Antique Telescopes

I was told the antique mall here has a few old looking telescopes, what
should i look for in an older telescope to determine whether it is junk or
not?

If it's Newtons telescope from the 17th century, buy it, good telescope.
But, if it's a Tesco stay away.

JS

"Torquil MacCorkle, III" wrote in message
news:RBiHb.10$WL3.1@fe01...
I was told the antique mall here has a few old looking telescopes, what
should i look for in an older telescope to determine whether it is junk or
not?

If it's Newtons telescope from the 17th century, buy it, good telescope.
But, if it's a Tesco stay away.

JS

"Torquil MacCorkle, III" wrote in message
news:RBiHb.10$WL3.1@fe01...
I was told the antique mall here has a few old looking telescopes, what
should i look for in an older telescope to determine whether it is junk or
not?

On 2003-12-27, Torquil MacCorkle, III wrote:

I was told the antique mall here has a few old looking telescopes, what
should i look for in an older telescope to determine whether it is junk or
not?

The old looking telescopes you see in antique malls almost always are
modern reproductions made in India. They are built to look at, not
through.

Tele Vue makes brass telescopes that are real optical instruments, but
look nothing like antiques.

On 2003-12-27, Torquil MacCorkle, III wrote:

I was told the antique mall here has a few old looking telescopes, what
should i look for in an older telescope to determine whether it is junk or
not?

The old looking telescopes you see in antique malls almost always are
modern reproductions made in India. They are built to look at, not
through.

Tele Vue makes brass telescopes that are real optical instruments, but
look nothing like antiques.

UNLESS it is an older Tasco from the 60's:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...PageName= ADM
E:B:LC:US:1

"Szaki" wrote in message
news:%UkHb.476185$Dw6.1397763@attbi_s02...
If it's Newtons telescope from the 17th century, buy it, good telescope.
But, if it's a Tesco stay away.

JS

"Torquil MacCorkle, III" wrote in message
news:RBiHb.10$WL3.1@fe01...
I was told the antique mall here has a few old looking telescopes, what
should i look for in an older telescope to determine whether it is junk
or
not?

UNLESS it is an older Tasco from the 60's:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...PageName= ADM
E:B:LC:US:1

"Szaki" wrote in message
news:%UkHb.476185$Dw6.1397763@attbi_s02...
If it's Newtons telescope from the 17th century, buy it, good telescope.
But, if it's a Tesco stay away.

JS

"Torquil MacCorkle, III" wrote in message
news:RBiHb.10$WL3.1@fe01...
I was told the antique mall here has a few old looking telescopes, what
should i look for in an older telescope to determine whether it is junk
or
not?

"Szaki" wrote in message
news:%UkHb.476185$Dw6.1397763@attbi_s02...
If it's Newtons telescope from the 17th century, buy it, good telescope.
But, if it's a Tesco stay away.

I'm not aware that the British grocery store chain Tesco ever put its name
on telescopes.

But Tasco has made some quite good ones, especially in the 1950s to 1970s.

"Szaki" wrote in message
news:%UkHb.476185$Dw6.1397763@attbi_s02...
If it's Newtons telescope from the 17th century, buy it, good telescope.
But, if it's a Tesco stay away.

I'm not aware that the British grocery store chain Tesco ever put its name
on telescopes.

But Tasco has made some quite good ones, especially in the 1950s to 1970s.

If you have any question of what to look for...don't look, or at least don't
buy.

Its not always easy to tell what a given scope is unless you really know the
maker. Even with such "obvious" names as Unitron value can vary widely with
condition and vintage. How do you tell vintage...look at a lot of "known"
vintages. I once called Gary Hand of Hand's on Optics with a question about
a 4" Unitron equitorial head I had purchased (not as an antique, but to
use)...Gary amazed me by asking about a dozen questions about all sorts of
nuances like what various knobs looked like and what materials they
were...but he was able to say pretty definitively when the mount was made
and what it was worth if I were to resell. Gary "knows" Unitrons and
doubtlessly other makers as well from long years of experience.

When next I come upon a Unitron that I am interested in for collecting and
not just observing (I can judge for observing) I'll be sure to call Gary or
one of several others I know. Likewise with Brashear, Clark or others...

Peter B.
ATMoB member
Sweet Hill Observatory