This level, which dates from the period 1875-1890 when Brandis was trading as F.
Brandis & Co., is similar to the "18 Inch Patented Improved Wye Level as Made for U.S.
Engineer Corps" that Brandis advertised in 1881, and that cost $140. The patent in question
(#201,155), granted to Brandis on March 12, 1878, described a spindle attachment for surveying
instruments. The spindle attachment connects the telescopic level to the leveling head. A label
in the box dates from the period 1878-1879 when Brandis was in business with Richard
Teckritz. It reads: "BRANDIS & TECKRITZ, MAKE in the most accurate manner, ALL
KINDS OF MATHEMATICAL & ASTRONOMICAL INSTRUMENTS. Theodolites, Transits,
Leveling Instruments, Sextants, Quadrants, Etc. Etc. All kinds of Instruments re-divided, re-paired and adjusted. No. 55 FULTON ST. NEW YORK."
Ref: F. E. Brandis, Illustrated and Descriptive Catalogue of Instruments of Precision for Field
and Astronomical Purposes (New York, 1881), p.38.
