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TRANSIT LEVEL. DAVID WHITE MODEL 8300 with CASE. - $200 (oakland lake merritt / grand)
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This instrument is a David White Model 8300 Universal Level-Transit. When it was originally manufactured and sold new during its production run—spanning roughly from the mid-1950s through the 1980s—its retail price varied significantly by decade due to inflation and manufacturing shifts.
The cost breakdowns when purchased brand new:
• 1950s–1960s: New models typically retailed between $200 and $350.
• 1970s–1980s: As inflation surged and manufacturing costs climbed, the retail price for a brand-new unit escalated into the $500 to $800+ range.
• Adjusted for inflation: In today's money, purchasing this caliber of professional-grade, American-made optical surveying tool brand new would equate to roughly $2,500 to $3,500+.
The updated successor model (the LT8-300), which carried forward the same basic mechanical layout and purpose, retailed brand new for well over $1,500 to $2,000 before being largely phased out by modern digital lasers and total stations.