,,contributions ,,from ,,the ,,museum ,,of ,,history ,,and ,,technology3 ,,paper #bf ,,holcomb1 ,,fitz1 ,,and ,,peate3 ,,three #ai,,th-,,century ,,american ,,telescope ,,makers ,,introduction--,robert ,p4 ,multhauf #aef ,i4 ,amasa ,holcomb--,autobiographical ,sketch #afj ,,ii4 ,henry ,fitz--,julia ,fitz ,howell #afd ,,iii4 ,john ,peate--,f4 ,w4 ,preston and ,william ,j4 ,mc,grath1 ,jr4 #aga ,,holcomb1 ,,fitz1 and ,,peate3 ,three #aith ,century ,american ,telescope ,makers ,practically all the telescopes used by amateur scientists in #ahth-century ,america were of ,european origin4 ,our dependence upon foreign sources for these instruments continued well into the #aith century1 and the beginning of telescope making in this country has conventionally been associated with the names of ,alvan ,clark and ,john ,brashear1 whose work dates from the #ahfj's4 ,presented here are biographical sketches of two predecessors and a contemporary of ,clark and ,brashear whose obscurity is not deserved4 ,the accounts relate some hitherto little-known aspects of telescope making in ,america as it progressed from mechanic art to science4 ,,the ,,author of the ,introduction1 ,robert ,p4 ,multhauf1 is head curator of the department of science and technology in the ,united ,states ,national ,museum1 ,smithsonian ,institution4 ,,introduction ,robert ,p4 ,multhauf ,the telescope was invented about #afjj4 ,it was brought to ,america about a half-century later1 and within another century had become a commonplace appurtenance to the library of the cultivated gentleman4#a ,throughout this period1 from ,galileo to ,herschel1 the telescope found use in scientific astronomy1 although the possibility of contributing to the science of astronomy by simple observation diminished continuously after the time of ,galileo4 ,herschel's work had aimed at the advancement of scientific astronomy through increasing spectacularly our powers of vision1 just as had that of ,galileo in the #agth century and of ,hale in the #bjth4 ,but even in ,herschel's time the monstrous size of the instrument required made the project something of a national effort4 ,the telescopes of the #ahth-century ,american gentleman were already toys1 as far as the astronomer was concerned4 ,however1 the telescope had another1 if less glamorous1 use in the #ahth century4 ,this was its use in positional astronomy1 in the ever more precise measurement of the relative positions of objects seen in the heavens4 ,measurement had been the purpose served by pre-telescopic astronomical instruments1 the sighting bars of the ,ptolemaic observers of ,alexandria and the elegant quadrants of ,tycho ,brahe4 ,for a time after the invention of the telescope the professional astronomer resisted the innovation1 but by the end of the #agth century the new optical instrument was being adapted to the quadrant and other instruments for the precise measurement of the positions of heavenly bodies in relation to the time-honored astronomical coordinates4 ,by the late #ahth century telescopes were found serving three relatively distinct purposes3 the increased magnification of the sky in general 7in which use ,herschel's #dh-;inch reflector had made all others obsolete73 the more precise measurement of planetary and stellar positions 7and1 conversely1 of the ,earth's shape7 by means of the quadrant1 vertical circle1 zenith sector1 and similar instruments2 and the simple edification of the educated but not learned classes1 who wished not only to see what the astronomer saw1 but to have an instrument also useful for looking occasionally at interesting objects on earth4 ,of these three purposes the second was the most unimpeachably scientific4 ,it is remarkable that the earliest ,american-made telescopes of which we have knowledge were made for this purpose and not for the mere gratification of the curiosity of the educated layman4 ,these are the telescopes of the remarkable ,philadelphia mechanic1 ,david ,rittenhouse 7#agcb-if74 ,in an atmosphere not unlike the intellectual democracy that characterized the formation of the ,royal ,society a century earlier in ,london1 ,rittenhouse began as a clockmaker and ended as president of the ,american ,philosophical ,society1 our counterpart of the ,royal ,society1 in ,philadelphia4 ,he demonstrated not merely that an instrument-maker was capable of being a scientist1 but also that the work of the instrument-maker1 as it had developed by the late #ahth century1 was in itself scientific work4 ,one of several observers assigned by the ,society to the observation of the transit of ,venus in #agfi1 he constructed instruments of the most advanced types1 apparently employing ,european lenses1 and used the instruments himself4 ,of these1 a #a-;inch refractor mounted as a transit instrument stands in the hall of the ,philosophical ,society4 ,it is probably the oldest extant ,american-made telescope4 ,rittenhouse made other telescopes which survive1 notably two zenith sectors now in the ,u4,s4 ,national ,museum of the ,smithsonian ,institution1#b but he does not appear to have made them for commercial sale4 ,in the history of telescope-making in ,america he seems to have been something of a 8sport40 ,not only were the instruments which still grace the desks of ,washington1 ,jefferson1 and others1 of ,european manufacture1 but the earliest observatories in the ,united ,states 7eleven between #aghf and #ahdj7 were outfitted exclusively 7except for the ,rittenhouse observatory7 with ,european instruments4#c ,in its endeavor to establish a permanent observatory even ,rittenhouse's own ,philosophical ,society seems to have thought exclusively in terms of instruments of ,european manufacture4 ,it must therefore have required some courage for ,amasa ,holcomb1 #dc-year-old ,massachusetts surveyor1 to approach ,professor ,silliman of ,yale in #ahcj with a telescope of his own construction4 ,in the autobiography printed here1 ,holcomb states that all the telescopes used in this country before #ahcc had been obtained in ,europe1 and indicates that thereafter 8the whole market was in his hands during thirteen years10 a period which would fall1 apparently1 between #ahcc and #ahde4 ,it should be mentioned1 although it is no conclusive negation of ,holcomb's claim1 that the ,new ,york instrument-maker ,richard ,patten in #ahcj built a telescopic theodolite that was designed by ,ferdinand ,hassler for use on the ,wilkes ,expedition1 and was subsequently used at the observatory of the ,navy's 8,depot of ,charts and ,instruments0 in ,washington4#d ,we do not know the source of ,patten's lenses4 ,holcomb would appear to have succeeded as a commercial maker of telescopes4 ,he claims to have sold his instruments 8in almost every state in the ,union10 and also abroad1 but we know nothing of what use was made of any of them4 ,the telescope he showed ,professor ,silliman was a refractor4 ,another1 preserved in the ,smithsonian ,institution1#e is like ,rittenhouse's #agfi instrument1 a transit4 ,but ,holcomb seems to have specialized in reflectors of the ,herschelean type1 i4e41 instruments1 in which the image is viewed through an eye-piece located at the mouth of the tube4 ,it is probably reasonable to doubt that the serious astronomer of this period shared ,holcomb's enthusiasm for this type of difficult-to-adjust instrument in the small sizes he produced 7#aj-;inches is the largest reported74 ,in #ahcd1 #ahce1 and #ahcf he presented instruments of this type to the ,franklin ,institute in ,philadelphia1 where committees compared them with the best available ,european refractors and found them more than adequate4 ,one of ,holcomb's instruments of #ahce1 apparently his only surviving reflector1 is now in the ,smithsonian ,institution 7see appendix1 p4 #ahd74 ,toward #ahde1 ,holcomb tells us1 8one after another went into the business10 and indeed they did4 ,at the ,american ,institute ,fair in ,new ,york that year a gold medal was given ,henry ,fitz 8for the best achromatic telescope40 ,in ,cambridge1 ,massachusetts1 ,alvan ,clark is supposed to have already taken up the hobby of lens and mirror making4 ,and in ,mc,keesport1 ,pennsylvania1 an amateur telescope-maker now known only as 8,squire ,wampler0 made a small achromatic refractor which he demonstrated in #ahdi to a #i-year-old boy named ,john ,brashear1 of whom more later4 ,some of ,holcomb's telescopes must have come to the attention of ,henry ,fitz during his wide travels as a locksmith after #ahcj1 if1 as is reported1 he was at that time pursuing his avocational interest in astronomy4 ,it is interesting to note that both ,holcomb and ,fitz seem to have pursued feverishly the new photographic process of ,daguerre in #ahci1 the former near the end of his career as a telescope-maker1 the latter near the beginning of his4 ,the decade before #ahde1 when 8one after another went into the business10 seems to have been marked by the flowering of observational astronomy in the ,united ,states4 ,the professional work of