Tim, As I posted above, I agree that Mr. Ballas might have been an amateur that ground the mirror and had Bill make the rest of the scope. However, the dates don't quite add up. The mirror is dated 1/58 but several photos of the scope on Larry's website are dated 1957. It's not clear yet how Larry derived this date and it's not unreasonable to assume they were taken in '58 after completion of the scope. Would Bill have kept the scope long enough after completion to take several photos with it and his other scopes? Maybe Mr. Ballas is the gentleman to the left of Bill in the Charlton Flats photo. Anybody recognize him?