American Levels and Their Makers
L. L. Davis Tall Form Inclinometer
The
early inclinometers manufactured by Leonard Davis were in what is termed the
"tall form." The frame of this style or form of inclinometer is 3¼" tall and
contains a brass inclinometer fitting that is 213/16" in diameter. The subsequent
or normal inclinometers stand 213/16" tall with an inclinometer fitting that
is 2 7/16" in diameter. This inclinometer carries two patent dates, September
17, 1867 and March 17, 1868. The normal inclinometer carries only the 1867 patent
date.
The black japanning is extensively decorated with gold trim. The normal sized
inclinometer was also decorated with gold trim until about 1874 or 1875. All
of the normal sized inclinometers signed L. L. Davis, and a few of the early
Davis Level & Tool inclinometers, are decorated with gold trim. These tall form
inclinometers are quite rare, especially in fine condition. The actual production
period is unknown but judging by the rarity, was probably quite short. This
level is both fragile (because of the brittleness of cast iron) and heavy which
are two possible reasons for its rarity, i.e., perhaps few were sold because
of the weight and most probably few of those that were sold survived because
of the fragility.
Many later manufacturers produced cast iron levels, but none achieved the popularity
of the Davis tools and certainly few could rival their eye appeal.
Copyright 1999 01 Inc., NYC