the ,navy's ,depot of ,charts and ,instruments 7forerunner of the ,naval ,observatory7 began about #ahch4 ,in #ahdd the first instrument larger than #f inches came to this country1 an #aa-;inch refractor for the ,cincinnati ,observatory4 ,the ,bonds established what was to be the ,harvard ,observatory in #ahci1 and by #ahdg ,harvard had obtained its famous #ae-;inch refractor from ,merz and ,mabler4#f ,fitz was to have a more sophisticated market than had ,holcomb4 ,despite the glowing recommendations of the ,franklin ,institute committee1#g no actual use of ,holcomb's instruments by astronomers has come to light4 ,we may owe to the rapid progress of ,american astronomy after #ahdj the fact that we have evidence of a more distinguished history for some of ,fitz's instruments4 ,it will also be recalled that ,holcomb specialized in ,herschelian reflectors4 ,fitz1 on the other hand1 made few reflectors4 ,he specialized in achromatic telescopes mounted equatorially1 the type of instrument which was in greatest demand among professional astronomers at the time4 ,some of ,fitz's instruments had individual histories and were associated with important events in astronomy4 ,one was taken in #ahdi on the ,chilean astronomical expedition of ,lieut4 ,james ,m4 ,gilliss4 ,another was used by ,l4 ,m4 ,rutherfurd in his epochal astronomical photography at ,columbia ,university4 ,one1 made for the ,allegheny ,observatory1 is still in use at that institution4 ,it appears from his account book that ,fitz made many telescopes1 and some have turned up in strange places4 ,the lens of one of his refractors was located a few years ago in ,south ,carolina1 in use as substitute for the lens in an automobile headlamp6#h ,at an eastern university in #aieh the writer saw another of his refractors incorporated into apparatus used in graduate student experimentation4 ,among the others who began telescope-making about #ahde was the portrait painter who was to become one of the world's foremost telescope-makers1 ,alvan ,clark4 ,clark is supposed to have become first interested in lens and mirror making about #ahdd1 and1 as a resident of ,cambridge1 ,mass41 to have been inspired three years later by the great #ae-;inch refractor installed at ,harvard4 ,his first encouragement came from the ,british astronomer ,w4 ,r4 ,dawes1 with whom he had a correspondence on their respective observations and to whom he sold a #g inch refractor in #ahea4 ,the following year he established1 with his sons1 the firm of ,alvan ,clark and ,sons1 a name which was later to become one of the most famous in the field of telescope making4 ,whereas ,holcomb had demonstrated that telescopes could be made in this country1 and ,fitz that ,american instruments were adequate to the needs of the professional astronomer1 ,clark was to prove that ,american instruments could compete commercially with the finest made in ,europe4 ,in #ahfb ,alvan ,clark and ,sons completed an #ah-;inch refractor which was long to serve the ,dearborn ,observatory4 ,it is now in the ,adler ,planetarium4 ,the famous ,lick ,observatory #cf-;inch refractor was completed in #ahhg1 the year of ,clark's death1 and his sons went on to build the #dj-;inch ,yerkes refractor1 7#ahig7 still the largest refractor ever built4 ,it is no reflection on ,clark to note that he was more fortunate than ,fitz1 in his longer life1 his association with ,warner and ,swasey in the construction of mountings1 and in the continuity given to his work by his sons4 ,let us return for a moment to the #ahdj's and ,john ,brashear1 the #i-year-old ,pennsylvania boy who1 was given his first opportunity of looking through a small refractor telescope by its maker1 ,squire ,wampler of ,mc,keesport4 ,brashear became a professional machinist1 but retained an interest in astronomy which led him to make a #e-;inch achromatic refractor in #ahgb and subsequently to show the instrument to ,samuel ,pierpont ,langley1#i then director of the ,allegheny ,observatory4 ,with ,langley's encouragement ,brashear went on to construct a #ab-;inch reflector and in #ahhj decided to make a business of telescope-making4 ,he subsequently made1 among other telescopes1 a #cj-;inch refractor in #aijf for the ,allegheny ,observatory and in #aiah a #gb-;inch reflector1 at ,victoria1 ,british ,columbia4 ,brashear's greatest fame1 however1 came from his accessory instruments--spectroscopes and the like4 ,not the least thrilling aspect of the story of the spectacular ascendancy of ,american-made telescopes is the story of their financing--of the big-telescope era in ,american philanthropy and the financial giants 7,lick1 ,hooker1 ,thaw1 ,yerkes1 and others7 who peopled it4 ,in the biography of our third telescope-maker1 ,john ,peate1 we see at once the persistence of the amateur and the difficulty of his position at the end of the #aith century4 ,peate1 too1 may have acquired his interest in astronomy during the years just before #ahde4 ,it has been surmised that he was inspired by the sensation created by the comet of #ahdc1 but it is more likely that his interest resulted from visits to ,european observatories while he was on a walking tour in #ahei4 ,unlike our other amateurs1 he did not change his profession 7he was a ,methodist minister71 being certainly at less liberty to do so1 but he adapted his hobby to it in an interesting way4 ,peate was something of a poor man's philanthropist1 and his fame would have been no greater than that role customarily brings had he not undertaken in #ahic the astonishingly audacious project of making the largest glass reflector that had ever been built4 ,in this project he assumes1 like his ,english contemporary ,a4 ,a4 ,common1 a position intermediate between the makers of giant metallic specula1 ,herschel and ,rosse1 and the makers of the ,california glass reflectors of the #bjth century4#aj ,in a professional telescope-maker of the end of the #aith century1 ,peate's accomplishment would have been remarkable4 ,in an amateur it is amazing4 ,it detracts nothing from ,peate to reveal1 as does the sketch printed here1 that the accolade which this project deserves 7but has never received7 belongs in part to ,george ,howard and the ,standard ,plate ,glass ,company4 ,his example and theirs encourage us to hope that the day of the amateur in science may not be at an end4 ,i4 ,amasa ,holcomb1 #aghg-ahge ,amasa ,holcomb was born in #aghg1 the year ,john ,fitch demonstrated his steamboat before the ,constitutional ,convention assembled at ,philadelphia1 and three years before the death of ,benjamin ,franklin4 ,two of ,holcomb's telescopes remained in the attic of the family home in ,southwick1 ,massachusetts1 until #aicc1 when they were offered by his descendants to the ,smithsonian ,institution4#aa ,with them came a manuscript book of meteorological and astronomical notes1 and the following short sketch of the life of ,holcomb1 unsigned but almost certainly autobiographical4 ,it appears to have been written when the subject was about #hj years old 7#ahfg74 ,the subject of this notice was born ,june #ah1 #aghg4 ,the place was ,simsbury ,connecticut previous to #agfh4 ,that year ,simsbury was divided and his birth place fell in ,granby ,con4 that being the name of the new town4 ,it remained so until #ahjd when the line between ,connecticut and ,massachusetts was moved further south and his birth place fell in ,southwick ,massachusetts4 ,the house was about a quarter of a mile north of the new state line1 and on a road about half a mile west of the main road from ,westfield to ,simsbury and ,hartford4 ,here his father and mother lived and died1 having lived in three different towns and two different states without changing the place of their residence4 ,here ,amasa was born and past his early youth4 ,his grand father and grand mother on his fathers side lived and died in a house about thirty rods further south1 on the same road4 ,his grandfather's name was ,elijah1 and was a son of ,nathaniel ,holcomb #c;d1 and married ,violet ,cornish of ,simsbury ,con4 daughter of ,capt4 ,james ,cornish4 ,his fathers name was ,elijah ,holcomb ,junr4 ,he was a farmer and cooper4 ,in the latter part of his life his father became involved in debt1 and mortgaged the farm4 ,his son ,amasa paid the debt and the father ,elijah ,holcomb ,junr occupied the farm until he died ,oct #eth #ahda4 ,the grandfather on the mothers side was ,silas ,holcomb a son of ,judah ,holcomb #ast and grandson of ,nathanial ,holcomb #b;d4 ,he lived in the northwest part of ,granby1 near ,hartland line1 where he owned a large farm and beautiful home4 ,he kept a park for deer and cultivated fruit1 and made raisins4 ,he married ,mary ,post of ,hebron ,connecticut1 and in this beautiful place they lived and died4 ,there ,lucy ,holcomb the mother of ,amasa was born in #agfg4 ,during her short life1 she was one of the excellent ones of the earth1 and labored for the welfare of her children by instruction and example1 until she died ,august #ca #ahjj4 ,in