Almost Certainly Used by One or More US Deputy Surveyors in CA Circa 1880

Harrtmann & Saxe was a short lived (1853 to 1856) partnership based in Philadelphia between Hugo Harttmann and Charles Saxe.

I thought this circa 1854 Harttmann & Saxe transit was fairly cool when I first saw it. So I asked the seller to send me some pics of the box…BINGO!!! An old Schmolz label was pasted on the box lid.

Schmolz was a leading San Francisco based instrument maker (he invented the Solar Transit) from 1857 to 1891. That label means this instrument was in the Western US, probably CA, sometime between 1857 and 1891, and helped me identify a key piece of the history of the instrument.

Concerned about the quality of surveys, the US Surveyor General issued a circular in 1879 or 1880 that required every instrument used in the survey of public lands to be tested by the State Surveyor General on an annual basis. The results of these tests were published by a handful of states only for fiscal years 1881 (July 1 1880 thru June 30 1881) and 1882 (July 1 1881 thru June 30 1882). A Harttmann & Saxe Transit appears on the CA Surveyor General test results for both 1881 and 1882.

I have not fully researched the two different USDS's who tested the Harttmann & Saxe transit (James Freeman & D. F. Spurr). The Benson syndicate was ramping up in CA during this period, but I haven't seen anything that would tie either Freeman or Spurr to Benson. Freeman had a long history of surveying in Oregon (starting in 1852 or so) and CA, and likely was a clean surveyor. Spurr only had a few contracts, however, and didn't seem to be a part of Benson's Gang either.

In a stroke of incredible luck, and with a high level of confidence, this instrument can almost certainly be tied to the CA field notes of USDS Spurr. Almost all of the CA field notes were destroyed by the San Francisco 1906 earthquake and fire, so I was stunned to see Deputy Surveyor Spurr's field notes posted on the BLM's website. The Surveyor General's field test of Spurr's Hattmann & Saxe and Spurr's Field Notes provide the timeline and tell the story off this instrument:

1. Per the Surveyor General 1882 report, Spurr tests his Harttmann & Saxe transit on August 17, 1881.

2. Per Spurr's Field Notes and sometime between August 17 and August 24, 1881, Spurr's "transit" requires an adjustment, with Schmolz providing the adjustment.

3. Per Spurr's Field Notes, on August 24, 1881 Spurr begins his survey.

So it is absolutely certain that Schmolz went hands-on with the Harttmann & Saxe transit used by at least one USDS. While that doesn't PROVE that the USDS Harttmann & Saxe transit is the SAME Harttmann & Saxe transit bearing Schmolz label offered here, it is about as close as you can get without using a serial number, especially given the rarity of Harttmann Saxe transits.

Here is the Plat of Spurr's survey using the Harttmann & Saxe transit.

This is a really cool early transit with a Schmolz label, and was almost certainly used by at least one USDS in CA circa 1880. Both the transit and the box are in very nice condition.

This Harttmann & Saxe transit is PERFECT for display, especially with the story that you can tell about this cool transit.

Price: SOLD
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