Offered here is a VERY hard to find Gurley Vernier Transit Compass (VTC) with a 4 inch needle. The first thing you will notice about this instrument is its size - it's SMALL. This 4 inch needle VTC was Gurley's smallest transit for about 35 years - until Gurley released the Explorers Transit in 1905 or so. Gurley called this transit different things - the VTC, the Vernier Transit and the Transit Compass. I like VTC.

A Gurley VTC is essentially a Gurley vernier compass but with a telescope instead of sight vanes. The key thing to look for - a VTC lacks a horizontal circle. The early Gurley manuals describe how much better a VTC is than a comparable vernier compass with sight vanes - see the pics at the bottom of this webpage for all the reasons why Gurley says a VTC is better.

This Gurley VTC is very lightly used and would look fantastic on display. The transit still has a good deal of original lacquer and the box and label are in fantastic condition, which evidences that this transit rarely saw the light of day. The transit comes with everything seen in the pics including the tripod. To really appreciate this VTC, please take a look at the 360 Degree Spinner for this instrument.

Based on the design features of this VTC and the label inside the box, I believe the VTC was made sometime in 1874 or 1875, give or take a couple of years. I used Brian Aregood's book on dating Gurley transits to date the instrument. Great book.

VTC's came in 3 sizes based on needle size - 4 inch, 5 inch, and 6 inches. The 4 inch needle version featured a 6.5 inch telescope and weighted 4.4lbs. By way of comparison, the 5 inch and 6 inch VTC versions had 11 inch telescopes, and weighed 8lbs and 10lbs, respectively. So the 4 inch VTC was MUCH smaller and lighter.

Below you will see a pic with the 4 inch VTC next to a Gurley Light Mountain Transit, which was a fairly compact instrument. Like I said, the VTC is SMALL.

The optics on the VTC are nice. The crosshairs and stadia wires are present. The level vials all have liquid. Everything else seems to work ok. The lens cap and plumb bob are the only things missing.

Gurley VTC's were not hot-sellers back in the day. Most surveyors who wanted a transit opted for a higher priced but more functional instrument (one that could measure independently of the needle). Whatever the reason, Gurley VTC's do not come up for sale very often, and command a meaningful premium when the do. A nice Gurley VTC sold at a Skinner auction for nearly $2100 in 2019, for example (Skinner calls the instrument a Reconnaissance Transit, but the instrument is clearly a VTC).

I have a good deal of information about Gurley, including some production information, posted on my Gurley Maker Webpage.

Gurley production records (which are incomplete) indicate that Gurley made 2 to 3 of the four inch VTCs a year from the early 1870s to the late 1880s. I suspect there are a few other 4 inch VTC survivors out there, but I can't find any in my records or on the internet.

The bottom line - my 4 inch VTC is rare, complete and in GREAT condition.