a very hot day in #agig1 she attempted to get some cattle out a field of wheat4 ,the men were at work in a distant field1 too far off to know about it4 ,she became heated1 and never recovered1 though she lived three years4 ,during the last year of her life she became so reduced1 that for a long while she could not speak a loud word1 but she could and did whisper some good advice to her children4 ,her son ,amasa never forgot it1 and he always remembered his mother with affection and gratitude4 ,she had two sisters but no brother4 ,the house where she was born is still standing1 but has passed out of the family4 ,the house where his father and mother lived and died#ab spent their married life1 and where he was born1 has been taken down1 and a new house built on the same place by his brother ,newton ,holcomb who now owns the old home stead4 ,here ,amasa spent his early youth and school days4 ,there was not a schoolhouse in the district where he lived1 until he was past having any use for a common school4 ,the schools were kept in dwelling houses1 one part was occupied by the family1 and the other part by the school4 ,in these schools were taught1 reading1 spelling1 writing and the first rules of arithmetic4 ,in some of them a little ,english grammar was taught4 ,climena ,holcomb1 ,lois ,gains1 ,bethuel ,barber1 ,samuel ,frasier1 and ,james ,l4 ,adair1 in the order in which they are named1 were his teachers4 ,at the age of fifteen he was asked to take a school in ,suffield ,connecticut4 ,he was inspected and passed and took the school4 ,a large portion of the pupils were older and stouter than he was1 but they had the good sense to submit to be governed and taught1 and good progress was made4 ,but before this a great impulse had been given to his mind4 ,he had an uncle ,abijah ,holcomb that went to sea about #agih and never returned4 ,abijah had fitted for college and left a valuable collection of books4 ,some of them were classical1 and some scientific4 ,here he found books on ,geometry1 ,navigation1 and astronomy4 ,amasa had free access to these books1 and they opened a brighter world before him4 ,he went into these studies with great pleasure1 and a mind fully awake1 but alone4 ,none of these branches were taught in any school to which he had access4 ,he had so far progressed without help1 in ,geometry1 ,surveying1 navigation1 ,optics and ,astronomy1 that at the great ,solar eclipse in ,june #ahjf he could make astronomical computations1 and was prepared to observe the eclipse with instruments of his own making4 ,the stars were visible during about four minutes of total darkness4 ,he computed1 and published1 an almanac for the next year #ahjg1 and also for the year #ahjh4 ,he went into the business of surveying land about this time4 ,he loved to climb the mountains1 and enjoyed fine health4 ,in the year #ahjh he married ,miss ,gillet ,kendall1 a daughter of ,noadiah ,kendall of ,granby ,connecticut4 ,she was one of the best of women1 and had no enemies1 but was beloved by every body who was acquainted with her4 ,for a while he took students into his own house1 and taught them such branches as each one had engaged to be instructed in4 ,julius ,m4 ,coy of ,suffield1 studied surveying--,levi ---- also from ,suffield studied ,navigation1 and soon went to sea1 and after a while commanded a vessel4 ,benoni ,b4 ,bacon of ,simsbury1 studied ,surveying and astronomy1 ,joseph ,w4 ,king of ,suffield1 studied surveying--,henry ,merwin of ,granby studied ,surveying1 ,jefferson ,cooley1 a graduate of ,yale ,college1 studied surveying and civil engineering4 ,he had also students from ,granville ,mass4 ,but the school interfered with his other business1 and he discontinued it4 ,he manufactured about this time a good many sets of surveyors instruments--compasses1 chains1 scales1 protractors1 and dividers1 some for his pupils and some for others4 ,he also manufactured1 magnets1 electrical machines1 leveling instruments1 and some others4 ,he was greatly attached to the business of surveying1 and had more applications than he could attend to4 ,he was compelled to leave it in #ahbe1 and go into the business of civil engineering1 which also in a few years1 gave way for the business of manufacturing telescopes4 ,at the commencement1 he never thought of its ever becoming a business of profit4 ,about the year #ahcj he had completed an achromatic telescope1 which he took to ,new ,haven1 and asked ,prof4 ,benjamin ,silliman to look at it4 ,he did so1 and at once took an interest in it1 and published a notice of it in the ,american ,journal of science1 of which he was editor4 ,he manufactured principally ,reflecting telescopes1 of the ,herschelian kind4 ,about the year #ahcc1 he began to have orders for telescopes4 ,among these orders was one from ,william ,j4 ,young1 a celebrated ,philosophical instrument maker of ,philadelphia1 who wanted two small diagonal metallic reflectors for two ,transit instruments that he was making4 ,mr ,holcomb made the articles wanted1 and thought he would take them and a telescope and visit ,philadelphia4 ,mr ,young introduced him to the late ,sears ,c4 ,walker1 and ,mr ,walker introduced him to ,mr ,hamilton1 ,actuary of the ,franklin ,institute of the ,state of ,pennsylvania1 and the ,actuary appointed a committee to examine the telescope4 ,he selected the committee from the standing committee on ,science and the ,arts of the ,institute4 ,mr ,patterson of the ,mint1 ,alexander ,d4 ,bach superintendent of the ,coast survey1 ,dr ,robert ,hare the chemist1 ,james ,p4 ,espey1 ,sears ,c4 ,walker1 ,isiah ,t4 ,lukens and some others4 ,these were among the first scientific men of ,america4 ,the committee examined the telescope1 and compared it with others of ,european manufacture4 ,the ,report of that committee may be found in the ,journal of the ,franklin ,institute ,vol4 #ad p4 #afi4 ,the next year #ahce he took a larger telescope to ,philadelphia1 and offered it to the same committee for examination and comparison with ,european telescopes4 ,that ,report may be found in the ,journal of the ,franklin ,institute ,vol #af p4 #aa4 ,the next year #ahcf he presented a ,telescope #ad feet long to the same committee4 ,their report may be found in the ,journal of the ,franklin ,institute ,vol4 #ah p4 #cab4 ,these ,reports furnish the best information in regard to the performance of these telescopes4 ,the committee gave them a high character1 and they were sold in almost every state in the ,union4 ,one went to ,seramp in the ,east indies1 and one to one of the ,sandwich islands in the ,pacific ocean4 ,while he was pursuing his labors as ,engineer1 and manufacturing ,telescopes1 and other instruments1 in #ahci the news reached this country from ,paris1 of ,daguerre's great discovery of taking pictures on silver plates by solar light4 ,the discoverer had not then succeeded in taking likenesses from life4 ,holcombe immediately commenced experimenting and soon succeeded in taking portraits1 on silver plates1 made sensitive to light by ,iodine4 ,there was soon a great demand for instruments to take portraits4 ,he had for a considerable time as much as he could do to supply the applications he received for these instruments1 from #ahci to #ahde4 ,as the calls for these instruments lessened he continued the manufacture of telescopes4 ,he was the first that sold a telescope of ,american manufacture4 ,all the telescopes used in this country before #ahcc1 had been obtained in ,europe4 ,it had been said that they could not be made in this country4 ,he had been greatly assisted in his sales1 by the influence and recommendation of scientific men4 ,it was soon discovered that telescopes could be made in ,america and about #ahde1 one after another went into the business1 and there is now no further need of going to ,europe for telescopes1 as good ones can be made in the ,united ,states as can be made in ,europe4 ,the whole market was in his hands during thirteen years4 ,during this time the business was good and paid well4 ,the competition afterward reduced the profit4 ,in #ahaf he was chosen select man and assessor in his own town1 which office he held during four successive years1 and held the office occasionally by subsequent elections4 ,in #ahcb he was chosen to represent the town in the ,legislature of ,mass and he was reelected three successive terms4 ,in #aheb he was elected to the ,state senate4 ,in #ahcc he was appointed a ,justice of the ,peace for the county of ,hampden1 which office he has held every year since1 and his last commission does not expire until ,may #ahge1 at which time1 if he should live to see it1 he will be but a few days less than #hh years old4 ,in #ahcg he received from ,williams ,college the ,honorary degree of ,a4,m4 ,in #ahca he was ordained a minister in the ,methodist ,episcopal church4 ,he preached constantly on the sabbath during many years1 and afterward occasionally until he was eighty years old4 ,illustration3 ,,figure #a4--,page from manuscript sketch of the