Telescope (detail)

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This is a detail of the barrel of a refracting telescope. The instrument was made in England in the late 17th century. It is unsigned.

The detail shows the decoration on the barrel, which has been dyed in parts green and red, and stamped with book-binding tools and filled with gold leaf.

Increased interest in 'natural philosophy' (or physics - which included astronomy) and its instruments, was fostered on London by the Royal Society, founded shortly after the Restoration of the Stuart monarchy in 1660.

Record details

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• Online ID: 000-190-002-059-C
• Image Rights Holder: National Museums Scotland
• Project: National Museums Scotland
  Project description   View all records in project
• Ref: National Museums Scotland  T.1972.77
• Date: Late 17th century
  
• Material: Telescope
  
• Dimensions:
• What: Telescope
  
• Subject: 22. PHYSICS, Light (Departmental Classification)
  
• Who: Smith
  
• Where: ENGLAND
  
• Event:
• Description: Smith telescope, unsigned, English, late 17th century
  
• References:
  • Gold tooling on instruments is discussed in Turner, G. L'E., 'Decorative tooling on 17th and 18th century microscopes and telescopes' in Essays on the History of the Microscope, Oxford: 1980 
  • Macdonald, A. & Morrison-Low, A.D. (eds.) A Heavenly Library: Treasures for the Royal Observatory's Crawford Library. Edinburgh, 1994 p 47 
• Translations:
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