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Bill Morris, as "Engineer", wrote, about the instrument we have been
discussing-

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From: "engineer" 
To: "NavList" 
Sent: Friday, November 14, 2008 2:19 AM
Subject: [NavList 6542] Re: Can someone identify this



I'm interested in this item too and planned to bid on it. If I won the
bidding, I would take it apart, service it and put it together again
in a restored state. Then I would post detailed labelled photographs
for others to see. When tired of it, I would offer it to a museum for
what it cost me. I agree it would be a pity for it to rest in private
hands, undescribed and gathering dust. On the other hand, why should
North America have all the luck? People in out-of-the way places love
instruments too.

Bill.

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Comment from George-

Well, if Bill Morris were to succeed in a bid, that would meet most of my
own wishes, and I suspect those of several other listmembers, for the future
of this special instrument.

It would be rescued from locking away in a hidden private collection; in the
end it would end up in a public museum; and in the interim it would be
examined for us by a real expert. The only snag is that of Bill's location,
in a particularly isolated corner of New Zealand, which would,
unfortunately, require long-distance transporting of the item, and put it
out of range of personal inspection of anyone other than Bill.

Perhaps it would help if I pass on some details about Bill Morris, who I've
got to know quite well, by email, over recent months. Originally from
Britain, for many years he has been a doctor in rural New Zealand, having
retired now to an even more isolated spot, where he indulges in precision
engineering, from a well-equipped workshop. Although not a navigator
himself, he has a particular interest is in sextants, and he claims to have
restored altogether 28 such instruments of a wide range of types, modern.and
less-modern, not on a profit-making basis but as a hobby.

He is presently finishing-off a book (intended for distribution by CD rather
than print) on the "intimate anatomy of the sextant". I've come in because
he has asked me to scan it for any obvious errors, so I have been privileged
to see a preview. Looking at the care he devotes to detailed explanation and
description, illustrated by well-angled and notated colour photos and
diagrams, I would have no hesitation in entrusting to him this Fix Finder
for a careful analysis, and hope that he would share his findings with us as
he proceeds, before eventually passing it to a museum.

So, if Bill is prepared to act on our behalf, as well as his own, in
bidding, I restate my offer of sharing (to a maximum of $100) in the total
cost, if his bid succeeds, to give him some encouragement. Other members
have expressed similar sentiments. The more that join in, the higher the
chance of his success, and the less the burden will become on each of us.

One or two things need to be kept in mind here.

There may well be a flurry of last-minute bids and the price may go well
above its present $102.50. Indeed, the seller has set a reserve price, which
we have no way of knowing, that has not yet been met.

Although list members may contribute a "share" in the total cost, that would
not be expected to result in any shared ownership of the item, which would
become the sole property of the bidder. The whole operation would have to
work on the basis of gentlemanly trust between all involved.

If Bill Morris confirms his intention to bid on that basis, I would hope
that other list members might show restraint in any bidding of their own.
However, if any list member gets overcome by the lust to possess, perhaps he
might inform Bill beforehand, and share his technical findings with us
afterwards.

George.

For those that have yet to look up this item on ebay, it's at-



http://cgi.ebay.ca/ASTRONOMIC-CALCULATOR-SEXTANT-theodolite_W0QQitemZ190265697439QQcmdZViewItem?hash=item190265697439&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=72%3A1215%7C66%3A2%7C65%3A12%7C39%3A1%7C240%3A1318

and to see the original 1950 patent, look up Google Patents 2,519,532.

contact George Huxtable, now at george@hux.me.uk
or at +44 1865 820222 (from UK, 01865 820222)
or at 1 Sandy Lane, Southmoor, Abingdon, Oxon OX13 5HX, UK.



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