Dolland
/ London 45" Leather Barrel Telescope w Queen Anne Brass Folding Tripod Base
What a graphic and commanding looking instrument this is!! Telescopes are
becoming increasingly difficult to find and nice examples like this are a
genuine rarity. Dolland is the most widely known and well respected English maker of telescopes and spyglasses in the 18th & 19th century. The firm was begun in the mid 1700's and the original owner, John Dolland, is credited with the development of the Achromatic Lens which solved problems associated with colors being off in earlier optical telescopes. You can find a much more detailed explanation of that idea / patent and development here. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_telescopes. I found one site on the internet having to do with Lewis & Clark, and it mentioned that Thomas Jefferson had a similar telescope by Dolland, and that it made the trip cross-country with that expedition.
The Smithsonian has a short history of the firm and the various Dolland family makers. They have a couple of their instruments, but no telescopes like this on brass Queen Anne tripod bases. Here is a link to that information. http://americanhistory2.si.edu/collections/surveying/maker.cfm?makerid=10
The telescope is 45" long without the tailpiece. Overall on the folding brass tripod base this Dolland telescope stands approx 16" tall. This telescope can be used with or without the tailpiece as it is designed to erect the image for use on land or sea. Without the tailpiece the image appears to be inverted as is typical with celestial telescopes even today. There is one eyepiece with a very dark lens and another with a clear lens. There are holes in the box for three lenses so it appears one might be missing.
The leather covering on the telescope barrel is in nice condition noting just a few nicks and dings. The makers name, Dolland / London is marked at the end of the tube on the brass fitting. I could find no info on a time line for dating this from that marking, but other aspects indicate it is from the first quarter of the 19th century.
The telescope is in a fitted mahogany dovetailed box. It has a label from the well known American maker and dealer in surveying and scientific instruments Richard Patten of NY. Patten first opened his shop in 1813 in NY as an importer and dealer in charts, maps, and imported instruments before starting to offer his own line of instruments. He is only lasted in NY until the 1830's, so I assume that this is the period that this telescope dates from, approx 1813 to 1830. Here is the Bio and write-up on Richard Patten that can be found on the Smithsonian site. http://americanhistory2.si.edu/collections/surveying/maker.cfm?makerid=21
This Dolland Telescope recently came from an old time estate here in the Western states and has been in the same family for as long as they could remember. This telescope is fresh to the market and deserves a place in a top notch collection and to be prominently displayed. It is a wonderful piece of history.
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C-PD-TELE-1
Good..... $2795.00
1859
Gordon's Patent Goniometer / Protractor
This early measuring
and layout device was designed for use by surveyors, map makers, cartographers, city
planers, engineers, architects and the like to aid in their work.. Charles Gordon of
Washington DC was the the inventor and patentee. The name and patent info
is engraved into the bottom leg of the brass triangle. It seems in the
application he called it a Goniometer, and in the description refers to it as an
improved protractor. I suppose it serves both uses and a few others as
well. The patent
was granted on March 29 1859 and the number is 23,365. This unusual device incorporate
several different known tools to create a "new improved" and unique tool for
use in the
trades mentioned earlier. The patent, and
the drawings can be found here. The idea incorporates a heavy brass 30/60/90 triangular base acting as the base and meridian and allows the user to find and keep his bearings on a map or drawing, Attached just above the heavy triangular base is a finely engraved silver protractor capable of swinging up to 90 in either direction when it bottoms out against the vertical riser. Above that and attached to the protractor is a silvered parallel rule w/ 7 1/2 inch arms that can be used at any time to draw parallel lines or extend an angle out. Both the arm of the rule, and the protractor are marked with a tiny # 6 which may be either an assembly # or a serial # of sorts. Mr. Gordon's description goes on to say this device will be found to be near indispensible in use when drawing surveys and plots and all manner of other uses.
The tool is housed in a fitted sharkskin covered wooden box.. Overall the box is nice, and has a great shape. There has been some losses to the sharkskin covering as one would expect.
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JS-GP-1
Excellent . . . . . $2475.00
Heliograph
These types of instruments were used for communication and for surveying
long lines or over long distances. Mirrors could be used to communicate
or be sighted on 20-30 miles out in the right conditions. The piece on the left
could be set in front of the mirror on the right and the user could send Morse
code utilizing the shutter set up. There were two mirrors in the event
you needed to direct the light from a different angle, you could use one to
catch then redirect the light. These are unmarked as to maker, in super
condition and probably English.
Here is a link to Wikpedia where you can lean more http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heliograph
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BS-HELIO
Excellent..... $395.00 / pr. SOLD!
Wayweiser
/ Waywiser
This is a early
form of measuring device used by surveyors, map makers, cartographers, city
planers, engineers and the like. They are an early design and when researching
them on the internet the first thing you read about is Ben Franklin having and
using one. The idea here is that there is a clockwork type mechanism that works off the wheel rotating and records the distance. This one has three ranges I can see. Yards, furlongs and miles. The counter is original, and the top lid is a well done replacement that allows the entire geared works inside to be viewed. I do not see any makers marks on the machine itself or the handles.
It could be French or English, and probably dates from the early 19th century. The wheel construction and spokes look very early. A rare and desirable piece of survey related memorabilia that will display very nicely.
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BS-WISER
Good..... $495.00 SOLD!
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