NavList:

Bill Morris: Good to hear from you! You wrote:
"it is not to difficult to make your own mirrors at little expense."

Yes, definitely. And I don't feel that this would be a violation of the spirit of the the history of the instrument. Mirrors could be replaced. Their absence is no great loss.

Then there's the tricky part. Those darn clippy things that hold the mirrors in place! At least these aren't spring-loaded, like in many modern sextants. In some of the photos of similar instruments in good condition, it looks like these are just little brass "hooks" held in place by small screws. The hooks are just small strips of metal with a bend and a little hole for the screw. OK, those can probably be cut from stock "hobbyist" metal. Now where do we find teeny, tiny screws that match the instruments appearance and style??

I mentioned in my first message that this looks like a sextant that was aggressively cleaned to convert it into an attractive "antique". In that process, it appears that many of the fittings were removed, giving access to all the nooks and crannies. When the fittings were replaced, it looks like some bits ended up pointing the wrong way. There's the scope mount, of course. It also appears to me that the frame for the horizon mirror is mounted backwards. Can anyone more familiar with the type of sextant confirm that?

Also, the handle looks like it may have been grafted on from another old sextant. I would expect something in turned, polished wood for the original handle... Anyone know better?

Incidentally, when Art Horn first sent me photos of this instrument, I suggested that the date was incorrect. It was apparently sold as a sextant from 1944 since that was the date of the inspection certificate. Of course that's only the date of the last inspection. I suggested that it might be from around 1910 to 1920. Now it appears that maybe it's older still. Does anyone have "definitive" start/end date suggestions for this model of sextant? Any old advertisements? Catalog entries maybe?

Frank Reed