1876 Young & Sons Surveyors Solar Compass, Nice Shape, Missing Solar Part

Description

This is a rare solar compass, likely used to survey the public lands in the US.  It measures 15 1/2 inches long and is in great condition except for the missing solar unit.  Find that solar unit and it will triple the value of this compass
Postage will be if you are within the US, more if you are outside the USA.
Here is some information on the Young & Son Company:
William J. Young
1800-1870
(information obtained from articles written by Robert C. Miller)
William J. Young was born in Scotland in 1800 and raised in Philadelphia, PA. In 1813, at age 13,
with the consent of his father, he was indentured as an
apprentice to Thomas Whitney to learn "The Trade or Mystery of a Mathematical Instrument Maker." Seven years later, having earned his freedom and with in his pocket, Young went into business on his own about 1820.
William J. Young was first listed in the Philadelphia, Pennsylvania directory in the year 1825 as a mathematical instrument maker.
Young's success came in large part from his innovations. He re-designed several European instruments adapting them for American field conditions, and worked closely with other in­ventors, helping them turn good ideas into workable instruments. In the mid-1820's Young directed his attention to the Y-level, producing a new instrument that was
lighter in weight, cleaner and more practical than available English models. This level soon be­came a key item in Young's product line and, in his own words, "in its principal propor­tions the copy for nearly every successive manufacturer."
Within a few years, his was the leading mathematical instrument shop in the United States. He introduced improved forms of the railroad compass, the solar compass, and the surveyor's transit. And he trained younger men to carry on the tradition.
In 1830 Young applied for a patent on an improved vernier compass. The patent was granted in 1832, surrendered, and reissued in 1834. Although termed a compass, this instru­ment held a lower graduated plate which could be damped so is to remain stationary, and an upper movable member carrying ver­nier and sights-and so could measure horizontal angles without reference to a magnetic needle. This compass was not a great success
per se,
but it led directly to the development of the surveyor's transit, Young's most impor­tant instrument. The transit made its first appearance in 1831, termed Simply "an Improved Compass, with Telescope attached, by which angles can be taken with or without the use of the needle, with perfect accuracy." The transit proved to be particularly useful in running railroad lines, and an early client was the B & O Railroad.
In the design of instruments there is always a trade-off between ruggedness and accuracy. Young's original flat center model became the instrument of choice for general work as transportation improved and the need for accuracy increased.
Another of Young's successful innovative instruments was the solar compass. In 1835 he had met William Austin Burt, a Michigan surveyor. His frustrations with conducting magnetic surveys in areas having large deposits of iron ore led him to devise and eventually to patent an instrument for easily determining the true meridian and the variations of the compass needle. Over the next several years Young worked closely with Burt, constantly modifying the design until by 1840 they had achieved a truly successful solar compass. In 1858 Young patented a shifting head connecting the instrument and tripod.
Young's earliest signature read "W. J, Young Maker Philadelphia (or Philada)". Around 1840 Young changed his signature to "Wm. J. Young Maker Philadelphia lor Philada". A transit with the earlier signature has “1837" and "J. Folwell" marked on the underside of the level and on the interior parts of the needle lifter.: A compass with the latter signature is marked "Chas. J. Shain April 12 1842" and "Tom Tennant March 31 1842" on the underside of the socket and level respectively. Shain and Tennant were Young's apprentices. Since Folwell is listed in directories as shoe findings and, after 1840 as turner, it is likely that he had a lathe and that he made small parts on contract. There is no evidence that Folwell ever worked in Young's shop. It should be further noted that all Young compasses and transits made between 1831 and 1846 have the additional marking "Patent".
Young began marking serial numbers on his instruments around 1853. These numbers began around 3000, and probably indicate the number of Young instruments to date. Analysis of these serial numbers shows that Young produced some 65 instruments per year in the 1850s, with annual production rising to 120 in the early 1900s.
Charles S. Heller (1839–1912) was born in Germany, and moved with his family to the United States in the late 1840s. He went to work for William J. Young in 1855, and along with Thomas N. Watson became a partner in William J. Young & Co. in 1865; t
he partnership disbanded in 1870. Alfred Young operated the firm as Wm. J. Young & Sons, and Heller went on to form Heller & Brightly. The firm began signing their instruments Young & Sons in 1875, and began using this name in advertisements around 1882. Young & Sons was incorporated in 1917. Keuffel & Esser obtained control of the firm in 1918, made it the Y&S department of K&E, and moved the operations to the K&E factory in Hoboken, New Jersey.
