The coordinatograph is a device for plotting points with specific coordinates on maps by punching holes in the map. The presented coordinatograph is based on the Cartesian coordinate system and it is used for plotting points with specific ordinate (y) and abscissa (x) coordinates. The point of punching is indicated thanks to the presence of two perpendicular rulers with scales and moving carriages. One of the rulers is fixed and is used for reading out the ordinate, and the other, mounted on a moving carriage, allows reading out the abscissae and mark them with a needle mounted on another carriage moving along the ruler. The instrument presented here was made in the Specjalna Fabryka Instrumentów Geodezyjnych i Rysunkowych Gustawa Gerlacha in Warsaw in the 1920s or 1930s. The establishment operated from 1816 until World War II and it specialised in the production of surveying instruments such as theodolites, levellers and range finders. Instruments from the G. Gerlach factory were considered to be on par in terms of quality with products of the most renowned German manufacturers, such as Zeiss. The company’s strong position was evidenced by international awards and the presence of its branch offices and sales outlets in several cities.
Interesting fact: The presented object has an untypical scale of 1:2880, characteristic of Austro-Hungarian maps from the period before introduction of the metric system in 1872.

References:
M. Kluza, Polscy wytwórcy instrumentów naukowych w XIX wieku [in:] Polscy twórcy aparatury naukowej, ed. A. Strzałkowski, Monografie series, vol. X, Kraków 2006, pp. 277–285.
G. Gerlach najstarsza polska wytwórnia sprzętu geodezyjnego, prepared by S. Walczak, exhibition catalogue of the Museum of Technology in Warsaw in accordance with the programme prepared by the Main Commission for Museums and Exhibitions of the Polish Surveyors’ Association, Warsaw, October 1973.