Antique Brass Telescope (Ca. 1900?)

Maybe someone here can help me.

I have a brass telescope.



See?

Anyway, it does something which I don't understand. The final extension on the telescope pops out past the final lens. Like this...


Retracted...


...extended.

Retracted...


...extended:


My question is: WHY?

It's not broken. It works fine. I just want to know what the purpose of this extra extension is. Why was it built in as a feature of this telescope? Is it a shield against glare? Rain? Smoke? What? I dunno!!

 

Need dimensions always. To me this looks like an Indiabrass souvenir or novelty telescope, not quality, not antique. It was slapped together with minimal thought about how a real instrument should draw, that's why its functioning does not seem logical. JMO.

 

Fullest extension (including shield) is 20 inches. Compact length is 6 and a half inches. It's a three-draw telescope.

And no, there's no marks on it.

Thanks for the reply, Davey.

So would this extension be used to keep glare off the lens for the user? Or to prevent the flash/reflection of the glass from being seen by someone else?

Given Springfield Arsenal's glowing assessment, what do you think this is?

 

One photo that'd be good to see to help assess this is closeup of the eyepiece-I can't see the eye-side of that part in any photo.

 

Here it is...





It's got a little sliding shutter that goes over it, presumably to protect it from damage.

By the way, I was scrubbing off some of the considerable grime on this thing, and I've just discovered that there IS an engraving on here. But it's very very hard to read. It looks like an owner's name or something. It's almost impossible to read.

It's covered all over in scratches. But it says "C..." something. I think it's first initial followed by a surname. Like "C. *name*" or something like that.

 

The extension is for adjusting the light gathering. During full noon sun you'd extend it to shield from the excessive light. In low light you'd want to gather as much as possible.
Not for certain, but I bet if you test it in different conditions you'd see this to be true. Awesome. Lots of these in Alaska belonged to ship captains.

 

Here's what I found scratched into it. It was hidden underneath that sliding extension:



C-something-something-something...

 

Looks like C. Simon or G. Simon... Very very neat old scope. Too bad it doesn't say captain cook! Haha

 

Hi Vern.

First letter is definitely C. Middle one is "m". So I think you're right. Probably "C. Simon". 'Charles Simon' or something like that.

I was watching a video on YouTube about antique telescopes and it was very handy in showing me how these things were assembled. I was able to pull it apart...



...and give it a damn good clean! It was CLOGGED with dust and grit which quite literally poured out of it when I opened it up! Either way, I was able to clean the lenses very well and wipe away all the gunk clogging up the threads and all that. Then I put it back together. It's as clean as it'll ever be, now. I don't intend to polish it or anything. I like the kinda rustic patina on the brass.

 

Nice job cleaning it up! If you know anything about the area it is from, I'd look into hunters, explorers, surveyors, and ship captains by that name. I'm certainly no expert in these but they weren't cheap in their time and they were usually owned by people who needed them. There many paintings where people pose with these....

 

According to some videos I've seen, that sliding extension at the front is both a sun-shield and a dew-shield, to keep sun-glare away from the lens, and to prevent condensation on the glass.

I'll try doing some research about C. Simon. But it won't be easy. I don't even know where I'd start.

What kind of people would use a telescope like this? Sailors? Seamen? Navy men? Astronomers/star-gazers? Would it have been expensive back when it was made?

 

Anybody of rank in the navy or ship captain of any kind. These aren't really for stargazing. Lots of terrestrial explorers had them and the wealthy. Definitely not inexpensive back in the day. Lots of important people, like captain cook, are in paintings holding these almost like a status symbol. I imagine the closer you get to the 18th century the rarer they become.
http://www.worcesterart.org/collection/Early_American/Artists/badger/John_Larrabee/discussion.html

 

Well seeing as I live in Australia, this thing was almost definitely imported. Any "C. Simon" around here might've been in the navy. The Royal Australian Navy (RAN). Or something like that. I dunno.

I just think it's antique, and cool.

 

50 years ago my fathers father showed me his.
it had a similar eye piece shield too.
it was a 3 extention with a leather wrap.
yours may have had a leather wrap too around the 1st barrel at one time.

 

I was about to ask that, actually. The barrel at the front has a recess and two ridges at equal distance. I wondered if perhaps it had leather on it at some point? I dunno. It's got a couple of dents in it (nothing major), and the brass is very very smooth.

How was leather affixed? Glue? Or just sewn on? I see no evidence of any adhesives on here.

See here on the right?



I think that area next to the eyepiece would be where any leather-wrapping would've gone. If it ever had any. And I don't know whether it did or not. How common was it to have leather wrapping? Did they sell just naked-brass telescopes? And what's the purpose of the leather? Is it just decorative or...?

 

Leather kept your hands warm and provided grip. It was usually sewn together in a seam with leather strap. The leather also provided protection against drops and bumps.

It would be interesting to date yours. A lot of ships came through Australia. If you could get a grasp on when this spyglass was made, you would probably then start looking at navy captains and such.

I'd research known spyglass manufacturers first and see if you can find a ringer….


Also look at names of old Aussie frontiersmen and explorers. These weren't all for nautical purposes, a lot were used terrestrially.

What I can say is that I briefly cruised ebay and google for one like yours and cannot find it. I didn't put much time in as I'm trying to do my own research and finish Christmas presents.

 

Is it a modern reproduction? I don't think so. I've seen LOADS of modern reproductions. We sell them all over the place where I live. Plus, this one is far more 'worn in'. It has signs on it that this wasn't just made up yesterday in China. How old is it? I dunno. There's no maker's mark and nothing on it at all apart from that scratched engraving I mentioned.

It's a very small telescope. 6.5in closed up. Travel-size really. I reckon someone onboard ship (an officer or captain, for example) would've had a larger and more powerful one.

 

I wrapped the telescope in brown suede and stitched it on using some yellow string (the only thing I have right now). This was the result:



While it looks nice, I can easily remove this. And I think I prefer it as naked brass. But this may have been what it looked like originally (or something very similar).

 

See the dents on the 1st barrel....if they were that hard to dent the brass just think of what they might have done to a cowhide leather wrap !!
That and age and wear would certainly have banged up the leather to a point that it came off or was taken off...

IMO...