2-mirror adjustable kaleidoscope
Date: circa 1850
Inventory Number: 1998-1-1230
Classification: Kaleidoscope
Subject:
Maker: J. Duboscq-Soleil (circa 1850)
User: Department of Physics, Harvard University (founded 1884)
Cultural Region:
Place of Origin:
Dimensions:
42.9 × 17 × 13.3 cm (16 7/8 × 6 11/16 × 5 1/4 in.)
DescriptionThis instrument consists of two black-glass, rectangular mirrors each fixed to a brass panel. The panels are hinged together along their long edge and their angles with respect to each other may be adjusted. The preferred inclination of each panel from the vertical is set on a quadrant, divided in single degrees from 0 to 90. The quadrants are inscribed on a semicircular brass plate. Locking screws secure the mirrored panels in place.
The semicircular plate has a circular aperture that serves as an opening for the eye of the user. It is threaded and may have held an eyepiece.
The far end of the instrument has a flat ring of brass with a circular opening and collar. The collar holds the chamber, which once held glass shards and other items. The rear glass is missing. The front glass is held in a round brass frame that screws into the collar. One side of the glass is ground.
The kaleidoscope is mounted on a horizontal brass bar attached to a sector joint mounted on a turned column. The kaleidoscope can be tilted and secured in place by a butterfly screw. The column rotates on the stand into which it is threaded. A knurled nut on the stand locks it in place. The round base is weighted with lead.
The base is stamped in black ink with an old Harvard inventory number: 10 85.
The semicircular plate has a circular aperture that serves as an opening for the eye of the user. It is threaded and may have held an eyepiece.
The far end of the instrument has a flat ring of brass with a circular opening and collar. The collar holds the chamber, which once held glass shards and other items. The rear glass is missing. The front glass is held in a round brass frame that screws into the collar. One side of the glass is ground.
The kaleidoscope is mounted on a horizontal brass bar attached to a sector joint mounted on a turned column. The kaleidoscope can be tilted and secured in place by a butterfly screw. The column rotates on the stand into which it is threaded. A knurled nut on the stand locks it in place. The round base is weighted with lead.
The base is stamped in black ink with an old Harvard inventory number: 10 85.
Signedon instrument: J. Duboscq-Soleil à Paris
FunctionA kaleidoscope is a cylindrical optical instrument that is rotated so that when a person looks into it, the viewer sees a succession of radial designs produced by a carefully arranged set of mirrors reflecting constantly changing patterns made by small translucent objects (often bits of colored glass such as millefiori) in a chamber at one end of the cylinder.
The first kaleidoscope was invented by David Brewster (1781-1868) in 1816. One type of kaleidoscope, like this one, known as a teleidoscope, displays mirrored images of whatever portion of a person's environment can be seen through the opening in the other end of the scope. "Kaleidoscope" can also refer to a constantly changing set of colors, or a series of changing phases or events. The word comes from Greek words meaning "a view of beautiful form."
(This description is taken almost verbatim from the following website.)
The first kaleidoscope was invented by David Brewster (1781-1868) in 1816. One type of kaleidoscope, like this one, known as a teleidoscope, displays mirrored images of whatever portion of a person's environment can be seen through the opening in the other end of the scope. "Kaleidoscope" can also refer to a constantly changing set of colors, or a series of changing phases or events. The word comes from Greek words meaning "a view of beautiful form."
(This description is taken almost verbatim from the following website.)