Young died in Philadelphia in 1870.
Following Young’s death his business was continued under the direction of his son Alfred, trading as William J. Young and Sons in 1881, when Alfred was succeeded by his son, Alfred, Jr.
In 1921 the company was dissolved, its assets assumed by Keuffel & Esser.
Young was the first American to own a dividing engine--a device for mechanically dividing circles into degrees and minutes. He would not have needed such a complex and costly device just to make compasses, but he would need it to graduate the circles of more precise instruments. Not having the money to purchase a dividing engine from England, Young built his own. He had never seen a dividing engine, but worked from a printed description of an English engine. He would later modify this original engine, and build two others.
The dividing engine enabled Young to divide circles more rapidly and more precisely than could be done by hand, thus enhancing his productivity and the accuracy of his instru­ments. By 1870 he had three circular dividing engines, two linear ones, and 16 lathes, all powered by hand.
on the scene at a time when the expansion of the United States across the continent, and the building of canals and then railroads, en­sured a steadily rising demand for instru­ments-both simple surveying instruments such as compass and chain, and engineering instruments such as levels, transits and solar compasses. Unlike colonial instrument makers who had barely enough business to keep themselves and a shop boy busy, Young had more business than he could
handle. By mid-century his work force Young's timing was excellent. He appeared numbered about ten hands, and he was claiming "If I could find competent workmen, I could at present double my business."
While 18th-century American instrument makers tended to work alone, or with an apprentice or two, Young usually had ten or so men in his shop, some apprentices and some journeymen. These men were all highly skilled and commanded relatively high wages. The instruments they produced were substantially more costly than those produced in factories, such as that of W. & L. E. Gurley.
Young's influence on the instrument busi­ness extended beyond his direct descendants to several other important makers. Knox & Shain, who established a business in 1850, had worked for Young, Charles J. Shain as an apprentice, and Joseph Knox as Young's shop foreman. Another Young apprentice was Thomas Tennant, who became the proprietor of the leading instrument shop and warehouse in San Francisco. Charles Heller, one of the founders of the firm of Heller & Brightly in Philadelphia worked for Young for ten years before becoming a partner for another five, then leaving to establish his own firm.
None of Young’s account books survive, precise production levels are not known. Young first began to number his instruments in about 1853, beginning with Number 3000, which suggested an output of approximately 100 instruments per year. In 1855, an unusually busy year, he produced more than 150 instruments. Young began marking serial numbers on his instruments in the early 1850s, probably in 1853, the year he moved his shop from Dock Street to 33 North Seventh Street. The lowest serial number yet found on a Young instrument is 3155. I believe this is a true number, indicating the number of instruments Young had made to date. Corroboration comes from William J. Young's grandson, Alfred C. Young, who stated that "3000 instruments were manufactured by us before any descriptive record was kept”.
Young joined with Charles S. Heller and Thomas N. Watson in January 1866 and began trading as William J. Young & Co., the partnership disbanded on June 27, 1870.
Heller, who went on to form Heller & Brightly, later noted that serial numbers 4100-4400 were used during this period.
After Young's death in 1870 his son Alfred operated the business for a few years as Wm. J, Young & Sons and then, probably in
1875,
he changed the name to Young & Sons. After Alfred's death in 1882 his son Allred C. Young managed the business under the same name until it was incorporated in 1917. On his death in 1918 Keuffel & Esser obtained control of the business, and continued operations in Philadelphia. In 1921 the business was reorganized, becoming the Y &S department of K&E. Sometime before 1927 (probably 1922) all Y &S operations were moved to the K&E factory in Hoboken,
New
Jersey.
These Y&S Dept ins
truments were advertised in all K&E catalogues from 1921 to 1944.
Signature
Dates
Observed serial numbers I
W. J. Young Maker
1825?-40?
none
W. J. or Wm. J. Young Patent
1832-46
none
Will. J. Young Maker
1840?-53?
none
Will. J.Young Maker
1853?-66
3155-4082
Wm. J. Young & Co. Makers
1866-70
4151-4335
Wrn. J. Young & Sons
1870-75?
