Very Attractive, 200 year Old Telescope by Thos Harris & Son of London

Description

Attractive, 200 year Old Telescope by This Harris & Son of London
This beautiful spyglass was made by Thomas Harris and Son probably in the years between 1806 and 1846 (Webster Signature Database - online). The firm was a pretty prolific maker of telescopes and this type was their bread and butter model. The brass used in this telescope has a golden almost gilt appearance that is very attractive, but the alloy is also softer and acquires dents, nevertheless, the draws open smoothly. The telescope has lost its objective cap but is otherwise complete and appears to have original components.
Optically the telescope works almost as well as it did on the day the it was made perhaps 200 years ago. It forms a clear sharp image when focused by moving the smallest draw to the appropriate position.
While functional regions of the objective lens are in good shape (pic 2 and 3), the lens has a number of chips at the outer edges mostly on the back (not visible). This is probably due to the tattered state of the brass curled over the back the lens, which created uneven pressure points. On the plus side, it was possible to bend the broken brass away from the lens, which allowed lens removal and cleaning; however, curling the brass over the lens is no longer possible. To firmly and gently encase the lens, a black rubber gasket was placed behind the lens where it is wedged in place by the wood of the main tube. When the mounting around objective lenses decay, gaps occur which allow the entry of debris.  The current configuration should form a tight seal around the lens preventing the need for cleaning in the foreseeable future.
The scope is about 9 inches long when folded, about 29 inches long when extended and has an objective lens with a diameter of about 1 and 1/2 inches. While the telescope can be dissembled for cleaning if that should become necessary, some junctions are difficult. Be sure to examine the images as they form an important part of the description - more focused versions should appear soon.
Although shipping is listed as economy, items will generally be shipped priority if costs are comparable.   I will consider sending the telescope to restricted countries if a buyer seems responsible and assumes shipping risks.