A Large Early 20thC WF Stanley Telescopic Oak & Brass Surveyors Measuring Rod
SOLD
Origin: English
Period: Early Twentieth Century
Provenance: Unknown
Date: c.1910-25
Length: 14 feet extended / 6.25 feet unextended
Width: 3 inches
Depth: 2 inches
The oak and brass three tier telescopic measuring device with paper graphic ladder scale, by WF Stanley extends to fourteen feet and survives from the first quarter of the twentieth century.
The condition is fair to good with the applied paper is dirty but largely in tact and free from peel. There is a crack to the middle section to the oak casing which has been repaired. It would have been made telescopic for obvious easier carrying in the field.
William Ford Stanley (1829-1909) founded his firm in 1853, making drawing and surveying instruments and in 1866 published the first edition of his Treatise on Drawing Instruments. This became the standard work on the subject and eight editions were produced up to 1925. The head office and works were latterly at Avery Hill Road, New Eltham, London SE9. They became part of the Sime Darby Group c1977 and were finally liquidated in 1999.
The oldest preserved measuring rod is a copper-alloy bar which was found by the German Assyriologist Eckhard Unger while excavating at Nippur. The bar dates from c. 2650 BC. and Unger claimed it was used as a measurement standard.
Simply place in a corner of a room and be pleasantly surprised at the thoroughly decorative results.