Dutch Binoculars

The first binocular telescope, consisting of two telescopes placed side by side, was constructed in 1608 by Johann Lipperhey, the inventor of the ordinary or Dutch telescope. The subject was next taken up by the monks. The Capuchin Antonius Maria Schyrläus (Schyrl) de Rheita (1597-1660) described in 1645 the construction of double terrestrial telescopes. Greater success attended the efforts of the Capuchin Chérubin d'Orléans, who flourished at about the same time, and constructed large double telescopes of the Dutch type of high magnification; these instruments were provided with mechanism for adjusting to the interal between the eyes of the observer. After these discoveries the subject received no more attention until the 19th century; no improvements of these instruments are recorded in the literature of the second half of the 18th century.
Source: 1911 EB, Vol. 3, Page 950

Other images in this category...

All of these images are completely free and may be used for any purpose, in whole or in part, royalty-free, without the need to give credit to their authors, under the laws of the United States. They come from old books whose copyright has expired in the U.S. (like the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica) and from U.S. Government web sites.

No copyright. No rights reserved. All images and text are believed to be public domain under the laws of the United States. No warranty nor guarantee is given as to the accuracy of any of this information or imagery, nor for it's suitability for any purpose. Use at your own risk. For more information about copyrights, see our Terms of Use.

(Script last modified Tuesday, the 30th of August, 2011 at 7:41pm)