3-INCH REFRACTING BRASS TELESCOPE, BY JESSE RAMSDEN, LONDON
CIRCA 1790
£3,600
Auction: 5 September 2018 at 11:00 BST
Description
marked RAMSDEN/ LONDON, with a finderscope, raised on a brass tripod stand, in a later baize-lined box on a wheeled stand, the later plaque to lid with inscription CHARLES M. WILLIAMS/ TELESCOPE/ MANUFACTURED BY JESSE RAMSDEN/ LONDON 1790
Dimensions
138cm long approx.
Footnote
The Collection of the Late Allan Murray.
Provenance: Purchased 1973, Philip W. Pfeifer, New York;
Don Yeier Optics, New York, November 2000
Note: Jesse Ramsden (1735-1800) was one of the most celebrated astronomical inventors of the late 18th century. By the age of twenty-seven, Ramsden had established his own workshop and gained a significant international reputation as London's leading maker of scientific instruments, largely specialising in dividing engines and telescopes. Many of Ramsden's telescopes and other inventions can be seen in observatories across Europe, including Paris, Greenwich and Palermo. A Fellow of the Royal Society and member of the Imperial Academy in St. Petersburg, Ramsden received huge recognition for his accurate and powerful scientific instruments throughout his lifetime. In 1795 he was awarded the Copley Medal of the Royal Society.