ANTIQUE
TELESCOPES
for sale
(click on thumbnail for larger picture)
NAUTICAL or MARINE type TELESCOPES
A
very large antique marine telescope engraved on the draw tube, by Dollond,
London. The draw tube is engraved
in script, adjacent to the eyepiece, with the makers name. A 2 inch diameter
green achromatic objective lens is set into the taper
barrelled leather covered body tube. There is a single 4 lens draw tube,
comprising 3
sections to make up the erecting set and the eyepiece set of
optics with a dust
slide to the eyepiece. The telescope
extends to 44 in. long in total, from just under 38 inches fully
closed. The leather has a worn look consistent with its age. It has
some original lacquer on the brass work, consistent with it’s 200 or so years
of age and is in fine working order. The lenses are free from any significant
flaws and the telescope focuses clearly and smoothly. -
£295
TELESCOPES on STANDS
A fine antique
library telescope with tabletop stand.
This all brass Regency period refracting telescope
has been sympathetically refurbished to a very high standard, and is in
excellent working order both optically and mechanically. The telescope has
thumbwheel rack & pinion fine focus and the eye tube draws out to achieve
the course focus. This
fine, 20 in. long bodied telescope, with removable dust cap
to the objective and dust slide to the eyepiece, stands
only 15 inches high which puts it in the class of “library telescope”, being
somewhat smaller than it’s more common larger brother. The telescope has a 1
5/8 inch diameter objective (original green glass
achromatic) and sits on a compass joint atop the brass tripod stand, which folds
for storage and transportation. The whole instrument is in fine condition and
makes a stunning display as well as being a fine working telescope. -£495
A fine antique
telescope with cabriole tabletop stand in its fitted mahogany case.
This brass refracting telescope has all
original finishes, thumbwheel rack & pinion fine focus
and comes in a top quality mahogany case with brass
catches, hinges and handle. The telescope body is 31 inches long with removable dust
cap to the objective, stands 16 inches high and is about 45 inches long when
focussed with the terrestrial eyepiece fitted. The telescope has a two and a
quarter inch diameter objective and a 4 lens eye tube makes it suitable for
terrestrial use. It has a further two lens high power inverting astronomical eye
tube in the fitted case. The cabriole tripod stand folds for storage. The
telescope is in good working condition condition, with all original lacquer and
finishes allowing for some age stains and tiny dents attesting to it’s use
over the past 100 or more years. -£650
A
fine French Antique Telescope with accessories and
cabriole tabletop stand, in its original fitted case. This 19th century brass refracting telescope has
all original finishes, thumbwheel rack & pinion fine focus and is signed
around the objective lens “Lebrun, Paris 1874”.
Alexandre Lebrun of 3 Rue Chapon, Paris, displayed at the 1851 great
exhibition in London. The telescope has a 3-inch
diameter objective, a terrestrial eye tube and a separate short, high power eye
tube for astronomical use. There is also a screw-on sun filter to the
astronomical eyepiece. The cabriole tripod stand folds for storage. The
terrestrial eye tube stores in the telescope and the astronomical eye tube is
stored in the original case. There is a trade label
for A. Guedin on the inside of the case
lid bearing the retailers name and address. The optics are in excellent
condition, with no chips, scratches or marks and the whole instrument is in good
working condition with original lacquer and finishes allowing for some age spots
and rubbing attesting to it’s use over the past 130 years. -£850
A
fine antique refracting telescope on a cabriole tabletop
stand by E.G.WOOD. LONDON, in its original
fitted case with all accessories.
This 19th century brass refracting telescope has original blue/black and
gold lacquered finishes, draw tube main focus and thumbwheel rack & pinion fine
focus and is engraved around the shoulder E.G.
Wood, London. It also has a clamped, thumbwheel
controlled rack & pinion steady bar and an attached sighting ‘scope focused
by a brass lever. The inside of the case lid has a trade
label for Wood, listing the address as 74 Cheapside, London. Edward George
Wood is listed as working at this address from 1852to 1893. The 39 in. long
telescope with rack & pinion and drawtube focusing extends to over 50 inches
when using the erecting terrestrial tube and focuses at about 42 inches with the
erecting set replaced with the high power astronomical eyepiece. There is also a
Newtonian eyepiece for astronomical use and a sun
filter, in the fitted case. The telescope has a
three-inch diameter objective with lacquered brass dust cap and a sliding
shutter to the eyepiece. The cabriole tripod stand folds for storage and can be
removed to fit a floor standing tripod. The optics are in excellent condition,
with no significant chips, scratches or marks and the whole instrument is in
fine condition. -£1950
HAND HELD TELESCOPES
GEORGIAN (or earlier)
A
very large antique
decagonal tapered barrel telescope from
the mid 1700’s, possibly by Dollond.
