19th Century Achromatic Telescope by Richard Adie of Liverpool

This is a very good example of an achromatic pocket refracting telescope by Richard Adie of Liverpool. Liverpool was Britain's principal second city during the 19^th century and also the home of the Liverpool docks which played a vital role in Britain's economy.
Richard Adie was born in 1810 and was the son of Alexander Adie who ran a similar business which concentrated on meteorological instruments in Edinburgh. After the death of Richard's brother John Adie in 1857, he spent half of his time in Edinburgh, looking after the family business Adie & Son until he died in 1881.

The telescope is made from brass, and is bound on the barrel. When compacted the telescope measures 5 1/2 inches in length, which extends to 28 3/4 inches.

The engraving runs towards the eyepiece - typical of telescopes of this period. The engraving reads:

R. ADIE
Bold Street
_LIVERPOOL


Unfortunately the eyepiece shutter is missing and there is a small dent in the brass surrounding the eyepiece. These defects do not detract from the overall charm of this telescope.
Optically the telescope is an achromatic refractor - the two piece achromatic objective lens cancels out lots of false colour that you can find in other telescopes. The eyepiece is of the Ramsden design - this telescope delivers very good images.



Above is a photograph of the whole telescope extended. Telescopes with eight draws are not found often as they took longer to design and construct.
Please email me if you are interested in purchasing this item.

© 2003 Alexander Henderson