1-foot Gregorian reflecting telescope
Date: 1735-1745
Inventory Number: DW0978
Classification: Telescope
Dimensions:with telescope horizontal: 36.4 x 21 x 42.5 cm (14 5/16 x 8 1/4 x 16 3/4 in.)
case: 11 x 48.7 x 14.5 cm (4 5/16 x 19 3/16 x 5 11/16 in.)
outer diameter of tube with tailpiece: 6.2 cm (2 7/16 in.)
DescriptionThis Gregorian reflecting telescope is very complete and has its original box. It is made of gilt brass. The tube is covered with black sharkskin. The dust cap screws on and is ornamentally turned.
The tube has an aperture of 2 inches (5.2 cm) and the focal length is about 12 inches. Both mirrors are intact. The primary mirror is held in place by a triangular metal spring and the tailpiece of the telescope.
The primary mirror has the maker's name cast into its rear surface with a date. The third and fourth numerals of the date are hard to discern fully. The third might be a 3 or a 4, although the cross bar in the 4 is just a piece of a longer line in the casting. The fourth numeral is likely a 5, but could also be a 3 or an 8. The date may therefore be as early as 1733 or as late as 1748.
The casting also has "C PARIS A PARIS" cast in raised letters in its surface in reverse. This would have been done by pressing type into the mold produced by a pattern that already had the older and earlier style of Paris's signature carved on it.
Specifications of the primary mirror are as follows:
outer diameter: 5.3 cm
inner diameter (central hole): 1.4 cm
thickness: 1.1 cm
The eyepiece of the telescope is gilt brass with decorative turning and knurling. It is 8.5 cm long. It has a screw-on dust cap. Below this is a tiny aperture stop. This section of the eyepiece is threaded onto the barrel below. There is a locking screw on the side to limit the rotation of the section. The barrel slides onto lens section below it and is oriented by means of a tang. The whole assembly then screws into the tailpiece of the telescope.
The focus is done by a long rod external to the tube. The rod is made of steel and has a gilt knurled thumb screw on the end. It is secured to the tube by triangular, gilt brass brackets.
The tube is attached to the gilt brass, altazimuth mount by two butterfly screws. The saddle consists of two slotted arms attached to a central post terminating in a ball. The socket for the ball consists of two bowls which are tightened together by means of three butterfly screws inserted through the rims of the bowls. The lower bowl is attached to a turned pillar with a bulbous area two-thirds of the way down. This bulb is pierced with a wide hole, where an awl would be inserted to mount the telescope to a tree or fence post. (The awl is present in the box). The bottom of the pillar has a large steel screw so that the telescope may be attached directly to a table, window sill, or other wood object.
The base of the pillar is also threaded to mate with a gilt brass library table stand. This stand consists of a round platform on three cabriole legs with scroll feet. The legs fold up in an unusual way. They rotate to the side, and one has a tab to wrap around the screw at the base of the pillar.
The fitted wooden box has supports for the telescope and its mounting options. There are two carved frames for securing the telescope down into the box. The two latch hooks are present on the top lid of the box. The eye-headed screws into which they would lock are loose and presently stored inside the box.
A steel awl with a wood handle is present.
The box has a white paper label glued to the inside of the lid. It is signed by Soleil of Paris.
Signedcast into back of primary mirror in raised letters: PARIS 17[3 or 4][3, 5, or 8]
cast into back of primary mirror in raised letters in reverse: C PARIS A PARIS
on label inside box: Rue de l'Odéon, No. 35. / SOLEIL Fils, OPTICIEN, / ... / A PARIS
Inscribedon label in box: PRODUIT DE L'INDUSTRIE FRANCAISE; / EXPOSITION DU LOUVRE 1[8]23.
on label in box: Rue de l'Odéon, No. 35. / SOLEIL Fils, OPTICIEN, / Fabricant toutes sortes d'Instruments l'optique, physique, / mathematique; Lunettes de campagne, de spectacle, de / marine. Lunette à lire, Conserves et autres, Micros- /copes, Chambres eclaires. Chambres noires, Baromètres, / Thermomètres, et géneralement tout ce qui concerne / son état; fait des envoir en province et à l'étranger, au / plus juste prix. A PARIS
Historical AttributesThis is a very early French reflecting telescope made by Claude Paris of Paris. Paris began making reflectors in 1733. This one dates from the first decade of his shop.
The tradecard of Henri Soleil of Paris is in the box. Soleil was a 19th century maker who worked 100 years after Claude Paris. He may have repolished the mirror of the instrument for an owner, or sold it as a novelty antique in his shop.
The label also mentions the Exposition du Louvre of 1823. This was an industrial fair every 5 years in which the French workmanship was showcased. Soleil, no doubt, showed off his wares there. Perhaps he even put this telescope on display too as an example of earlier French achievement.
Related WorksAnthony Turner, "Claude Paris and the Early History of the Reflecting Telescope in France," Journal of the Antique Telescope Society issue 30 (spring 2009): 5-8. [details on a similar very early Paris telescope, but less complete than CHSI's]
Paolo Brenni, "Soleil, Duboscq, and Their Successors," Bulletin of the Scientific Instrument Society, no. 51, December 1996, pp. 7-16.