This is a really neat circa 1893 Queen Aluminum Transit. Pre-1900 Aluminum surveying instruments (transits, compasses and solar compasses) are very hard to find.   Please read my webpage regarding The History of Aluminum Surveying Instruments.

Making parts out of aluminum rather than brass saves a good deal of weight- perhaps around 50%. This wonderful looking Queen transit weighs only 6.5lbs. You will think "WOW" the first time you pick it up.

As described on my webpage on Aluminum Surveying Instrument History, Queen wanted to make a big splash at the 1893 World's Fair. Queen apparently made and displayed a fair number of Aluminum Instruments at the Fair. I don't know if the transit #5505 offered here is one of the instruments made and displayed, but the serial number puts it in the 1893 to 1894 time range. One of the pics below is a write-up of Queen's display at the 1893 World's Fair.

This Aluminum Queen Transit comes with a usable tripod. I don't think the tripod is original to the transit, however. Queen offered a unique tripod attachment system as an option - it's actually kind of neat. Pictured below is the base of the transit (left pic), the tripod that comes with the transit (middle pic), and a tripod for a Queen instrument made in 1892 or so that looks like the special order tripod in the Queen Catalogue (right pic). The base of the Queen Aluminum Transit #5505 is too small to fit on the tripod head pictured on the right.

This transit has very nice optics and crosshairs. The Telescope is about 8 inches long when not extended.

The compass needle is about 3.75 inches long, and the transit is roughly 10 inches tall.

The box has a lot of tools and looks to be in very good condition.

The instrument doesn't look like it was used very much to my eye. The freshness of the Queen label inside the box supports this conclusion as well. The only real blemish on this instrument is that one of the tripod base level screws has lost its top cover, and the cover was replaced by a modern nut. A minor distraction to my eye, but you should take a look at the last pic below that shows the modern bolt nut.

That said, I think this is a wonderful instrument. There are very few pre-1900 Aluminum Surveying Instruments known, so this is a pretty special instrument to begin with. But it's also in really nice condition, and comes with the optional Queen tripod attachment system and a functional tripod. So I rate this as a pretty desirable transit.

You should look at my Queen Maker's Webpage for more information. You might also explore the 1897 and 1898 Queen Catalogues, especially with respect to the tripod.