life of ,amasa ,holcomb1 now in the collections of the ,u4,s4 ,national ,museum4 ,illustration3 ,,figure #b4--;,herschelian reflecting telescope 7,,usnm #cajeih7 built by ,amasa ,holcomb and shown by him at the ,franklin ,institute1 ,philadelphia1 in #ahce4 ,the ,institute's report of the demonstration is given in the appendix 7p4 #ahb74 7,smithsonian photo #aajjj-;a7 ,illustration3 ,,figure #c4--;,eyepiece and tripod head of the ,holcomb reflecting telescope shown in figure #b4 7,smithsonian photo #aajjj7 ,illustration3 ,,figure #d4--,transit telescope 7,,usnm #cajeii7 made by ,amasa ,holcomb4 ,the aperture is #a inches1 length #ba inches1 and axis #ad inches4 ,it lacks the original support4 7,smithsonian photo #dcdgb-;c7 ,,ii4 ,henry ,fitz1 #ahjh-ahfc ,julia ,fitz ,howell ,henry ,fitz died suddenly through an accident in #ahfc1 when he was in his #eeth year4 ,his widow closed his shop in ,new ,york ,city and moved the equipment to ,southold1 ,long ,island1 where it was used by his son to complete certain contracts in progress4 ,thereafter it remained essentially as it was until nearly the present time1 when the shop was offered to the ,u4,s4 ,national ,museum of the ,smithsonian ,institution by ,mrs4 ,julia ,fitz ,howell1 granddaughter of ,fitz4 ,the decision to construct a new ,museum of ,history and ,technology made it possible to accept this generous offer1 and the complicated project of transferring the shop and reassembling it was accomplished in #aieg through the assistance of ,mr4 ,l4 ,c4 ,eichner4#ac ,although a few duplicate items were eliminated1 the shop is essentially complete1 including such items as ,fitz's account books1 the small rouge box he used to polish lenses in the course of a walk1 and his door key4 ,through the assistance of ,mr4 ,eichner and ,mr4 ,arthur ,v4 ,a4 ,fitz the ,smithsonian has obtained a comet-seeker telescope and ,fitz's first instrument1 a small draw telescope4 ,the following biographical sketch was written by ,mrs4 ,howell on the basis of papers in the possession of the family4 ,henry ,fitz1 inventor and telescope maker1 was born in ,newburyport1 ,massachusetts1 on ,december #ca1 #ahjh4 ,little is known of his mother1 ,susan ,page ,fitz1 except that she was probably of ,scottish ancestry4 ,his father1 ,henry ,fitz1 ,sr41 was a hatter by trade and the youngest son of ,mark ,fitz1 who for several years represented his city in the ,massachusetts ,general ,court4 ,illustration3 ,,figure #e4--,the telescope-maker's shop of ,henry ,fitz as reconstructed in the ,u4,s4 ,national ,museum4 7,smithsonian photo #dfede7 ,newburyport was then a prosperous and fast growing maritime community and the ,fitzes1 though not among its wealthy citizens1 were a public spirited and reasonably prosperous family4 ,as in other sections of ,new ,england1 the ,war of #ahab made great changes in this pleasing picture4 ,the town's shipping and ship-building had been brought almost to a standstill and all its business suffered disastrously4 ,after the war recovery was very slow4 ,since few needed or could afford new beaver hats1 ,henry ,fitz in #ahai took his wife and three small children first to ,albany1 ,new ,york1 where he worked at his trade for awhile1 and later to ,new ,york ,city4 ,to young ,henry1 aged eleven1 ,new ,york was an exciting and stimulating place and he watched all its activities with eager interest4 ,the father found the city stimulating in a different way4 ,an enthusiastic ,universalist1 he met in ,new ,york many persons with similar leanings4 ,he soon established a religious weekly1 ,the ,gospel ,herald1 which he edited for several years4 ,it is therefore not surprising that young ,henry was set to learning the printer's trade1 but although he rapidly became skilled1 he didn't especially like the trade4 ,what he most enjoyed about it was tinkering with the machinery of the shop4 ,in this his mechanical ability soon became evident4 ,when his father relinquished his editorship1 ,henry1 then nineteen1 gladly turned to different work4 ,he chose locksmithing1 which he learned speedily and well in the shop of ,william ,day of ,new ,york4 ,the years #ahcj to #ahci found him travelling between ,new ,york1 ,philadelphia1 ,baltimore1 and ,new ,orleans1 following the activities of the building trades and trying by long hours and austere living to save money for a locksmith shop of his own4 ,for the sake of both health and pocketbook1 he never rode if he could walk1 neither drank nor smoked1 ate little meat1 and lived chiefly on graham bread and water4 ,illustration3 ,,figure #f4--;,henry ,fitz1 from a photograph in the collections of the ,u4,s4 ,national ,museum4 7,smithsonian photo #ddeid-;b7 ,evenings were spent in reading1 study1 and the pursuit of hobbies1 chief of which was astronomy4 ,his diaries and letters of this period show him buying telescopes and lenses and carrying them with him on his travels4 ,he first made a telescope in #ahch1 a reflector1 with which he delighted to show the stars and planets to his friends4 ,the well-known ,reverend ,clapp of ,new ,orleans referred to him in a public address as 8the young locksmith who knew more about the heavenly bodies than anyone else in the ,united ,states40 ,henry was pleased with this compliment1 even while deprecating the enthusiasm which prompted it4 ,illustration3 ,,figure #g4--;,certificate of award to ,henry ,fitz1 ,jr41 by the ,american ,institute1 #aheb1 8,for the best achromatic telescope40 7,smithsonian photo #dfhae-;a7 ,illustration3 ,,figure #h4--;,advertisement of ,henry ,fitz1 about #ahej4 7,smithsonian photo #ddeid-;a7 ,illustration3 ,,figure #i4--,refracting telescope1 comet seeker1 7,,usnm #cagjbg7 by ,henry ,fitz1 #h-;inch aperture1 #fa-;inch tube1 fitted for equatorial mounting4 ,the stand is lacking4 7,smithsonian photo #dfhae7 ,although he saved money1 his work did not bring him the financial or other rewards that he had hoped for4 ,in spring of #ahci he appears to have worked as a speculum maker with ,wolcott and others--one of them may have been his acquaintance ,john ,johnson--and to have read of ,daguerre's work in photography4 ,to learn more of these experiments1 as well as to inquire into optics and optical glass1 he sailed to ,europe in ,august of that year1 taking passage by steerage4 ,he returned to ,new ,york in ,november #ahci and in that month1 according to the testimony of his son ,harry1 made a portrait with a camera invented by ,wolcott4 ,this camera portrait he believed to be the first ever made4 ,in #ahdj1 after more experimenting1 he set up a studio in ,baltimore1 where his father was then living1 and spent several years there 8taking likenesses40 ,at the same time he continued to work with telescopes and lenses4 ,his first refractors were built there1 instruments he later referred to as crude affairs4 ,while in ,baltimore he took a step which marks the beginning of the final phase of his career4 ,in ,june #ahdd he married ,julia ,ann ,wells of ,southold1 ,long ,island1 whom he had known for about a decade and with whom he had long corresponded4 ,julia was a woman of unusual ability and personality1 less scientific than he but more literary and artistic1 and no less intelligent4 ,with her to encourage him1 he continued his experiments in telescope building4 ,a year after their marriage they moved to ,new ,york1 where he was to spend the remainder of his life4 ,that summer he prepared a #f-;inch refracting telescope for exhibition at the ,fair of the ,american ,institute1 held annually in ,new ,york4 ,this carefully constructed instrument1 with its ingenious tripod and its achromatic objective--which he had made himself1 correcting the curves by a process of his own invention--won the highest award of the ,fair1 a gold medal4 ,it was the first of many such medals he was to earn4 ,his telescope also received favorable notice from scientists and astronomers1 among them ,lewis ,m4 ,rutherfurd1 a wealthy ,new ,yorker and trustee of ,columbia ,college4 ,rutherfurd immediately ordered a #d-;inch refractor for his own observatory4 ,his interest and example soon brought orders from others4 ,from this time on1 ,henry ,fitz devoted most of his energies to building telescopes4 ,cameras were not altogether abandoned4 ,he continued to make them and to instruct others in their use4 ,he invented a camera lens that was patented posthumously4 ,he was one of the founders of the ,american ,photographical ,society and remained interested in it all his life4 ,but from #ahde on1 cameras became secondary2 he built them between telescope orders4 ,illustration3 ,,figure #aj4--;,henry ,fitz made this #ac-;inch equatorial refractor in #ahfa for the ,allegheny ,observatory4 ,it is still in use4 ,the ,university of ,michigan has in use a ,fitz refractor of similar size4 7,photo courtesy ,allegheny ,observatory7 ,during the years that followed he constantly improved the quality of his lenses and the accuracy and speed with which he could 8execute the true curves10 as he expressed it4 ,he