Out of the forty or so Brandis sextants that I’ve seen well enough to identify as to type, only one, Brandis #2763/USNO #348, shown below, appears to be an octant (note: see update below). A dated sales label in the box for Brandis #2763/USNO #348 suggests that it was made in 1911 [1] .
I was surprised to learn that Brandis was still making octants into the early decades of the twentieth century [2]. All of the octants I’d seen in museum collections were made in the 19th century or earlier, and while researching the Brandis sextants I’d come across a recommendation in the U.S. Naval Observatory’s Annual Report for fiscal year 1890 that “no more octants to be purchased or repaired, and none of the latter to be issued after the present supply be exhausted”. Yet it seems that the U.S. Navy ignored the advice of the Naval Observatory, perhaps motivated by their price compared to other types of sextants. According to Brandis Catalogue No. 20, octants could be purchased for $95, while high grade and surveying sextants went for $130 and $120, respectively.
I note that Brandis’ competitor Keuffel & Esser also lists an octant “as made for us for the U.S. Navy” in its 1913 catalog [3] but it no longer lists an octant in its 1921 catalog [4], so Keuffel & Esser stopped making octants sometime around World War One, presumably because there was no longer customer demand for them. Of eight or so sextants I’ve seen that were made by Brandis’ competitors, one of them, made by Keuffel & Esser some time before the first World War, is an octant.
After the first World War, octants made a comeback of sorts for use in air navigation. But these were an entirely different kind of instrument from nautical octants like Brandis #2763/USNO#348.
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UPDATE (5/30/2018): A second Brandis Octant has come to light on eBay. Its Brandis serial number is 2679, but no indication in the eBay listing of a Naval Observatory number. A Brandis label in its box indicates a delivery date of 1/19/11.
Comments, corrections, additional relevant facts, differing viewpoints, etc., are always welcome (no one will be banned, blocked, or castigated for offering differing opinions). Send to gardnersghost@gmail.com
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[1] See ‘A Brandis Sextant Chronology, Part Two’
[2] Brandis #2763/USNO#348 has a the 1911 manufacture date, and Brandis Catalog No. 20 was published sometime between 1915 and 1917
[3] “Catalogue of the Keuffel & Esser Co., Manufacturers and Importers of Drawing Materials and Surveying Instruments, Issue 34” Keuffel & Esser Co., 1913.
[4] “Catalogue and Price List of the Keuffel & Esser Co., Manufacturers and Importers Drawing Materials, Surveying Instruments, Measuring Tapes”, Keuffel & Esser Co., 1921
