Historic military Telescopes: Early 19thC Dollond

Atlantia · 7th January 2009, 01:23 AM

I know this isn't a weapon, but these certainly were instrumental in influencing many battles, so I thought they might make an interesting aside.

I want to share with you all a piece from my collection. A rare vintage pocket telescope from the beginning of the 19thC made by the most famous of makers 'Dollond'.
Military personel now take for granted their incredibly complex optical devices, night vision, thermal imaging, the list is endless.
but here is where 'mass produced' long range optical devices really came of age.
Dollond is credited with retailing the first telescopes which did not suffer from Chromatic aberration (he is actually credited with solving the problem but in fact followed from anothers work).
His 'day and night' telescopes were common military and naval equipment. Nelson used one in fact. The military significance of Dollond telescopes cannot be overstated.

So, here is my little telescope, small enough to fit in a tunic pocket, and yet still powerful and clear. closed it is about 5 inches long.
The 3 'drawers' are brass, with the main outer barrel being carved from wood. This type is routinely dated to 1780-1820 on websites.
This type is sometimes refered to as 'army' type due to it being popular with officers of the time.

Imagine the sights it could have seen!

7th January 2009, 01:23 AM	#1
Atlantia Member Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: The Sharp end Posts: 2,928	Historic military Telescopes: Early 19thC Dollond I know this isn't a weapon, but these certainly were instrumental in influencing many battles, so I thought they might make an interesting aside. I want to share with you all a piece from my collection. A rare vintage pocket telescope from the beginning of the 19thC made by the most famous of makers 'Dollond'. Military personel now take for granted their incredibly complex optical devices, night vision, thermal imaging, the list is endless. but here is where 'mass produced' long range optical devices really came of age. Dollond is credited with retailing the first telescopes which did not suffer from Chromatic aberration (he is actually credited with solving the problem but in fact followed from anothers work). His 'day and night' telescopes were common military and naval equipment. Nelson used one in fact. The military significance of Dollond telescopes cannot be overstated. So, here is my little telescope, small enough to fit in a tunic pocket, and yet still powerful and clear. closed it is about 5 inches long. The 3 'drawers' are brass, with the main outer barrel being carved from wood. This type is routinely dated to 1780-1820 on websites. This type is sometimes refered to as 'army' type due to it being popular with officers of the time. Imagine the sights it could have seen! Last edited by Atlantia; 7th January 2009 at 01:55 AM.