This very rare single draw telescope has a decagonal tapered mahogany
barrel, the barrel itself is 48 inches long and tapers from about 2 ¼ inches
diameter at the objective to 2 inches diameter at the eyepiece end. Overall the
telescope is 50 ½ inches long when the eyetube is pushed fully home and draws
out to 58 inches long to focus on objects a few yards away. The length of the
‘scope when focussed on infinity is around 54 inches. The 1 ½ inch diameter
objective lens looks to me to be the original achromatic triplet in a sealed
cell developed by Dollond in the mid 18th century and the telescope
has dust slides to both the objective
and the eyepiece. The non-retained 5 lens eye tube
unscrews into sections,
for cleaning. The telescope is complete and in fine condition for a 250 year old
instrument, with minor cosmetic blemishes but no serious damage. It focuses
clearly, has all original optics (as far as I can tell) with no chips or serious
scratches and is complete. Whilst the instrument is not signed, the dust slide
to the objective, which is where it might have been signed, looks to me to have
been replaced. This is a very fine example of the 18th century
decagonal, transitional telescope which gives a good depth of field and wide
field of view compared with its contemporaries. -
£950
A very large antique
hand held telescope engraved on the draw tube, by Dollond,
London. A 2 inch diameter green achromatic objective lens is set
into the taper barrelled mahogany body tube, and has a sliding ray shade and
removable dust cap. The draw tube is engraved
in script, adjacent to the eyepiece, with the makers name. There is a single
draw tube, comprising 3 sections to make up the
erecting set and the eyepiece set of optics and dust slide
to the eyepiece. The telescope extends to 48 in. long
in total, from just under 38 inches fully closed. It
has some minor scratches on the polished mahogany barrel and plenty of original
lacquer on the brass work, consistent with it’s 200 or so years of age and is
in fine working order. The lenses are free from any significant flaws and the
telescope focuses clearly and smoothly. - £475
VICTORIAN
A Victorian three draw leather-barreled brass telescope,
engraved on the first draw “Cary,
181.Strand, London.” This lightweight, “German silver”
telescope has a leather covered taper barrel and ray shade to the objective. It
has its original patterned leather sleeve,
which has shrunk back over the years. This
instrument extends from ten inches closed,
to thirty-two
inches long when fully opened and
has a 2 1/4-inch diameter objective with dust
slide to the eyepiece. The optics are in excellent condition and the
telescope draws out smoothly. -
£195
20th CENTURY
A top of the range
pocket 3 draw telescope engraved on the first draw “Made
for the Society of Minature Rifle Clubs” This German Silver, hide
barrelled, telescope was made by the top maker of the day and has their trade
mark on the ferule at the eye end of the barrel – “W.Ottway
& Co. Ltd., ealing, London, manufacturer”.
It has a dust cap
to the objective and it draws out to just under 17 inches long, from just over 6 inches, when fully
opened and has a 7/8 inch diameter objective. The optics are in excellent
condition and the telescope is complete, draws out smoothly and is in good
working order, as you would expect from this top class maker.-
£150
OTHERS
A
pair of Antique Brass Galilean field
glasses
or Binoculars, impressed around each eyepiece “THE
LIVERPOOL”. These type of field
glasses were made from the middle of the 1800’s until optical prism technology
overtook the simple Galilean optics in the early 20th century. These, all brass,
binoculars are in good condition with brown leather covered barrels, and sliding
ray shades. The optics are fine and free of any significant scratches, chips or
cracks and they focus smoothly giving a clear image. They measure just
under 6 inches in length with shades extended and compress down to 4 inches for
storage. The main lenses are 2 inches diameter, and
the general finish is very good for the age. A fine example of this mid 19th
century instrument.
- £35
An assortment of binoculars,
including w.w.1. military, nautical, etc
LINKS
Telescopes page last updated 22/06/2009