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Transit, Tripod, and Token - Telling the Tale [141032]

Currency:USD Category:Collectibles / Mining Start Price:300.00 USD Estimated At:600.00 - 1,200.00 USD
Transit, Tripod, and Token - Telling the Tale  [141032]
SOLD
500.00USD+ (125.00) buyer's premium + applicable fees & taxes.
This item SOLD at 2021 Oct 31 @ 09:49UTC-7 : PDT/MST
SHIPPING & HANDLING: Shipping is subject to a minimum charge of $19.00. Shipping and handling cannot be estimated prior to invoicing as it is based on the size and weight of your purchase. Additional shipping and handling costs, if required, will be re-invoiced for the balance due. Items are not shipped until the invoice is completely paid. Many buyers purchase a number of lots. Every effort will be made to include all lots in a single shipping charge calculated to cover the weight and size.SHIPPING & HANDLING: Shipping and Handling cannot be estimated prior to invoicing, based on the size a...
Let me tell you the tale of the transit, the tripod, and the token. By themselves, each one is fairly nondescript, but they are tied together in a tantalizing tale of hard work and romantic disinterest. First, the transit is an early brass model from the late 1800s or early 1900s made by the W. & L.E. Gurley company, still a maker of precision equipment in Troy, New York today. It is an exquisite piece of surveying equipment, still in working order with no missing parts or broken pieces. It comes with five-inch brass plumb bob, a custom-fit plywood box (believed to be a long-ago replacement of the original box), and a well-used but still sturdy tripod from the same company, as evidenced from the name on the leg clamps. Now, THE STORY: The consignor's grandfather, a Mr. Burt Delerey, was the owner of this fine transit and tripod, and Burt had a son named Art. Burt was the business associate of a man named Joe Jean at a mine near the town of Quinhagak, Alaska, on Kuskokwim Bay of the Bering Sea. Joe had a daughter named Pauline who ran a drinking establishment in that town named Pauline Jean's. The two dads, Burt and Joe, conspired to set up Art to take Pauline out on a date. Apparently, the outcome of this paternal conspiracy is not fully known, but the family lineage past that point does not include Pauline Jean. However, this 34 mm aluminum token from Pauline Jean's saloon in Quinhaguk has been passed down through the generations. There you have it, and now you can carry on the Tale of the Transit, the Tripod, and the Token for the next hundred years.

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