27,600 CHF
The Telescope. Geneva, circa 1820, made for the Russian market. Impressive and very rare 18K gold, gilt brass and enamel telescope. Notes The telescope was one of the central instruments of what has been called the Scientific Revolution of the 17th century. It revealed hitherto unsuspected phenomena in the heavens and had a profound influence on the controversy between followers of the traditional geocentric astronomy and cosmology and those who favored the heliocentric system of Copernicus.It was the first extension of one of man's senses, and demonstrated that ordinary observers could see things that the great Aristotle had not dreamed of.It therefore helped shift authority in the observation of nature from men to instruments.The telescope was unveiled in the Netherlands. In October 1608, the States General the national government in The Hague discussed the patent applications first of Hans Lipperhey of Middelburg, and then of Jacob Metius of Alkmaar, on a device for "seeing faraway things as though nearby". The gentlemen found the device too easy to copy to award the patent, but voted a small award to Metius and employed Lipperhey to make several binocular versions, for which he was paid handsomely. It appears that another citizen of Middelburg, Sacharias Janssen, had a telescope at about the same time but he tried to sell it at the Frankfurt Fair.The news of this new invention spread rapidly through Europe, and the device itself quickly followed. By April 1609 th Read more…
Auctioneer:
Antiquorum
Date:
2003-10-11
