It is about 10 inches long. Has 4 legs to level it - has a spirit level too. Looks like a copper based allow construction. Spins on its axis, and has degrees marked like a protractor.
Thank you
Looks to me like it may be part of an old ship sextant, but that’s just a WAG.
I thought so too, especially because I got it a place close to a port. But then it would be very hard to level something in a ship, so the 4 leg screws would be useless.
It looks to me like part of an old survey instrument
Yeah, it’s a surveyor’s tool. I have one like it that was my grandfather’s.
Its called a theodolite. yeah its for surveying.
More likely a transit, for taking off simple height differences using a graduated staff and simple bearings. A theodolite has a more elaborate mechanism including the ability to point up and down. But even though less complex, you could still survey the Andes with it [slowly].
You can see essentially the same device on use on building sites now, although called an automatic level or dumpy level.
Thank you folks. I think the telescope has been correctly identified.