ANTIQUE BUFF & BUFF SURVEYORS LEVEL, original WOOD BOX,& brass nameplate For Sale

Beautiful antique BRASS SURVEYOR’S LEVEL by BUFF & BUFF MFG. “Makers of Engineering Instruments, Boston” and hand inscribed serial # 4474 on the instrument base. Several brass parts maintain the original black paint, others are polished. An approx. 2 inch lense shade rests in a mound on the box bottom. The level rests in its original wooden box, with original leather strap/handle and BUFF & Buff brass signature plate on the top - remnants of the original instructions remain on the inside of the box lid. The glass level balance of the instrument is clear and working. See photos for details on inscriptions, and condition. Focus knob does not rotate but I have not ventured to attempt repair - we used only for display, nor have I tried to clean or polish the brass. I have kept its “last used” patena.

The Buff & Buff Manufacturing Co. in Jamaica Plains, Boston was an important member of a group of New England manufacturers of surveying equipment that had its roots in the classic period of American machinist tools.The sophisticated products of America\'s newly discovered ability to build complex machines such as surveyors\' tools using the machinery invented and constructed in the Industrial Revolution (rather than hand work and hand tools) resulted in products such as the Buff & Buff instruments. No modern computerized circa 2000 surveyors\' transit equals the Buff & Buff specimen in beauty and quality of construction and materials.