurley, Berger , Surveying, Surveyor, Transit). This item is in the category "Collectibles\Science & Medicine (1930-Now)\Engineering\Surveying Equipment". The seller is "kingtiger-" and is located in this country: US. This item can be shipped to United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Denmark, Romania, Slovakia, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Finland, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Estonia, Australia, Greece, Portugal, Cyprus, Slovenia, Japan, China, Sweden, Korea, South, Indonesia, Taiwan, South Africa, Thailand, Belgium, France, Hong Kong, Ireland, Netherlands, Poland, Spain, Italy, Germany, Austria, Bahamas, Israel, Mexico, New Zealand, Singapore, Switzerland, Norway, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain, Croatia, Republic of, Malaysia, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Panama, Trinidad and Tobago, Guatemala, Honduras, Jamaica, Barbados, Bangladesh, Bermuda, Brunei Darussalam, Bolivia, Egypt, French Guiana, Guernsey, Gibraltar, Guadeloupe, Iceland, Jersey, Jordan, Cambodia, Cayman Islands, Liechtenstein, Sri Lanka, Luxembourg, Monaco, Macau, Martinique, Maldives, Nicaragua, Oman, Pakistan, Paraguay, Reunion, Uruguay.