Large Antique T. Harris & Son'Day or Night' Single-draw Brass/Wooden Telescope
This listing is for an antique brass & wooden telescope by Thomas Harris & Son of London. It's called the "Day or Night" and may have been an Admiralty pattern telescope, or in any event one designed for marine applications. It's quite a sizable single-draw instrument - see measurements below and in the listing photos. With both its size and the warm feel of its wooden barrel, the instrument has a really nice look and feel and is also perfectly usable. The image quality while acceptable, isn't as good as it would have been when new, but this piece will have seen much service through the years in a variety of settings.
It also looks like it's had a repair at the objective end, with iron fitments replacing what would have been original brass elements - we can only speculate as to the reason for this work and restoration. I'm not sure of the date of manufacture, but my guess would be mid 1800s, say 1840 to 1860 or thereabouts. Optics present and working with some cloudiness, in need of internal deep clean but usable as is. General external patina commensurate with age.
Brasswork tarnished/oxidised in keeping with age. Slight dent to brass eyepiece surround doesn't impair function. Oxidation to iron fitment (which may be a later replacement) around objective lens.
Brass screw threads in working condition and they loosen/tighten as they should. Draw-tube moves freely allowing focus to be achieved. Length collapsed = 21 inches.
Length fully extended = 36 inches. Objective lens diameter = 1.5 inches. Magnification = about 7x, so similar to my Barr & Stroud naval binoculars. T Harris & Son were known as opticians and makers of globes, mathematical instruments, and telescopes. Thomas Harris founded his optical business in the latter part of the 18th century.
He brought his son, William, into the business in 1806. By 1817, they were marketing themselves as'opticians to the Royal Family', the firm T Harris & Son were trading from Great Russell Street. London, (opposite the British Museum) and 1846 saw a move to High Holborn. Thanks for looking - please also check out my other listings if you get the chance.