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Brass round section telescope with leather-covered handle 1850

$1,719.11
£1,286.57
€1,450
CA$2,371.67
A$2,637.39
CHF 1,385.22
MX$32,244.77
NOK 17,261.11
SEK 16,272.57
DKK 11,038.12

About the Item

Brass round-section telescope with leather-covered handle, two-extension focus. English manufacture from the mid-19th century. Complete with base for support made of custom wood and brass. Good condition signs of use, antique tin soldering, small portion of leather missing, fully functional. To bring the scope into focus, you have to lengthen the whole tube and then slowly shorten it until the image is in focus. Maximum length cm 96 - 37.7 in , minimum cm 42 - 16.5 in, focal diameter cm 4.5 -1.8 in. The last photo is the gift box. A Middelburg eyeglass maker, Hans Lipperhey, submitted a patent application to the States General of Holland in 1608 for a new optical instrument: a convex lens (presbyopic) and a concave lens (myopic), mounted on the ends of a tube just over a palm long, that magnified distant objects up to three times. According to legend, one unspecified day in 1608 the children of this eyeglass maker started playing with the lenses made by their father in his workshop. By chance one of them put a concave lens next to his own eye, holding a convex one in his hand and holding his arm in the direction of the tip of the cathedral bell tower. To his surprise, the boy then saw the wind marker rooster on the cusp enlarge and approach. Having shown the phenomenon to his father, he fixed the suitably spaced lenses on a plank, thus making observation easier, resulting in the first rudimentary optical approach instrument. Unfortunately for Lipperhey, however, within days other Dutch eyeglass makers also claimed the invention.
  • Dimensions:
    Height: 37.7 in (95.76 cm)Diameter: 1.8 in (4.58 cm)
  • Materials and Techniques:
  • Period:
  • Date of Manufacture:
    1850
  • Condition:
    Wear consistent with age and use.
  • Seller Location:
    Milan, IT
  • Reference Number:
    1stDibs: LU1020246456292

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