4630-4899
Young & Sons Patent
Aug 17 1875 1875-89
5106-5790
Young & Sons
1875?-1917
5807-8788
Young & Sons Inc.
1917-21
9939-12024
Y&S Dept Keuffel & Esser
1921-22?
12178-12668
1922?-45
? ?-88090
The signature "Young & Sons Patent Aug 17 1875" appears only on vernier transits and compasses. The patent refers to an improved vernier that provided "increased accuracy in reading graduations, a reduced size of instrument, and a reduction in weight." Since patcnts
ill thc latter years of the 19th centur~' were valid for 14 years, this signature probably remained in effect until 1889. The serial number and date at which the signature changed from Wm. J. Young & Sons to Young & Sons is not well established. The oldest instrument yet found with a Young & Sons signature is a Y level, #5807, now in NMAH.. This level has an improved telescope for which Alfred Young and John W. Nystrom received a U .S. patent in 1874.
The complete signature on the post-1921 instruments is "Young & Sons /
Trade Mark /
Made by
/
Y &S Dept / Keuffel & Esser Co. /New York." The last instrument yet found with such a signature is an engineer's transit, #88090, made in 1944, and now in the Gurley museum. Since relatively few Y&S Dept instruments are known, this serial number is unreasonably high--unless we assume that it belongs in the K&E sequence. Other evidence occasionally allows us to match specific serial numbers with specific dates. Alfred C. Young provided three correla­tions: 3366 (about 1855), 3448 (about 1856), and 3545 (about 1856). He identified these as shop numbers--presumably assigned when the instrument
was ordered, and engraved as a serial number on the finished piece.
Two more correlations come from testimonials in Young & Sons,
Price List 0/ Engineering. Mining and! Surveying Instruments
(issued sometime after 1892): "12/16/1886 The 18 inch Y level No. 5664 purchased of you nearly two years before" and "4/21/92 Mining transit, No. 6509 received on the 18th."
Transits 4891 and 4892 were used on the Wheeler expedition in Utah in 1876.
7
Transit
7584
has a Smith Solar patented in 1902. In 1908 W. J. Lightfoot, Examiner of Surveys in San Francisco, wrote to the General Land Office in Washington, D.C.: "The i
nstrument
(Young & Sons Solar Compass No. 8232) was sent to me at Meeker, Colo. about Sept. 1
,
1907, Alfred C. Young received
a patent (#879,605) for a transit head in 1908.
All
instruments examined with serial numbers greater than 8174 have this feature, and all with numbers less than 7821 do not. These points were plotted, with error bars
showing
the estimated uncertainty for each point. The points were fitted to a cubic equation (solid curve). The fit is good--the standard deviation is only 0.84 years, and the largest deviation is only It years. Never­theless the table
should
be used with care.
The da
ta is
limit
ed
and has been smoothed
so
that the fluctuations which would be executed due to varying economic conditions have been wiped out. The
serial num
b
ers
for every
other
year, read from the curve
,
are as follows:
oung & Sons
- numberThese are estimated, not actual.   Information provided by  Robert C. Miller.
1854
3227
1856          3524
1858          3717
1860          3804
1862          3870
1864          3936
1866          4006
1868          4198
1870          4391
1872          4584
1874          4777
1876          4969
1878          5162
1880          5354
1882          5547
1884          5739
1886          5932
1888          6125
1890          6317
1892          6510
1894          6702
1896          6895
1898          7087
1900          7280
1902          7473
1904          7665
1906          7858
1908          8050
1910          8243
1912          8435
1914          8628
1916          8821
On Young instruments, no serial numbers below 3000, but these instruments can be roughly dated as follows:
All instruments from 1825 through 1840 are signed "W. J. Young"
All instruments from 1841 through 1865 are signed "Wm. J Young"
All compasses and transits made 1832 to 1846 contain additional marking "patent"
The
data in this table
s
ugge
sts
an average production of 65
instruments
per year
in the 1850s, increasing
slowly
to 120 in the
early
1900s,
and a
more rapid increase
during
the war years. Approximately 2700 numbers were issued from 1914 to 1921. Many of these
were assigned to
war
goods. Alfred C. Young,
Jr. notes that many
of
these
were machinist
levels used by the
U.S.
Navy to
set
up, adjust, or
align
large guns. Judging from the number
of surviving
instruments,
very
few
surveying
instruments were
made during this
period.