A very long Dollond single draw telescope from around 1800
Stock Number: 297
£450
A very long naval telescope with a single brass draw on a long mahogany coloured tapered wooden tube, probably early 1800s, although the design suggests possibly earlier, such as 1780-1800.
Dimensions
44 inches long, 2.5 inch diam.
Circa
1800
Country of manufacture
UK and Ireland
Description
An impressive naval style single draw telescope, labelled “Dollond, London” near the eyepiece. Diameter at the objective is 63mm, closed the length is 955mm, and at focus the scope is 1105mm long. Clear view, good magnification. The first draw contains the four eyepiece lenses, one at either end and then there are two splits in the tube, which hold the internal lenses.
The signs of wear are evident in that the main wooden body has some partial length cracks, and there is a lighter coloured area of wood at the narrower end, as seen in one of the pictures. There are also dents on the brass of the draw section near the eyepiece, but these do not affect the operation of the telescope unduly.
All but one of the screws into the barrel holding the brass fittings are modern brass replacements for the original ferrous screws. The draw total length is 10.5 inches, and this pulls out of the main body as there is no end stop: this was the style used in 18th Century telescopes. The eyepiece is flat ended, and the winking lens cover is present.
Ask the Dealer
Dealer information
Telescope Collector
I first started using a telescope in the 60s, to identify aeroplanes arriving at Yeadon airport, in Yorkshire. Then I started to collect and restore vintage brass scopes in the 1990s. The collection boomed later, in the early days of the internet, rising to around 300 in number. Since then I have made a lot of friends via the internet, advising them on how to identify, date or repair their scopes. At the age of 74 I need to disperse these wonderful bits of engineering history, because they still work today as well as they did 200+ years ago! That is the fascination....Some of my collection have already been sold to collectors spread around, in the UK, USA, Ireland, Israel, France and Germany. Several have been returned to the UK descendants of the people who made them, or relatives of their previous owners, because they found the stories on my website. Now the collection needs to be dispersed more systematically. If you are looking for a specific telescope, just ask, maybe I have one! If you want better pictures of the telescopes shown here, these can be emailed. Nick Denbow, based in Alresford, Hampshire: contact via email on [email protected]