used better and better glass4 ,in his early experiments he had taken what came to hand--ordinary tumbler bottoms1 for instance4 ,in his #ahde prize winner he combined ,boston-made flint with ,french plate glass4 ,but the ,boston flint proved too veiny for any but small lenses and he soon was importing both crown and flint4 ,he designed and built machines1 run by foot power1 on which he could train employees to do much of the labor of lens making1 always reserving the final polishing for himself4 ,he increased the size as well as the quality of his lenses4 ,by #ahef1 he was making #ab-;inch refractors1 which according to ,prof4 ,loomis1 were as large as any that had then been made in ,munich4 ,he built later1 still larger ones1 of which one was a #af-;inch instrument made for ,mr4 ,van ,duzee of ,buffalo4 ,it was his ambition to make a #bd-;inch one1 but this project1 for which he had made careful plans1 he did not live to complete4 ,one of his early successes was a #c-;inch telescope for the ,government of ,haiti4 ,by a happy accident the objective for this instrument proved to be exceptionally fine and provided a standard which he tried to meet in all his work4 ,the telescopes of ,european opticians became another measuring stick4 ,it was a matter of both personal and patriotic pride to him that he1 an ,american locksmith untrained in optics1 had been able to invent his own process for making so complex and difficult a thing as an achromatic lens1 and that he was able to manufacture telescopes to compete with those of ,european make4 ,he sometimes contracted to make a telescope equal in performance to an imported one of similar size1 usually at a lower price4 ,the #f-;inch telescope made in #ahdi for ,lt4 ,j4 ,m4 ,gilliss to use on an astronomical expedition to ,chile passed such a test and greatly enhanced ,henry ,fitz's reputation4 ,another that met such a test was the #ac-;inch instrument made for the ,allegheny ,association at ,pittsburgh in #ahfa4 ,his telescopes were procured by private observatories not already mentioned1 among them that of ,van ,arsdale1 in ,newark1 and of ,campbell1 in ,new ,york4 ,for ,rutherfurd he made several1 including a #i- and a #ab-;inch instrument4 ,the latter is now at ,columbia ,university4 ,among the telescopes made for colleges were a #ab-;inch one for ,vassar and another for the ,university of ,michigan4 ,besides these and other important instruments he made many of smaller size--#d1 #e1 #f1 and #h inches4 ,most of the time1 he was handicapped by lack of capital with which to develop his business4 ,the savings from locksmithing days he had1 on his father's advice1 invested in ,baltimore real estate1 but found it difficult to raise cash on this property when he needed it4 ,with the many orders that came in1 this situation gradually improved1 though he always continued to supervise all phases of the process and to work #ab to #af hours a day himself4 ,as soon as his eldest son1 ,harry1 was old enough1 he taught him all he knew4 ,the boy proved an apt pupil and a great help4 ,by #ahfc ,henry ,fitz felt secure enough to give up renting1 and had a house built for his family and business in #aath ,street1 not many blocks from his friend and patron1 ,mr4 ,rutherfurd4 ,plans for the future looked bright4 ,however1 the family had hardly moved into the new home when disaster befell4 ,a heavy chandelier fell on the master of the house1 causing injuries which in a few days proved fatal4 ,henry ,fitz died on ,october #ca1 #ahfc1 at the height of his career1 leaving to carry on his work a widow and six children1 the oldest a girl of eighteen1 the youngest an infant4 ,his son ,harry1 not yet seventeen1 was able satisfactorily to fulfill the outstanding contracts4 ,in this he had the backing and advice of ,mr4 ,rutherfurd4 ,in fact1 ,harry continued the business1 though on a smaller scale1 for some twenty years4 ,eventually he became a teacher of drawing1 pursuing this occupation for over forty years more4 ,as soon as possible the widow1 ,julia ,ann ,wells ,fitz1 sold the city house and bought a farm in ,peconic1 ,long ,island1 near her birthplace1 where she managed to raise her family4 ,all the children showed marked ability4 ,louise1 the only daughter1 married ,silas ,overton of ,peconic1 and used her talents in home and community4 ,the second son1 ,benjamin1 became a noted painter before his early death in #ahij4 ,robert's reputation as a fine mechanic was county-wide4 ,charles was a prominent business and civic leader in ,suffolk ,county4 ,george became a physician and inventor and was for a time ,professor at ,harvard4 ,all married1 and there are now living in the ,united ,states about fifty descendants of ,henry ,fitz1 telescope maker4 ,a number of his instruments1 though made a century ago1 are still in use4 ,,iii4 ,john ,peate1 #ahbj-aijc ,f4 ,w4 ,preston and ,william ,j4 ,mc,grath1 ,jr4 ,although ,john ,peate was born when ,holcomb was only #cc1 and before that pioneer telescope-maker had produced his first instrument1 he lived well into the time when ,american telescope-making had come of age4 ,before ,peate's death ,george ,ellery ,hale had begun his career as a promoter of large telescopes2 indeed1 the ,yerkes #dj-;inch refractor was completed a year prior to ,peate's delivery of his own magnum opus1 a #fb-;inch reflector1 to ,the ,american ,university4 ,for #cd years the ,university sought funds to finance the installation of this mirror1 until it finally became obsolete as a result of advances in the technology of glass mirror making4 ,in #aicd it was sent by the ,american ,university to the ,smithsonian ,institution4 ,about this time ,dr4 ,f4 ,w4 ,preston undertook the difficult task of reconstructing ,peate's career and particularly the story of the great mirror4 ,his results were published in the ,bulletin of the ,american ,ceramic ,society in #aicf4 ,with the gracious permission of ,dr4 ,preston and the ,bulletin1 this article has been condensed1 and augmented1 for publication here by ,william ,j4 ,mc,grath1 ,jr41 of the ,united ,states ,national ,museum staff4 ,john ,peate1 bricklayer1 ,methodist minister1 and amateur extraordinary in the art of telescope making1 was the first born of ,thomas and ,mary ,peate4#ad ,he was born on ,may #f1 #ahbj1 in the small northern ,irish town of ,drumskelt4 ,when ,john was seven1 his father1 a mason1 emigrated to ,quebec1 ,canada1 the first of several moves to cities in ,canada and the ,united ,states1 terminating in #ahcf in ,buffalo1 ,new ,york1 where the father was to spend the last seven years of his life4#ae ,nothing is known of the circumstances of ,john's life during these early years1 nor of his education4 ,in #ahcf1 at the age of #af1 he entered his father's trade as an apprentice bricklayer4 ,he worked at this trade for about sixteen years1 apparently intermittently1 for he seems to have been a student at ,oberlin ,college part of the time between #ahdb and #ahde4af ,in the latter year he married ,mary ,elizabeth ,tilden of ,buffalo4 ,peate's career as a bricklayer ended in #ahea1 when he became a full-time minister1 having been converted to his mother's religion4 ,this came about in consequence of his attendance1 when he was about #bj years old1 at a ,methodist revival4 ,there he was 8converted10 and1 with characteristic energy and enthusiasm1 plunged into his new religion4 ,his attendance at ,oberlin may have been connected with his preparation for the ministry4 ,in any case1 he started to preach in #ahdi1 on trial with the ,methodist ,erie ,conference1 was ordained a deacon in #ahea1 and an elder two years later4 ,from this time until he was made a supernumerary in #ahid he worked full-time as a minister4 ,the mobility which marked his early life was repeated in his ministerial career4 ,including his probationary term he held #ai different appointments in #ad cities and towns in northwestern ,pennsylvania1 northeastern ,ohio1 and southwestern ,new ,york4 ,he was a successful and popular minister1 and is said to have converted some #ejj persons at one revival in ,jamestown1 ,new ,york4 ,j4 ,n4 ,fradenburgh1 historian of the ,erie ,conference1 begins his sketch of ,peate's life with the phrase1 8,who has not heard of ,john ,peate80#ag ,in #ahei ,peate journeyed to ,europe1 visiting ,england and ,ireland1 and making a walking tour of western ,europe and the ,middle ,east4 ,his biographer ,fradenburgh hints that his interest in astronomy was aroused on this trip4 ,in any event1 upon his return home1 he took up the study of the science4 ,his fellow minister1 ,r4 ,n4 ,stubbs reported that 8his library reveals that difficult and abstruse works became his delight40 ,at some point in the perusal of these 8abstruse works10 ,peate decided to concentrate on that basic tool1 the telescope4 ,it is possible that he first made a telescope1 as many amateurs do1 to advance himself in the study of astronomy1 and only after completing it realized that his primary interest lay in the instruments rather