E. & G. W. Blunt
1824 - 1866
Edmund March Blunt (1770-1862), the publisher of the The American Coast Pilot, The Practical Navigator, and The New American Practical Navigator,, had a New York shop (at the Sign of the Quadrant), where he sold nautical books, charts, and instruments. Blunt retired in 1822, and the firm was taken over by his son-in-law, William Hooker.
His sons, Edmund (1799-1866) and George William (1802-1878) opened their own shop in New York in 1824, trading as E. & G. W. Blunt. They built a circular dividing engine in the mid-1850s, and used it to divide sextants and related maritime instruments.
In July 1833, Edmund Blunt (the younger) went to work under Ferdinand Hassler on the United States Coast Survey. He remained affiliated with both the Coast Survey and his family business until his death in 1866.
E. & G. W. Blunt were succeeded by Blunt & Nichols in 1866, which became Blunt & Company in 1868. In 1873, it was bought out by a German immigrant, Frederick Eckel.
His sons, Edmund (1799-1866) and George William (1802-1878) opened their own shop in New York in 1824, trading as E. & G. W. Blunt. They built a circular dividing engine in the mid-1850s, and used it to divide sextants and related maritime instruments.
In July 1833, Edmund Blunt (the younger) went to work under Ferdinand Hassler on the United States Coast Survey. He remained affiliated with both the Coast Survey and his family business until his death in 1866.
E. & G. W. Blunt were succeeded by Blunt & Nichols in 1866, which became Blunt & Company in 1868. In 1873, it was bought out by a German immigrant, Frederick Eckel.
<i>Description of E. & G. W. Blunt’s Dividing Engine</i> (New York, 1857).
Harold Burstyn, <i>At the Sign of the Quadrant</i> (Mystic, CT, 1957).
For a short history of the firm, see the following <a href="http://americanhistory.si.edu/collections/navigation/maker.cfm?makerid=5" target="_blank">website</a>.
Captain Albert E. Theberge, NOAA Corps (ret.), <<i>The United States Coast Pilot--A Short History</i>, describes the activities of the Blunts <a href="http://www.nauticalcharts.noaa.gov/nsd/cp-history.html" target="_blank">here</a>.