|
Site Navigation
|
Antique Scopes, what does that really mean?
The dictionary defines antique as: belonging to earlier times, of a period long past. This website is focused on antique telescopes, and the reason I created it is simple, a friend offered me an old telescope, it was incomplete and in poor condition, but it was old. How old, I had no idea, but in that single moment of giving me the dusty parts, a chain of events began that saw me start on a path that I have been steadily walking ever since.
I decided to restore the telescope, not that I had any skills, and I also determined to research the telescope to the best of my ability, after all I had the internet, how hard could it be?
I had already been an avid visual astronomer being a member of my local society WSAAG and owned a 6 inch refractor, plus 20 x 80 triplet binoculars, but I was more excited about the old bits and pieces that arrived in the back of a car one fateful Saturday afternoon.
There was no OTA or mount, but there was a finder scope, eyepiece, focuser housing, primary and secondary mirrors, spider vane and other smaller parts. I immediately looked at my circle of friends and associates and gathered a team of people around me, to help me restore my telescope.
My task was to oversee the project and take on the research, I knew that for the telescope to have true historical value that I would need to be able to trace an unbroken chain of owners from the manufacturer through till the present day. I also turned to my great astronomy buddy, Barry Armstead to do all the metal work restoration and replication of the missing parts.
I then sat down and started writing to anyone and everyone that was even vaguely connected to old telescopes and started collecting leads, website references, books, photographs, I purchased journals from abroad and decided to put everything down in a website, this website, so that you can share my hobby with me.
After getting phase one of this website up and running, it occurred to me that there was no central place where you could look up similar telescopes to mine. I had some good responses from some very nice people in England and America but generally speaking, each website that contained information regarding an antique telescope, dealt primarily with that scope only.
So I decided to embark on an ambitious project to document every With-Browning telescope that I could find a reference to, either by date or by mirror size and create a serious and respected catalogue dedicated to the 19th century telescope manufacturer, John Browning of London. Needless to say this project will never be finished, and will rely in the main on the goodness of people contacting me and having their antique telescope added to my listing, as well as the appreciated support of libraries, universities, private organizations and historians universally.
Finally, this is a work of love for me, there is no profit, this site is free to the world and is created to remember the glorious astronomical apparatus of bygone days. I am indebted to many people, but I must publicly thank my wife Sharon for her encouragement, Barry Armstead who is more than my right arm, Jerry Grover who has been my constant advisor and friend, Bob Garfinkle and Dr. Ron Maddison who provided inspiration and sound practical advice when I needed it most when I was starting out.
On to the People listing page >>>
|
|