Vintage U.S. Navy Sextant Keuffel & Esser Made 1887 or 1888 Inspected 1942

U.S. Naval Observatory K&E Serial No. 470 Sextant Mariner's
Inspected 12/31/1942 No. 0107

One of the more unique items tucked away in a drawer was a Vintage US Navy Sextant made by Keuffel & Esser.

Date of Inspection...12/31/1942
Maker... K&E (Keuffel & Esser)
No... 0107
Sextant (N)... No. No.
Class...Survey

No. 0107 is engraved in two places on the box & 3 places on the sextant. The number refers to the inspection catalog by the US Navy. K&E New York 470 appears to be the serial number we found on it. Based on this number and the Keuffel & Esser Dating chart from Survey Antiques, we believe the date this was made is between 1887 & 1888.

Here's the rest of what I've learned....
Sextants are an instrument with a graduated arc of 60° and a sighting mechanism, used for measuring the angular distances between objects and especially for taking altitudes in navigation.

There were only a few sextant manufacturers:

• Warney & Swasey
• Brandis
• Keuffel & Esser
• Buff &Buff
• David White Co. 
• Mergenthaler

Keuffel and Esser Co., was a drafting instrument and supplies company founded in 1867 by German immigrants. It was the first American company to specialize in drafting supplies & drawing materials. In 1867 they began selling survey instruments. They made sextants and stadimeters according to U.S. Navy specifications in the early decades of the twentieth century. They ceased production around 1969.