than in the theoretical science4 ,his natural aptitude for craftsmanship probably exerted a strong influence in this decision4 ,his first instrument was a #c-;inch refractor which he made and mounted for his own use4 ,this was about #ahgj4 ,he next made either a #f-;inch refractor or a #f-;inch reflector1 or perhaps both4 ,one of these1 if there were two1 was mounted by ,peate for use at ,chautauqua and ,jamestown1 ,new ,york1 and then used in his own observatory at ,greenville4 ,after his death it was taken to ,salina1 ,kansas1 by ,w4 ,f4 ,hoyt1 for a small observatory there4#ah ,thereafter ,peate made reflectors exclusively4 ,it is possible that he was influenced by the treatise on the making of silvered glass reflectors1 by ,dr4 ,henry ,draper1 published by the ,smithsonian ,institution in #ahfe1 a work which led to a great improvement in the construction of reflectors in this country4#ai ,attempts to trace ,peate's mirrors have been singularly inconclusive4 ,a #g-;inch reflector sent to ,india was still in use in #aijc4bj ,a #ab-;inch reflector made for 8,harriman ,university1 ,tennessee10 was evidently mounted1 but no record even of the observatory has been found at the present time #aicf4ba ,a #ae-;inch mirror in a reflector located at ,allegheny ,college in #aice was probably made by ,peate1 although the ,college records do not show its origin1 nor do they mention a #cj4e-;inch mirror which ,peate was making for ,allegheny ,college in #ahia1 according to an article in ,the ,scientific ,american4#bb ,definitely ,peate's was a #bb-;inch reflector found in about #aice1 still in its packing case1 at ,thiel ,college1 ,greenville1 ,pennsylvania4#bc ,altogether1 #aj lenses and mirrors 7sometimes also described as 8lenses07 have been traced4 ,as many as #bj were ascribed to him by some sources at the time of his death4 ,of these only his magnum opus1 the #fb-;inch mirror now in the ,smithsonian ,institution1 can now be found4 ,most of them seem never to have been used1 but this is not necessarily an indication of defects in the instruments4 ,as our consideration of the #fb-;inch mirror will show1 ,peate was a competent maker4 ,nor is it a consequence of his being an amateur4 ,many of the large telescopes in the world in the mid-nineties had lenses and mirrors made by two other ,americans1 ,john ,brashear and ,alvin ,clark1 who1 like ,peate1 entered telescope making as amateurs4#bd ,but they had the fortune to become associated with well known professional astronomers4 ,peate may have erred in presenting his reflectors to institutions unable to finance their installation4 ,perhaps his error was in presenting rather than selling them4 ,we come now to ,dr4 ,peate's greatest mirror1 the #fb-;inch reflector4 ,in ,september #ahic the annual meeting of the ,erie ,conference was held at ,dubois1 ,pennsylvania4 ,this was to be ,dr4 ,peate's last meeting as an active minister4 ,in #ahid he would become a supernumerary1 a position of semiretirement1 after which he would retire4 ,in order to honor the old minister and to mark the opening of a new ,methodist university1 ,american ,university1 at ,washington1 ,d4,c41 it was decided to commission ,peate to make a telescope mirror for the school4 ,this was to be no ordinary reflector but the largest in the world4 ,while the facts surrounding this commission and its accomplishment are astounding in themselves it has inspired an even more remarkable legend1 which1 although rather unjust to the ability and good sense of ,dr4 ,peate1 indicates the impression his hobby had made on his contemporaries4 ,according to this legend1 ,john suddenly realized at the age of seventy-three that he must have something to occupy his time while retired4 ,illustration3 ,,figure #aa4--,standard ,plate ,glass ,company1 ,butler1 ,pennsylvania1 with x marking building where ,peate's #fb-;inch disc was cast4 7,from ,preston1 fig4 #a47 8,what am ,i to do all the rest of my life80 he asked of the presiding officer of the meeting1 ,bishop ,hurst1 who was also chancellor of the newly founded ,university4 8,oh1 study astronomy10 said the ,bishop4 8,make a big telescope lens10 said ,dr4 ,wythe4 ,dr4 ,wythe1 whose doctorate was in medicine1 was a minister well known in the conference as an inventor and technologist4 ,the legend continues that1 urged on by ,wythe1 ,peate announced to the conference1 8,i will make for the new ,university the largest telescope lens in the world1 if you will defray the out of pocket expenses40 8,well1 how big a lens can you make80 asked the ,bishop4 8,oh1 as big as that chart on the wall10 said ,peate4 8,get a rule and measure the chart40 ,the chart was #fb inches across4 8,offer accepted4 ,one #fb-;inch reflecting telescope from ,dr4 ,peate10 ordered the ,bishop4#be ,the minutes of the conference state3#bf ,proposition of ,john ,peate ''' ,john ,peate made a proposition to manufacture a large reflecting lens for the ,university providing material for the same was furnished him ''' a committee of #e was appointed to take the same into consideration4 ,r4 ,n4 ,stubbs1 ,g4 ,h4 ,humason1 ,n4 ,t4 ,arnold1 ,g4 ,p4 ,hukill1 and ,g4 ,b4 ,chase were appointed to that committee4 ,although he was #gc years old ,peate was in good health and had tremendous vitality for one his age4 ,he had already made a number of large mirrors1 so that he could estimate the amount of time and energy he would expend in this work4 ,he knew that if he retained his health for the next few years he could complete it4 ,with his typical planned enthusiasm he started his preparations4 ,he wrote to his usual supplier ,st4 ,gobain of ,france asking the price of a glass blank large enough for a mirror of this size4#bg ,they quoted a price of #ah1jjj--more1 obviously1 than he could afford4 ,he then canvassed the glassmakers of ,pittsburgh1 the center of ,american glassmaking4 ,however1 the ,pittsburgh firms had little experience in optical glass1 especially of this size1 and none would consider making the blank4 ,having been rebuffed in ,pittsburgh1 he approached the ,standard ,plate ,glass ,company of ,butler1 ,pennsylvania4 ,plate glass making1 at least profitable plate glass making1 was new in ,america and the ,standard was one of the newer companies4 ,moreover1 it was reputed one of the best plate glass makers in the country4 ,peate wrote to ,h4 ,c4 ,tilton1 general manager of the plant1 asking him for a disc of glass without bubble or flaw #fb inches in diameter and #g inches thick4 ,he further advised him that he would see him in a few days4 ,tilton's experience and that of his top supervisors was limited to the business of making ordinary plate glass4 ,therefore1 he sought advice as to the feasibility of this fantastic project4 ,he consulted ,george ,howard1 maintenance engineer of the plant1 who had graduated from ,cornell only a year before4 ,george ,howard1 later to become noted as an inventor of glassmaking machinery1 was at this time simply an optimistic young engineer4 8,howard1 here's a man at ,greenville who wants us to cast him a disc #fb inches in diameter and #g inches thick4 ,is that possible80 ,howard calculated the cubical contents of the proposed disc and replied that it was just barely possible4 ,he didn't see any particular difficulty in it4 ,he thought the first few attempts might fail but felt that they could cast it successfully4 ,howard was later to ascribe his success more to his optimism and ignorance1 rather than to any particular innovation he made4 ,after being reassured by ,howard1 ,tilton continued 8,well1 this ,dr4 ,peate is coming down here tomorrow and he wants a quotation4 ,how much do you think we ought to ask80 8,we'll have some special apparatus to make and some experimenting to do4 ,then we'll probably lose two or three pots of glass4 ,i think you'd better ask him #hjj40 ,howard thought that this was plenty4 ,tilton1 however1 was more cautious and doubled the price4 ,peate arrived in ,butler on schedule4 ,when ,tilton named his price1 ,peate1 of course1 agreed instantly4 ,tilton was somewhat shocked and probably would have been more so had he known what ,st4 ,goubain had asked4 ,at any rate the contract was placed with ,standard1 apparently in ,october #ahid4 ,having obtained a maker for his disc ,peate immediately began making arrangements to prepare the disc4 ,he contracted with the machine shop of a ,john ,hodge for the tools with which the mirror would be worked4 ,this small firm1 ,the ,hodge ,manufacturing ,co41 employed only four men besides the owner4 ,among these was ,frank ,a',hearn1 then just a boy1 who became the prime source for details of the tools used by ,peate in this work4 ,starting in ,november #ahid notes such as1 8worked for ,dr4 ,peate #c hours0 begin to appear in his workbook4#bh ,illustration3 ,,figure #ab4--;,hodge's method of cutting the checker grooves4 7,from ,preston1 fig4 #f47 ,the ,hodge company made several 7probably three7 grinding tools for ,peate4 ,one was about #ab inches in diameter1 and was to be used by