Brass and wood telescope 2 extensions signed J. Somalvico circa 1820

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Brass and wood telescope 2 extensions signed J. Somalvico circa 1820

About the Item

Brass round-sectioned telescope with mahogany mount, two-extension focus, complete with dust tab and sunshade extension. Good condition perfectly working, custom made wood and brass stand Signed J. Somalvico & C. London from the first half of the 19th century. Maximum length cm 90 - inches 35.5, minimum length cm 36.5 - inches 14.2, focal diameter cm 5 - inches 2. The last photo is the gift box. The Somalvico family, of Italian descent, settled in Holborn around 1780 and became among the leading barometer makers, distinguishing themselves by the very high quality of its production, an activity that thrived for more than 100 years. 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. Galilei Della Porta and Kepler also engaged in studies of the same kind, but Galilei probably did not read the works of the two "colleagues" and learned about the telescope from some of his acquaintances in Venice, as his biographer, Vincenzo Viviani, also confirms. In 1609 he procured a Dutch instrument, and, after examining it, first reproduced the instrument, then, by combining low-powered convex (positive) front lenses with increasingly powerful concave (negative) back lenses, greatly increased its magnification capacity. Galilei never claimed the invention of the telescope, but della Porta, feeling defrauded of the invention, wrote in a letter to Federico Cesi in 1609: "...of the secret of the telescope I have seen it et it is a coglioneria, et it is taken from my book IX De Refractione..." Indirectly disproving della Porta, when Galilei showed the telescope to some senators of the Venetian Republic, the astonishment it aroused was enormous. Such wonder, however, was not matched by monetary recognition: in fact, the Serenissima refused to buy the telescope from Galilei, and the Doge of Venice granted him only a pay raise and confirmation to the chair in Padua, where Galilei taught mathematics: in fact, some councilors told that similar instruments were already being produced and on sale at a lower cost.

Dimensions:
Height: 35.5 in (90.17 cm)Diameter: 2 in (5.08 cm)
Materials and Techniques:
Brass
Period:
1820-1829
Date of Manufacture:
1820
Condition:
Wear consistent with age and use.
Seller Location:
Milan, IT
Reference Number:
1stDibs: LU1020237252512