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Lot 73

A rare 3-inch Thomas Morton brass reflecting telescope on stand,
Scottish, mid 19th century,

31 October 2017, 13:00 GMT
London, Knightsbridge

£1,500 - £2,200

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A rare 3-inch Thomas Morton brass reflecting telescope on stand, Scottish, mid 19th century,

the tube with focusing to the secondary reflector by long shank and screw, supported by two columns with altitude adjustment by racked curve and pinion, on revolving brass and mahogany circular base raised on three cariole legs, length of tube 15in (38cm)

Footnotes

Although not signed, this instrument is attributed to the maker Thomas Morton. See a similar signed example in the collection of the Royal Scottish Museum http://nms.scran.ac.uk/database/record.php?usi=000-100-102-725-C

This telescope was made by the scientific instrument and carpet machinery maker, Thomas Morton, based in Kilmarnock in East Ayrshire. The curved rack governing the angle of the telescope is a striking feature of Morton's telescope design.

Thomas Morton's interest in telescope construction led him to study astronomy. In 1818, he built an astronomical observatory in Kilmarnock which was open to the public and furnished with instruments which he had constructed.

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