16 replies to this topic

[grif 678]

Can a classic scope ( if taken very good care of ) ever get so old that it would retire from the classic status, to become an antique?

[J A VOLK]

100 years from manufacture is commonly used as definition of antique - early Unitron scopes have another 30 years to go!

[Astrojensen]

Well, the antique scopes used to be classic scopes, and before then, they were modern, new scopes, so...

 

 

Clear skies!

Thomas, Denmark

[jsiska]

100 years from manufacture is commonly used as definition of antique - early Unitron scopes have another 30 years to go!

Gee, I'll be an antique then too.

[TimK]

On the other hand, some scopes skip the "Classic" and "Antique" phases and go straight to "Old Junk"

[barbie]

I have two vintage refractors that I'm sure I won't be around for when they become antiques!! They will become part of my estate.

Edited by barbie, 11 January 2022 - 01:50 PM.

[j.gardavsky]

Among the telescopes

 

those "antique" ones have been typically designed and manufactured before WWI.

According to the antiques vendors, they are expected to display

- A lightly aged appearance

- A desirable aged patina

- Some well known maker's name, preferably English, engraved in italics letters.

 

From my POW,

the antique telescopes are those made as single items for the observatories, or ordered by the wealthy persons. The dead line might be the times before WWI.

 

Best,

JG

[luxo II]

Classic = anything 20 years or older, including mass-produced junk scopes. Possibly useful in the current era, if the optics and mechanicals are good.

 

Antique = one-off BRASS telescopes 3" aperture or more, made to order from the likes of Brashear, Cooke, Clarke etc. ie not mass-produced, serious money in their day (and now, if in good order). I'm aware of at least two made in the 1930's, so before WWII.

 

If it ain't brass it ain't antique, that much is for sure.

 

@JG, beware the Indian imitations, they really are junk.

Edited by luxo II, 14 January 2022 - 01:49 AM.

[Kasmos]

This forums definition of a Classic is 25 years or older and most collectibles of any type consider 100 years or more as Antique, so the OP's question seems a little silly to me.

 

BTW, there are antique telescopes smaller than 3"

 

here's a small one you might know about not made of brass:

 

https://www.newscien...alileo-exhibit/

 

and a slightly larger one

 

https://www.mtwilson...inch-telescope/

[j.gardavsky]

Classic = anything 20 years or older, including mass-produced junk scopes. Possibly useful in the current era, if the optics and mechanicals are good.

 

Antique = one-off BRASS telescopes 3" aperture or more, made to order from the likes of Brashear, Cooke, Clarke etc. ie not mass-produced, serious money in their day (and now, if in good order). I'm aware of at least two made in the 1930's, so before WWII.

 

If it ain't brass it ain't antique, that much is for sure.

 

@JG, beware the Indian imitations, they really are junk.

They can't engrave the maker's name in the old italics style, as they don't have the fonts.

 

Just joking,

JG
 

[luxo II]

They do, but they make spelling mistakes, or write silly things like “Carl Leitz” … also wrong address, etc…

Kasmos, yes I’m well aware of what antique dealers trade but even back in 1850 doing any decent observing required a 3” at least.

it reminds me of the 50mm department store scopes sold 50 years ago for $20; they were junk then and still are, yet some collect whole rooms full of these “classics”…. but… worth using ? No.

Edited by luxo II, 14 January 2022 - 05:40 AM.

[Terra Nova]

It all a matter of how much time you have to invest!

[AstroKerr]

You can invest all the time you like in a task, but if you don't have the light to accomplish the task, the time is essentially wasted. 

[Terra Nova]

You can invest all the time you like in a task, but if you don't have the light to accomplish the task, the time is essentially wasted. 

I don’t think you get what I’m saying. When I said “It’s all a matter of how much time you have to invest,” I was implying that any classic will become an antique if you have time enough to wait. Personally, I don’t think I have time enough to wait for my oldest scope (a circa 1955 Unitron 62mm model 114) to move from being a classic to being an antique because I would be 106 y.o. when that happened.

Edited by Terra Nova, 14 January 2022 - 09:35 AM.

[j.gardavsky]

O.K., you have had your fun ...

 

Not exaggerating,

I am a fairly experienced collector of the old optics, and in contact with other collectors,

and knowing where, and what to pick up, and what not.

 

Best,

JG

 

PS: See some items in my collection,

https://www.cloudyni...ectible-optics/

[Terra Nova]

Classic = anything 20 years or older, including mass-produced junk scopes. Possibly useful in the current era, if the optics and mechanicals are good.

 

Antique = one-off BRASS telescopes 3" aperture or more, made to order from the likes of Brashear, Cooke, Clarke etc. ie not mass-produced, serious money in their day (and now, if in good order). I'm aware of at least two made in the 1930's, so before WWII.

 

If it ain't brass it ain't antique, that much is for sure.

 

@JG, beware the Indian imitations, they really are junk.

Not all Clarks are brass. The Cincinnati Observatory collection has brass, (both unpainted and painted), wooden, and believe it or not- aluminum tubed Clarks.

[j.gardavsky]

Not all Clarks are brass. The Cincinnati Observatory collection has brass, (both unpainted and painted), wooden, and believe it or not- aluminum tubed Clarks.

Not yet any Clark in my collection,

but Broadhurst Clarkson in brass,

and some more drawtubes decorated with mahagony, but otherwise in brass.

 

Best,

JG