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  • cell for rear doublet lens of 10-inch Boyden photographic telescope
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cell for rear doublet lens of 10-inch Boyden photographic telescope

  • Images (12)

cell for rear doublet lens of 10-inch Boyden photographic telescope

Date: 1889
Inventory Number: 1997-1-0036
Classification: Lens Cell
Subject:
optics, astronomy, photography,
Maker: Alvan Clark and Sons (1846 - 1958)
User: Solon I. Bailey (1854 - 1931)
User: William Henry Pickering (1858 - 1938)
User: Boyden Station, Arequipa (1891 - 1927)
User: Harvard College Observatory (founded 1839)
Cultural Region:
United States,
Dimensions:
cell: 28.5 x 28.5 x 5.8 cm (11 1/4 x 11 1/4 x 2 5/16 in.)
box: 8.4 × 31 × 30.9 cm (3 5/16 × 12 3/16 × 12 3/16 in.)
Material:
wood, brass,
Accessories: box
Description:
Circular collar of brass has a blackened, beveled front face around the opening. There are retaining rings inside the collar to secure a doublet lens with 10-inch aperture. On one of the rings is a piece of the same kind of paper spacer (often a postage stamp) as that found on the crown glass element (1996-1-0470a). The exterior of the collar is threaded in order to mate with a telescope tube.

The telescope lens cell is stored in a wooden box fastened with screws. The lens elements are stored in a separate box (1996-1-0470).

In Collection(s)
  • Harvard College Observatory in Peru
Signedunsigned
Inscribedon rear of box in white crayon: CELL OF REAR COMB / BOYDEN DOUBLET

in ink on box lid: CELL OF REAR COMBINATION (10 iN) / BOYDEN 8-10 iN DOUBLET.
Historical AttributesThis cell belongs to a 10-inch doublet lens that was the rear-end combination of a pair of doublet lenses that made up a photographic refractor paid for by the Boyden Fund. The Boyden Fund was given to Harvard College Observatory in 1887. This instrument was made about 1889 by Alvan Clark & Sons.

The 10-inch Boyden photographic telescope was likely one of the HCO instruments used in the high-altitude observatory in Arequipa, Peru, which was called the Boyden Station. It was used for photography of stars and the like.

After work in the field, the instrument was stored at the Agassiz Station. It was retrieved from there on May 21, 1969.

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