Description

Between the late 17th century and the first half of the 18th century, pocket-sized optical compendia gained popularity. Initially, around the second half of the 17th century, these included small Galilean telescopes, often made from bovine metatarsal bones and sometimes from wood. Archaeological excavations have uncovered such items, all dating to the 17th century and found in contexts from the mid-17th to early 18th centuries, primarily in Dutch or English settings. Many of these telescopes are linked to maritime activities. For instance, five were discovered during excavations near the port of Amsterdam. Others were recovered from shipwrecks, including the Swedish ship Kronan (sunk in 1676), the British ship HMS Stirling Castle (sunk in 1703), the East India Company ship Hollandia (sunk in England in 1743), and another East India Company ship named Amsterdam (sunk in England in 1749). Additionally, another telescope of this kind has been reported from a mid-18th-century context at Notley Hall in St. Mary’s County, Maryland, and is now housed in the Jefferson Patterson Museum.  

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