Items Similar to Brass Gregorian refractor telescope circa 1750 attributed to James Short

A Fabulous Early 20th Century Brass Telescope by Clarkson, London

German Reflecting Telescope in Limited Edition from the Deutsches Museum in 1978

A Very Fine Early 19th Century Brass Telescope By W. & T. Gilbert, London

Telescope with Tripod, Metal, Decorative Object

Tacheometro model Soldati late 19th c. signed La Filotecnica Milano

English Brass Telescope w/ Spotting Scope & Stabilizer Bar on Tripod Stand 1870

Want more images or videos?

Request additional images or videos from the seller

1 of 21

Brass Gregorian refractor telescope circa 1750 attributed to James Short

$14,194.25

£10,518.49

€12,000VAT Included

CA$19,630.85

A$19,797.86

CHF 11,525.56

MX$240,949.95

NOK 132,089.92

SEK 136,495.17

DKK 91,496.75

About the Item

Antique mid-18th-century brass Gregorian refractor telescope, almost certainly made by James Short (1710-1768). Good condition, replaced eyepiece and missing lens, lathe rebuilt the two washers that attach the telescope to the base. Measures 78x54 cm - inches 30.7x21.2, focal diameter cm 11.5 - inches 4.5. It is an instrument equipped with two concave mirrors the primary mirror collects light and converges it toward a focus placed in front of the secondary mirror; in turn the secondary mirror returns light to the primary mirror, which bears a hole containing the eyepiece in its center. In 18th-century London there were numerous instrument makers making telescopes. The best known was Scotsman James Short for his skill in casting and polishing by hand the pair of metal mirrors that formed the optical parts of his telescopes. His skill was so well recognized that his telescopes were purchased by most European and American astronomical observatories. The Gregory telescope is named after its creator, Englishman James Gregory (1638-1675), who described it in his 1663 work Optica Promota: it thus predates Newton's 1668 telescope. It is an ancient astronomical instrument consisting of two concave mirrors: the primary mirror collects the light and converges it toward a focus placed in front of the secondary mirror; in turn, the secondary mirror brings the light back to the primary mirror, which bears a hole containing the eyepiece in the center: the resulting image is straight, as opposed to the way Newtonian telescopes produce an upside-down image. For this reason, Gregorian telescopes are also suitable for terrestrial observations.

Dimensions:
Height: 21.2 in (53.85 cm)Diameter: 4.5 in (11.43 cm)
Materials and Techniques:
Brass
Period:
Mid-18th Century
Date of Manufacture:
1750
Condition:
Repaired: The missing optics were replaced and the two washers that attach the telelescope to the base were turned. Wear consistent with age and use.
Seller Location:
Milan, IT
Reference Number:
1stDibs: LU1020242126142

More From This Seller

View All

Brass floor astronomical telescope signed Edmund Wheeler London 1870

Located in Milan, IT

Astronomical round-section brass ground astronomical telescope with two-extension focusing and rack and pinion, with searcher scope, complete with wooden tripod and wooden case conta...

Category

Antique 1870s Scientific Instruments

Materials

Brass

Ing. A. Salmoiraghi, Milan. Brass centesimal tacheometer, No. 7886, late 19th century

Located in Milan, IT

8511 Ing. A. Salmoiraghi, Milan; Centesimal brass theodolite No. 7886, from the late 19th century. It is a scientific instrument used in terrestrial observations to measure horizont...

Category

Antique Late 19th Century Scientific Instruments

Materials

Brass

Tacheometro model Soldati late 19th c. signed La Filotecnica Milano

Located in Milan, IT

Tacheometer model Soldati from the late 19th century signed La Filotecnica Ing. A Salmoiraghi Milan serial no. 18865. Construction site surveying and tracking tool used for calculati...

Category

Antique Late 19th Century Scientific Instruments

Materials

Brass

Wooden stick barometer threaded brass at the edges John Maineri 1820

Located in Milan, IT

Ebonized wood cue barometer with brass threading at the edges, signed Giovanni Maineri early 19th cent. Barometer with ebonized wood reservoir complete with sea bone float indicatin...

Category

Antique 1820s Scientific Instruments

Materials

Wood

Mechanical solar system with Sun, Mercury, Venus, Earth, Moon and Mars 1870

Located in Milan, IT

Tellurium or representative and demonstrative mechanical model of the solar system composed of the Sun, Mercury, Venus, Earth, Moon and Mars, realized by the Prague geographer and ...

Category

Antique 1870s Scientific Instruments

Materials

Metal

Ebony, brass octant signed Hughes London made around 1830

Located in Milan, IT

Ebony wood, brass and marine ivory octant, scale from 0° to 100°,signed Hughes London made around 1830. Good condition, complete with custom-made display base made of wood and brass....

Category

Antique 1830s Nautical Objects

Materials

Wood

Large Antique Library Telescope, English, Starboy, Astronomical, Broadhurst & Co

Located in Hele, Devon, GB

This is an antique library telescope. An English, brass 'Starboy' astronomical mounted refractor by Broadhurst, Clarkson & Co, dating to the early 20...

Category

Early 20th Century British Scientific Instruments

Materials

Brass

German Reflecting Telescope in Limited Edition from the Deutsches Museum in 1978

Located in Sofia, BG

Gregory brass spyglass - Deutsches Museum 1978/79 limited edition. This reflecting foldable telescope is being published in a worldwide limited edition...

Category