HEZZANITH BELL PATTERN MKIII SEXTANT AND ARTIFICIAL HORIZON BY HEATH & CO.
Circa 1915
Sextant signed on the radius arm "Heath & Co., Ltd., Crayford, London". Frame in a bell pattern design, constructed of blackened brass with an 8" radius arm over a brass radius with inset steel scale. Arm equipped with 10-degree arc second vernier, and according to the 1915 National Physical Laboratory certification is completely error free, needing no correction (to one arc-second) at any setting. Wide range of accessories including two telescopes, sighting tube, auxiliary eyepiece, scale mounting, "patent greatest angle clamp", two solar filters, adjusting tool and original case with patent locking mechanism for the sextant. Along with a separately cased "Patent Hezzanith Artificial Horizon" with telescopic lens, internal floating needle and attachable oil lamp and original Heath & Co. instructions. Contained within the original boxes, the sextant box marked "Bell Pattern MKIII Sextant".
Box height 5.75". Length 10". Width 10.75".
Provenance:
Tesseract, Hastings-on-Hudson, New York, 1994.
The Kelton Collection of Marine Art & Artifacts.

Notes:
This unusual artificial horizon attachment is a very early development of a gravity type instrument, preceding the bubble sextant. The artificial horizon is indicated by a pointer floating in pure water. It is designed to permit the use of the sextant when the true horizon cannot be seen due to fog, darkness or intervention of land. Since this instrument was developed before the use of electrical illumination, an oil lamp is provided for use at night.

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age; these issues will likely not be mentioned in the condition report. Please contact Eldred's before the auction with any condition questions. Questions about condition will not be answered after purchase. Condition reports are provided as a courtesy, and we are not responsible for any errors or omissions. Important note on frames: Frames are not guaranteed to be in the same condition as they are in the item photograph. Due to handling and shipping, many frames, especially antique ones, are prone to losses. If you have questions about the condition of a frame, please contact us prior to the auction.