You can contact us with the problem you are having and we will investigate.
Stripe Online Payments
Sellingantiques have now partnered with Stripe card processing to give you a seamless purchase experience of antiques on sellingantiques.
Millions of companies of all sizes use Stripe online to accept payments and is the worlds No.1 payment gateway.
So how does it work: Look for the button in the antique details page to instantly purchase antiques from dealers who have activated Stripe online payments.
You can now easily filter and show antiques that only have this option enabled.
Using this button notifies us immediately that you have purchased this item. Once you have made the payment we will instantly mark it as sold to ensure that no one else can buy it.
Discounts can also be made available.
We are always improving the purchase experience for both buyer and seller and more and more dealers are enabling this option each week.
Cased George IV Altazimuth Theodolite By Alexander Adie Of Edinburgh
£1,495 $2,004 €1,751
For sale, a cased George IV altazimuth theodolite by Alexander Adie of Edinburgh.
This rare example is comprised of a horizontal five-inch divided circle which is coarse adjusted by hand and then finely adjusted by means of a knurled brass knob attached to top. The centre contains an expertly engraved and silvered compass with a small brass cam to the side of the case, to hold or release the movement. Two sides of the outer edge of the base are also provided with glass bubble levels housed in a protective brass cases.
Two brass A frame type struts either side of the compass provide support for the semi-circular divided arc which is operated similarly for coarse adjustment and then fine adjusted via a brass knob attached to the A frame. The arc is further completed with a ten-inch telescope and attached glass level, again housed in a protective brass sleeve.
Below the horizontal base is attached a brass shaft for fixing to a tripod.
The model bears great similarity to a doub...le telescope example I have previously sold by Miller & Adie, Alexander Adie’s earlier partnership. The design first appeared in George Adams Junior’s publication, “Geometrical and Graphical Essays” in 1791 relating to design improvements made by Jesse Ramsden. John Miller had also previously worked under George Adams Senior and so this particular design would have been passed from Adams to Miller and presumably taught to Adie.
This example is also interesting for its singular engraved signature stating “Adie Edinburgh”. The majority of Adie instruments are marked to Adie & Son in recognition of the multi generational involvement. Instruments marked solely to Adie (Edinburgh) may be recognised as belonging to the twenty year period between the partnership of Miller & Adie (to 1815) and the creation of Adie & Son in 1835. Examples of this period are surprisingly rare.
The firm of Miller & Adie was the original firm that gave birth to the Adie dynasty of famous scientific instrument makers that dominated Nineteenth century instrument making. It began in 1776 with the celebrated Edinburgh scientific instrument maker John Miller (1746-1815). The son of an Edinburgh turner, Miller was apprenticed (or simply worked) under the world-renowned maker George Adams and eventually returned to Edinburgh from London in 1769. He is listed as trading from various Edinburgh addresses from 1775 and received early commissions from the physician Dr James Lind.
In 1776, Lind left Edinburgh but by that time, Miller’s reputation had already grown to such an extent that he had begun equipping the classroom and laboratories of Edinburgh University on behalf of John Robinson, who had recently been appointed to the Chair of Natural Philosophy there.
Four years prior to this date, Miller’s sister Betty had married John Adie, a printer and proprietor of The Edinburgh Evening Courant. The pair had two sons with the second (Alexander Adie) being born in January 1775 just three months after his father’s early death. Betty died shortly after, leaving John Miller’s father (also John) to look after and adopt the young Alexander. Originally employed as a stocking maker, the death of his remaining old brother in 1787 finally led Alexander to the employment that would culminate in a partnership with his uncle.
From 1789, Adie (1775 – 1858) began his apprenticeship with Miller and by 1803, a partnership was agreed which traded at various addresses on South Bridge & Nicholson Street. This early period accompanied a boom in surveying activities in Scotland and theodolites, levels and measuring chains featured heavily in their advertising.
Miller & Adie continued to trade until 1822 (although Miller had died by 1815) whereafter the business was renamed solely to Alexander Adie. By this point, Adie was himself an accomplished maker with a focus on meteorological instruments
Antique ID Number (AIDN): SA968092
Dateline of this antique is 1800
Height is 15cm (5.9inches)Width is 28cm (11.0inches)Depth is 26cm (10.2inches)
This antique is available for purchase using PayPal by clicking here:
Buy this antique with Paypal
Antique SA968092 shown on this page was made in 1800. For historical context, the timeline below highlights the period when it was created:
1800
ANTIQUE SA968092
CONTACT DETAILS OF SELLER:
Jason Clarke Antiques
Berkshire
United Kingdom
Tel: 07815 046645
EMAIL SELLER
Send direct to seller
EXTRA RESOURCES
Buy this antique with Paypal
Thank you.
Your comment has been sent to Sellingantiques.
Thank you.
Your rating and comment have been sent to Sellingantiques.
Thank you.
Your score has been recieved.
Thanks. But what can we do better?
SEND COMMENT
If you would like to be contacted to discuss your feedback then please leave a phone number or email address in your message.
Thanks for your great feedback!
We love it when our wonderful visitors are happy with us!
SEND COMMENT
Live daily database information for 27 July 2026
Antiques approved in last 24 hours
0
Antiques awaiting approval
22
Antiques rejected in last 24 hours
0
Unique visitors today
3089
Total antique impressions today
477332
Total antiques for sale
66977
Total value of antiques for sale
£138917868
Antiques uploaded so far in July 2026
3429
Unique visitors to Sellingantiques so far in July 2026
356798
Unique visitors to Sellingantiques so far in 2026
3918338
Item saved
The Cased George IV Altazimuth Theodolite by Alexander Adie of Edinburgh has been added to your saved items.
Sending email ...
... please wait
Sending Email...
... please wait
Problem with this page?
You can contact us with the problem you are having and we will investigate.
Sending an email to: Jason Clarke Antiques
Item: #SA968092 Cased George IV Altazimuth Theodolite b...
Thank you.
Your comment has been sent to Sellingantiques.