hand4 ,two of the larger tools were provided with the male member of a ball and socket joint and were to be power driven4 ,they were #cj and #dh inches in diameter1 respectively4 ,the largest was grooved to a waffle-like surface on its convex face4 ,these grooves were about inch wide and #c_/af inch deep4 ,this pattern was ground by placing the tool face up on a wheeled buggy1 which rode on cambered oak rails4 ,as it was pushed along the length of the rail the grinding wheel on the radius arm cut one groove4 ,when the groove had been cut1 the radius arm was moved #b inches along a line shaft and another groove cut4 ,when all the grooves had been cut in one direction the tool was turned #ij degrees on the buggy and the other set of grooves was ground4 ,the grinding of this tool took many weeks1 and making the tools and apparatus for ,peate may have kept ,hodge busy for nearly six months4#bi ,illustration3 ,,figure #ac4--;,face of largest grinding tool made by ,hodge for ,peate4 7,from ,preston1 fig4 #e;b47 ,the history of ,peate's #fb-;inch mirror probably would have remained as obscure as that of his others except for the furor which arose over casting the disc4 ,the ,erie ,conference made no attempt to publicize this project1 and both ,hodge ,manufacturing and ,standard ,plate ,glass accepted ,dr4 ,peate's contracts as somewhat unusual but hardly newsworthy jobs4 ,but when the glass trade became aware of ,standard's intention to cast this disc1 a mighty outcry arose4 ,instead of encouraging ,standard to complete this novel task the ,national ,glass ,budget1 one of the leading trade journals1 reviled them as 8bumpkins0 for attempting something that even the great glassmakers of ,europe would not do4 ,it is hard to imagine why the trade journal so strenuously objected to ,standard's attempt4 ,it has been suggested that it derived from the fact that ,standard ,plate ,glass just previous to that time had refused to join in a combination of ,pittsburgh companies which had set up a glass trust4#cj ,or it is possible that the young industry was afraid that an overly ambitious project doomed to failure might open ,american glassmaking to ,european ridicule and so harm the entire ,american industry4 ,whatever the reason1 the ,budget ridiculed ,standard ,plate ,glass1 and later ,dr4 ,peate1 for the attempt4 ,they argued that it could not be done1 but that if it were possible ,pittsburgh would be the logical place to try it4 ,criticism and unfavorable comment came from other sources also1 including 8university professors from ,meadville0 7evidently ,allegheny ,college74#ca ,nonetheless1 ,standard ,plate ,glass started the project4 ,george ,howard was in charge of the casting operation4 ,he planned to use the glass from a pot regularly used in the routine manufacture of plate glass4 ,however1 certain modifications were introduced in the procedure4 ,the glass was to be poured on the traveling casting table1 upon which was placed a circular mold made up of two semicircles of a special charcoal iron obtained from ,philadelphia4 ,this iron was not apt to generate bubbles of gas when in contact with the molten glass4 ,the iron mold was hinged at one joint of the semicircles1 and the other joint was bolted4 ,after the cast was poured it would be allowed to cool somewhat4 ,when it was judged cool enough1 it would be pushed into a kiln to be annealed4 ,after it had remained in the kiln a certain length of time--again based simply on judgement--a quantity of pre-heated sand was to be poured over the mold as insulation4 ,a further innovation was the use of a zinc sheet placed on the underside of the mold to avoid the possibility of trouble from grease on the casting table4 ,this was the initial plan of operation4 ,sometime early in #ahie the first attempt was made4 ,it was an immediate failure4 ,the zinc sheet1 intended to protect the cast from grease1 volatilized when the molten glass was poured on it1 bubbled up through the glass1 and1 of course1 ruined the cast4 ,the second attempt was evidently made sometime in ,march4 ,the casting itself was successful4 ,sand had been substituted for the zinc sheet4 ,the cast was placed in the kiln1 and when it was thought to be set the insulating sand was poured over it4 ,after a time variously estimated at from #d to #aa days1 the cast was considered sufficiently annealed1 and was examined4 ,when the sand was removed1 the disc was found in fragments4 ,there was also a large concavity in what would have been the face of the disc4 ,the sand had been poured over it before the glass was sufficiently set4 ,however1 the disc had been destroyed by its iron mold4 ,the mold had contracted against the disc1 bending the bolt and deforming the hinges1 and this tremendous pressure had shattered the glass4 ,the next issue of the trade paper jubilantly noted the failures4 ,they also included ,dr4 ,peate in their derision4 ,they said in effect that at least this experience would save the old preacher the waste of many years of time and effort4#cb ,this slur on their most esteemed citizen brought the ,greenville papers into the battle4 ,the ,budget had also made the mistake of implying that any number of ,pittsburgh manufacturers were willing and able to make the disc4 ,john ,morrison1 at that time editor of the ,greenville ,advance ,argus1 and source of much of our information regarding this controversy1 immediately called the bluff of the trade paper1 which was able to supply but one name1 that of a ,george ,a4 ,mc,beth ,company4 ,this firm promptly declined without qualification4 ,later the name of the ,phillips ,semner ,co4 was given1 and this firm guaranteed a perfect disc within #fj days for a 8remunerative price10 but would not state what this price was4#cc ,therefore ,dr4 ,peate could not deal with the firm4 ,although the hue and cry continued for a few more weeks1 the battle was really over1 for ,howard was soon to cast his disc4 ,he had replaced the iron bolts in his mold with bolts of red oak dipped in nitric acid and then charred4 ,the purpose of this was to relieve the strain on the glass by having the wooden pegs break as the mold contracted4 ,the third cast was in the kiln and in process of being annealed when ,howard read in the ,budget an article that set forth the difficulties of successfully casting optical glass4 ,this article was anonymous and was obviously the work of an expert2 it is thought to have been written by ,john ,brashear4#cd ,although ,howard was thoroughly discouraged by this article1 the cast had already been made and no harm could be done now by allowing it to cool and be examined4 ,in ,may #ahie ,howard1 with the workmen1 opened the kiln4 ,the mold was loose1 so the pegs had sheared as expected4 ,when the sand was removed the disc was found to be whole4 ,a close inspection revealed no obvious faults4 ,the disc was gently carried to an inspection room and ,dr4 ,peate was immediately sent for4 ,he arrived1 examined the disc for a moment1 then said1 8,give me a hammer40 ,before anyone could move he seized a nearby hatchet and knocked off the sprue1 or tail left as the pot was removed from the mold4 ,the onlookers feared the lens would 8explode10 as predicted by its detractors1 but the only result was the removal of the tail1 as ,dr4 ,peate expected4#ce ,the ,budget was still saying it couldn't be done4 ,commenting on a ,may #a1 #ahie1 announcement of the removal of the disc from the kiln1 the paper seized on the fact that the disc was still warm to predict that it would be shattered before ,peate could examine it1 and reiterated its low opinion of ,standard ,plate4 ,by the time this issue was in the hands of its readers however1 the disc had been inspected and approved by ,peate4 ,newspapers in ,pittsburgh and elsewhere carried the news of the great ,american disc4 ,the embarrassed ,budget replied that it was not talking about the mere casting of the disc but the completion of the mirror4 ,it feigned surprise that this was all that was to be done in ,butler4 ,even as late as ,may #bd1 #ahie1 the ,butler ,democratic ,herald was still defending its town4 ,it concluded an editorial on the issue thus3 ''' we have a feeling he ,the ,budget has set his foot in it when he goes to poke fun at the ,standard about casting the biggest mold on earth1 and the end of it may be a repetition of the old saw 8he who laughs last laughs best40 ,a week before this1 however1 the success of this casting had been made more or less official by an announcement to that effect in the ,may #ag1 #ahie1 issue of ,science1 a publication of the ,american ,association for the ,advancement of ,science and probably the most highly regarded scientific paper of the time4 ,illustration3 ,,figure #ad4--,surfacing machine used by ,peate4 7,from ,preston1 fig4 #d47 ,on ,june #a1 #ahie1 ,standard ,plate rendered ,peate an invoice1 not for #afjj1 but for #dej4 ,evidently their work was done at cost4 ,the disc was now removed to ,greenville where ,dr4 ,peate had erected a shop to