old bit of tech

olbas_oil

Can anyone identify this? And does it have any value?

Were_Doomed

No idea, but I did find this wiki link:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_W._Queen_&_Company

Le_Kirk

That looks like an old resistor box.

theoretica

I can't zoom in enough to confirm what the dial on the right is but the rest looks like a post office resistance box or wheatstone bridge box.

fwor

Agreed - the meter on the right suggests that it's a Wheatstone Bridge. In practical terms it's obsolete, but as a beautifully made historical item I would think it has some value.

Mickey666

Yes, that would be my guess.
Has it any value?  I imagine so, to the right person who collects old scientific instruments, but the only way to find out is to put it up for auction somewhere.

Heedtheadvice

Do have a look in http://physics.kenyon.edu/EarlyApparatus/Electrical_Measurements/Wheatstone_Bridge/Wheatstone_Bridge.html

Notice anything?

neilmcl

It will definitely have some value, whatever it is. It's well over a hundred years old and by the looks of it in pristine condition. Made by Queen and Co. of Philadelphia, makers of scientific equipment, which dates it between 1850 and 1914.

EssexExile

I'm an expert on these things - I watch Bargain Hunt at lunchtime. About £20 or £30 at auction.

olbas_oil

Many thanks for your help. The  names 'Wheatstone Bridge' and 'Post Office Box' have given me the right words to Google (Google images couldn't identify it as anything other than a 'box'). I haven't found an exact match, but I have found some similar items on E-Bay, and I think the postage is probably more than the value!

Paula_Smith

I sold something vaguely similar about 10 years ago when father in law had a clear out - We got £25 or £30 on Ebay.