While browsing the advertisements for the Colorado Springs, Colorado Craigslist, I happened to notice a listing for a very hard to come by vintage Swift Model No. 831 77mm equatorial refractor telescope, circa 1960. The ad was posted on November 12th, 2008, and the web address is:

http://cosprings.craigslist.org/for/916405632.html
(I am not the seller of the telescope.)

There has been much discussion on the Classic Telescopes Forum about these wonderful instruments from Swift Instruments Corp. They were sold only during the early 1960s; the optics supposedly come from Takahashi.

LEW CHILTON, a knowledgeable member of our group, has been compiling a database of serial numbers of models #838 (50mm F/14), #839 (60mm F/13.5), and #831 (77mm F/13.0). This is a wonderful opportunity for him to add another one to his list of serial numbers.

(The 77mm advertised on the Colorado Springs Craigslist is one of the rarest scopes ever imported from Japan during the 1960s. Many serious amateur astronomers can vouch for the absolute stunning optical performance of these finely-crafted Swift achromatic refractors.)

Comments from owners of the 77mm Swift?