overall: 1 1/4 in x 5 3/4 in x 2 5/8 in; 3.175 cm x 14.605 cm x 6.6675 cm
Object Name:
Range Finder
Object Type:
Patent Model
Place made:
United Kingdom: England, London, City of London
Date made:
1870s
Description:
Henry Watkins, a captain in the Royal Artillery, obtained a British patent for a range finder in 1876. The instrument was soon adopted for service in Britain, and tested and found satisfactory by the U.S. Army in 1879. J. J. Hicks was a leading meteorological instrument maker in London. This is the model for Watkins' American patent issued in 1879. The inscriptions read "WATKINS Field Range Finder -- J. HICKS MAKER, 8 Hatton Garden, London" and "No. 12."
Ref: H. S. S. Watkins, "Improvement in Surveying-Instruments," U.S. Patent #213018 (1879).
F. H. Phipps, "Report on Range Finders," <i>Report of the Chief of Ordnance to the Secretary of War for the Fiscal Year Ended June 30, 1879</i>, Appendix X.
Anita McConnell, <i>King of the Clinicals. The Life and Times of J. J. Hicks (1837-1916)</i> (York, 1998).