Floor-standing telescope by William Harris & Co., London.

An early 19th century 3 1/2" William Harris & Co. refracting telescope with its original mahogany floor-standing tripod and its brass table tripod.

The mahogany case holds everything except the floor tripod. The telescope barrel is signed Harris & Co., 50 Holborn London on the top of the main tube above the star finder. William Harris worked for the famous Sir David Brewster in Edinburgh until about 1800, then also began to produce instruments under his own name. In about 1814 he opened premises at 50 Holborn in London, marking his output as William Harris and Co. In 1840, The firm's name was changed to William Harris & Son, and the mahogany case for this telescope has a paper label From William Harris & Son, with a handwritten notation in ink "Cleaned Repaired and Adjusted November, 1841", a very nice piece of history to have.

The telescope measures 53 3/4” long when closed and can extend fully to 64”. The objective lens is 3 1/2” achromatic. The dual sliding arm struts attach to the legs of either stand and allow very smooth tracking of this large instrument. The telescope barrel separates in half for storage in the wooden case. The telescope is very complete, retaining all its original lens caps and dust covers, and all optics are original and in fine condition. Three eyepieces are included, two with their original smoked glass covers for viewing an eclipse.

Circa 1825
No.1635