Skip to main content
Want more images or videos?
Request additional images or videos from the seller
1 of 20

Brass round section telescope with leather handle England 1850s

$1,659.83
£1,242.21
€1,400
CA$2,289.89
A$2,546.45
CHF 1,337.45
MX$31,132.88
NOK 16,665.90
SEK 15,711.44
DKK 10,657.50

About the Item

Brass round-sectioned telescope with leather-covered handle, focusing at one extension. English manufacture of the mid-19th century. Complete with base for support made of custom wood and brass. Good condition signs of use, small portion missing in the leather, 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 87 - 34.2 in , minimum cm 49 - 19.2 in, focal diameter cm 3 -1.3 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: 34.2 in (86.87 cm)Diameter: 1.3 in (3.31 cm)
  • Materials and Techniques:
  • Period:
  • Date of Manufacture:
    1850
  • Condition:
    Wear consistent with age and use.
  • Seller Location:
    Milan, IT
  • Reference Number:
    1stDibs: LU1020246455892

More From This Seller

View All
Brass round section telescope with leather-covered handle 1850
Located in Milan, IT
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 ...
Category

Antique Mid-19th Century Nautical Objects

Materials

Brass

Chrome-plated brass and leather round section telescope England early 1900s
Located in Milan, IT
Chrome-plated brass round section telescope with leather-covered handle. Focus at a stretch. English manufacture of the early 1900s. Complete with base for support made of custom w...
Category

Early 20th Century Nautical Objects

Materials

Brass

Round-section brass telescope with mahogany-lined handle 1870
Located in Milan, IT
Round-section brass telescope with mahogany-covered handle, three-extension focus. English manufacture from the mid-19th century. Complete with custom-made base for support made of ...
Category

Antique Mid-19th Century Nautical Objects

Materials

Brass

Brass and leather round section telescope focusing at 3 extensions 1870
Located in Milan, IT
Round-section brass telescope with leather-covered handle and three-extension focus. English manufacture of the second half of the 19th century. Good condition, some signs of wear o...
Category

Antique 1870s Nautical Objects

Materials

Brass

Round section brass telescope with mahogany wood handle 1850s
Located in Milan, IT
Round-section brass telescope with mahogany wood handle, three-extension focus, complete with dust cap. English manufacture of the mid-19th century. Maximum length cm 43, inches 16.9...
Category

Antique Mid-19th Century Nautical Objects

Materials

Brass

Cardboard round section telescope with four extensions and brass ferrules
Located in Milan, IT
Rare round cardboard scope with four extensions and brass ferrules, german manufacture from the early 19th century. Excellent state of conservation. Maximum length cm 95 - 37.4 in,...
Category

Antique Early 19th Century Scientific Instruments

Materials

Paper

You May Also Like

Decorative Alidade, Metal, 20th Century
Located in Madrid, ES
It has a cover to protect the lens made of the same gold metal in which the rest of the instrument is made. The lines, pure and clean, are the protagonists, and make it a great opti...
Category

20th Century Unknown Other Scientific Instruments

Materials

Metal, Other

Antique 2 Draw Telescope, English, Maritime, Day or Night, Richardson, Regency
Located in Hele, Devon, GB
This is a large antique 2-draw telescope. An English, terrestrial or maritime ‘Day or Night’ instrument by Richardson of London, dating to the Regency period, circa 1820. Perfect fo...
Category

Antique 1820s British Regency Scientific Instruments

Materials

Brass

Antique Officer of the Watch Telescope, English, Terrestrial, Astronomical, Ross
Located in Hele, Devon, GB
This is an antique officer of the watch telescope. An English, leather and nickel silver single draw refractor for terrestrial or astronomical use, by Ross of London, circa 1920. ...
Category

Antique Late 19th Century British Scientific Instruments

Materials

Leather

Pocket Telescope for Ship Captains 20th Century Brass Vintage 1900's
Located in Taranto, IT
Very rare and wonderful all-brass pocket telescope, early 1900s. Functioning item, very small internal chips on the lens but not affecting its view. Item in very good conservative ...
Category

Vintage 1930s Italian Art Deco Nautical Objects

Materials

Brass

Small Antique 6 Draw Pocket Telescope, English, Travel, Baker, London, Victorian
Located in Hele, Devon, GB
This is a small antique 6-draw pocket telescope, an English hiking or navigational instrument by Baker of London, dating to the mid Victorian period, circa 1860. Perfect for bird wa...
Category

Antique 1860s British Victorian Scientific Instruments

Materials

Brass

Large Antique 3-Draw Telescope, Irish, Brass, Leather, Terrestrial, Edwardian
Located in Hele, Devon, GB
This is a large antique 3-draw telescope. An Irish, terrestrial or astronomical instrument in enamelled brass and leather, dating to the Edwardian period, circa 1910. Perfect for bi...
Category

Early 20th Century Northern Irish Edwardian Scientific Instruments

Materials

Brass