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Catalog Data

Maker:
Zeiss, Carl  Search this
Measurements:
overall: 55 1/2 in x 59 in x 22 3/4 in; 140.97 cm x 149.86 cm x 57.785 cm
Object Name:
telescope (refracting)
telescope, refracting
telescope
Date made:
ca 1900
Description:
The American military began using telescopes with stable mounts and tubes of fixed length in the 1890s, to supplement the spyglasses it had used since the Revolution and the field glasses (binoculars) it had used since the Civil War. This example is of that sort. It has an achromatic objective of 110 mm (about 4¼ inches) aperture, a turret with three terrestrial eyepieces, a sunshade, an alt-azimuth mount, and a wooden tripod. The tube is 51 inches long. The “Zeiss” signature refers to the important German optical firm that began in business in Jena in 1846. The “6366” on the prism housing, if it is a serial number, suggests a date of manufacture in the 1890s. The eyepiece turret is marked: “Orthoskop. Okular f = 40”.”
This instrument came to the Smithsonian from the U.S. Weather Bureau which had installed it on Tatoosh Island, off the Olympic Peninsula in Washington State, and used it for spotting ships at sea. It may earlier have been used by the Army Corps of Engineers.
Ref: D. J. Warner, “Optical Elements of Fire Control, 1890-1921,” <i>Rittenhouse</i> 18 (2004): 21-59.
Location:
Currently not on view
Credit Line:
U.S. Weather Bureau
ID Number:
PH.314578
Accession number:
204611
Catalog number:
314578
See more items in:
Medicine and Science: Physical Sciences
Astronomy
Science & Mathematics
Data Source:
National Museum of American History
GUID:
http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ng49ca746ad-b536-704b-e053-15f76fa0b4fa
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:nmah_1433300