A rare Antique Carl Zeiss refractor telescope c1900 with working clockwork drive Start Price GBP 1,999.00 Current Price GBP 9,000.00 Time Left - Bid Count 3 Buy It Now Price GBP 9,000.00 Reserve Price - Start Time Wednesday, August 27, 2008 End Time Saturday, September 06, 2008 Location Ipswich, Suffolk See more about 'A rare Antique Carl Zeiss refractor telescope c1900' Description Carl Zeiss Clockwork Driven Telescope   About the telescope: I bought this telescope at Christies of London several years ago.  It was given provenance in their catalogue, I believe as having been given by Queen Victoria to the Astronomer Royal at the time, however, there was no documentary proof supplied and such provenance should not be taken too seriously in my opinion. The objective is 90mm Mechanical condition: The condition of the instrument is very good, I had the clockwork drive serviced, although it was functioning anyway, a few turns of the key sets the centrifugal governor spinning. When the telescope is engaged the governor continues to drive but is sensitive to the instrument being levelled. The clock maker advised me that the mainspring is the largest he had ever seen, by some margin, and in good condition, so there is no reason why the instrument should not keep time but I have not checked it. The heavy gauge steel tube has a number of small dings and dents, but none of them of any size. The brass lacquering has been refurbished, on most of the fittings, by a professional barometer restorer. The setting dials have been re-silvered and lacquered where there was evidence of silvering. The accessories are un-refurbished and in their original condition. I adopted the policy of not removing or replacing or buffing any part, but only protecting the original materials. This means that the brass fitting will sometimes show some pitting under the lacquer, but I wanted to avoid “buffing” anything at any cost. There are draw backs to this, the brass tube clamps don’t look as good as they might (see close up) and the steel rod used for the tube counterbalance has just been painted silver and lacquered, it would be very easy to replace this with a nickel plated steel rod, but then something has been lost in my opinion. Should the new owner decide to improve the look of the instrument with some minor touch ups like this, that is for their consideration only. The 90mm lens is a triplet, that much I can see, and is free from any visible damage to my eyes. The instrument focuses on terrestrial subjects perfectly. I can see the rings of saturn but i have no comparison as to how clear they should be. The black paintwork has a few chips and misses and could do with a little gentle re-polishing. The Oak frame is very solid with some scratches in the French polish in places, but generally fine. The only issues I can see with the instrument is it lacks what would once have been a celluloid cover over the centrifugal governor, easily replaced but I could not source celluloid of the right age, plus the fact that some of the small screws on the lens shield are missing. This is a very large instrument, and heavy. It required about 9 feet of headroom to allow it maximum movement. Dont get the scale wrong the wooden stand is about 5 feet high. A word on the photos : The close ups reveal the fact that I should have dusted the instrument first, so if you think you see any blemishes there’s a good chance it’s just my camera work please ask and I will re-shoot specific shots if required. Payment   I am not in business so I can’t accept cards of any sort, cheques are fine for UK buyers but foreign checks take forever to clear and I cannot let the item ship without payment clearing. The best and cheapest way would be via wire transfer for foreign buyers. Offers will be kept in strict confidence. Please feel free to email me on any matter. This is the second time this instrument has been listed, the last buyer had to withdraw so the itme was never shipped, it is however, ready to ship in a very strong exterior grade plywood crate measuring some 31" x 31" x 84" and the total weight is 130kgs approx. Best regards Clive       Place a Bid!