“During the greater part of the year the 3-inch transit instrument has been in the hands of the maker, Mr. G. N. Saegmuller. This instrument, while a fairly satisfactory instrument, was not of such superior excellence as the builder expected it would be. He therefore, without any suggestion on my part, offered to rebuild it without expense, which he has done at considerable cost to himself, and it is now a very superior instrument.”
―Prof. Winslow Upton, Report of the Professor of Astronomy and Director of Ladd Observatory, 1895.
During the 2010 restoration of the transit room we went to great lengths to ensure that the colors used were historically accurate. The George N. Saegmuller transit telescope had been painted black at some point. We suspected that this was not original but it is impossible to tell from the black and white archival photographs.
