H Wild Heerbrugg coordinatograph
H Wild Heerbrugg polar coordinatograph
Obtained from the US
It required some research to figure out what this instrument was. At first I thought it was a rather unusual planimeter. However, thanks to an image on the Wild Archive I figured out what it is and how it works. This instrument is a portable polar coordinatograph i.e. an instrument to set out angles and distances as obtained with a tachymeter. The wheel is marked from 0-400 (a giveaway once you know what it does) while the arm has different scales that can be used to set out the distance. One part is missing; and although the drawing I found is not very clear on what it exactly does, I gather that it allows the instrumet to be pinned to a sheet of paper at the observers station. Where the polar planimeter is abundant, the polar planimeter is more scarce with some others by A. Ott on the internet but not many others.
The other thing I'm not sure about is the age of the instrument. It has a serial 2705 and is labeled H. Wild AG Heerbrugg rather than Wild Heerbrugg as my (later) geodetic instruments do. From what I have understood from the Wild Archive as well as John Bradley, the instrument was probably made by A. Ott and sold by Wild under its own brand. Similar Ott instruments have much higher serial numbers, so it may be that this is not as old as the serial indicate but can't be sure.
Wild coordinatograph
Data sheet
- Serialnumber
- 2705
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H Wild Heerbrugg polar coordinatograph
Obtained from the US