grind1 polish1 and figure it4 ,as the disc was slightly out of round the first operation was to make it perfectly circular4 ,peate did this roughly by spalling off pieces of the edge with his bricklayer's hammer4 ,the final rounding was done with the aid of the iron hoops that had made the mold4 ,dr4 ,peate fed steel shot between the edge of the disc and the iron semicircles4 ,he rotated the disc on the turntable and thus rounded it off4 ,after this had been done he commenced the rough grinding4 ,using the large checkerboard tool1 steel shot1 and levigated emery ,dr4 ,peate ground out a rough hollow4 ,this took only a few days4 ,george ,howard stated that the depth of the concavity was about inch and the shape correct to within about #a_/aj1jjj inch4 ,the calculated concavity of the mirror would be #f_/aj inch4 ,peate evidently used the usual method in polishing the large mirror1 that is1 he covered the tool face with pitch and used rouge 7iron oxide7 as the abrasive4 ,this method had been used for many years before this time and is still in use today4 ,the figuring1 which consists of removing high spots to achieve a truly parabolic contour1 probably took the longest time to complete4 ,a mirror must be continually tested as this polishing is being done1 and since the polishing warms the glass and distorts its shape1 it is necessary to allow a long time for the glass to cool before it can be tested4 ,peate estimated that polishing and figuring the mirror took #gej hours4#cf ,we do not have a really accurate account of how he tested the mirror4 ,unfortunately none of the eyewitnesses to these tests had any knowledge of optics or of standard testing procedure4 ,the information of those who had such knowledge is all at least secondhand and sometimes even more remote4 ,j4 ,w4 ,fecker1 successor to ,brashear1#cg who was one of a group that examined the mirror in #aibc1 states that ,peate did not use the knife edge test but that he did use a pin with a hole in its head in one of the tests used at that time4 ,a variety of different tests and diversions with the mirror have been reported4 ,dr4 ,peate would entertain visitors in various ways4 ,one of these was to train the mirror on an apple orchard in a valley a few miles away4 ,in another ,peate would pull out one of his whiskers and hang it on a fence nearly a quarter of a mile away4 ,peate himself tells of the time spent in testing the mirror1 but does not go into detail about the procedure4 ,he does mention a testing table that stood about #ge feet away from the revolving table on which the mirror rested4 ,he says further that the mirror was tested 8in all ways known1 in the shop and on a pin and a watch dial a thousand feet distant40 ,of these only the pin test seems to have been a conventional one4#ch ,after the polishing1 the mirror was silvered4 ,said ,peate3 8,it was silvered and tried on the heavens in the starless region under ,corvus1 and under the very imperfect management of the mirror on telescopic stars1 the report was as good as could be expected40#ci ,dr4 ,peate must have spent some time testing it on the stars4 ,the mirror was evidently completed sometime late in summer of #ahig1 and when ,peate was satisfied that it was as perfect as possible1 he made arrangements to send it to ,american ,university4 ,he also designed the shipping case to protect it on the trip to ,washington4 ,it is described in the ,university paper as follows3#dj ,this consists of a box in which the glass is packed and a wheeled truck in which it is swung4 ,it is swung on its edge by iron bands1 which go around it over an iron belt which encircles it4 ,after waiting for the case1 he encountered a further delay by reason of the fact that the express company had no office at ,greenville4 ,however the great glass finally was loaded on the train1 and on ,august #bd1 #ahih1 it arrived safely at ,american ,university4 ,although all parties concerned in this project seemed optimistic1 no provision for mounting the mirror had yet been made4 ,the ,university paper which announced the safe arrival of the glass hoped1 at a later date1 that-- some day1 we trust before long1 a noble and generous giver will appear1 who will provide for the proper mounting of this mirror and also build a worthy housing4 ,this donor was never to appear4 ,five years later1 in announcing the death of ,peate1 the ,courier was still appealing for funds to mount the mirror4 ,late in #aijc it announced that a gentleman in ,pennsylvania would contribute #ajj1jjj to defray the cost of an observatory to house the mirror1 but nothing further was ever heard of this gentleman4 ,earlier1 before the mirror had been made1 the ,reverend ,h4 ,g4 ,sedgwick of ,nashville1 ,tennessee1 had offered to mount and equip the mirror on the same terms under which ,peate had made it4 ,that is1 he would do the work if someone would donate the cost and the material4 ,but of this offer1 too1 nothing further was heard4 ,possibly he died before the mirror was completed4 ,illustration3 ,,figure #ae4--,the #fb-;inch telescope reflector disc 7,,usnm #cajhii71 cast by ,standard ,plate ,glass ,company1 ,april #bj1 #ahie1 and figured by ,john ,peate4 ,it weighs #bejj pounds4 ,shown here as it hangs in its protective crate1 this clear green glass mirror will be a feature of the exhibit of optics and astronomy now being prepared for the ,smithsonian's new ,museum of ,history and ,technology1 scheduled to open soon after #aifb4 7,smithsonian photo #daagb7 ,the mirror was to remain untouched for some #bd years4 ,in #aibb the 8,greenville ,roundtable10 a group reportedly founded by ,dr4 ,peate1 allocated #ij to the ,reverend ,h4 ,g4 ,dodds to investigate the disposition of the mirror4 ,in that same year the ,erie ,conference appointed ,dodds a committee of one to report on the same matter4 ,dodds visited ,american ,university and conferred with the chancellors4 ,they checked the mirror and it seemed to be in good shape4 ,dodds then went to ,warner and ,swasey1 in ,cleveland1 ,ohio1 where he attempted to discover what it would cost to mount the mirror and provide an observatory4 ,but he learned nothing there4 ,dodds knew nothing either of astronomy or of glass and his lack of knowledge did not inspire confidence in his mission4 ,he did note a peculiar phenomenon1 that people seemed suspicious of the mirror in itself without knowing anything about its actual condition4#da ,shortly after ,dodds' failure to secure a user for the mirror the ,perkins ,observatory at ,ohio ,wesleyan ,university1 which planned to add a large reflecting telescope1 became interested in it4 ,dr4 ,clifford ,c4 ,crump1 director of the ,perkins ,observatory1 ,j4 ,w4 ,fecker1 then president of the ,j4 ,w4 ,fecker ,company1 and ,a4 ,n4 ,finn and ,a4 ,q4 ,tool1 of the ,national ,bureau of ,standards1 inspected the glass at ,american ,university4 ,they found it remarkably free of bubbles and similar defects4 ,due to a lack of facilities they were unable to test the mirror optically1 so that no comment was made on either the polishing or the correctness of the figure4 ,it was1 however1 found badly strained due to poor annealing1 and ,fecker advised against using it1 as it would have to be re-annealed4 ,if this were done1 some refiguring would also be necessary4 ,after this rather expensive renovation it would remain a rather thin1 flexible glass and not equal to modern standards4 ,the ,perkins ,observatory consequently decided rather to use a mirror cast and finished under the supervision of the ,bureau of ,standards4#db ,this was the last attempt to use the mirror4 ,it remained at ,american ,university until the mid #cj's1 when it was placed in the ,smithsonian ,institution4 ,it was still1 in ,february #aice1 the largest mirror ever cast and polished in the ,united ,states4 ,let us return now to ,dr4 ,peate4 ,after seeing the mirror safely stored at ,american ,university he returned to ,greenville1 ,pennsylvania4 ,then #gh years old1 still in good health and very active1 he was to live for #e more years4 ,to the end of his life he maintained his interest in astronomy1 and was optimistic about the possibility of his great mirror eventually being mounted and used4 ,in #aijj at the age of #hj he decided to see ,europe once again4 ,his prime objective on this trip was undoubtedly the ,paris ,exposition of #aijj1 where one of the main attractions was a huge telescope made by ,gautier4 ,it had a refracting objective of #di4b inches1 mounted horizontally1 the largest refractor yet made4 ,strangely enough this much publicized telescope was never used either4 ,after the exposition was over the backers became bankrupt and the instrument was dismantled and sold for scrap4 ,dr4 ,peate with his wide range of knowledge and his conversational ability delighted and puzzled his fellow passengers on the boat to and from ,europe4 ,they guessed that he was an educator1 a scientist1 or statesman but he denied all this saying1 8no1 ,i'm only a bricklayer40 ,dr4 ,peate lived three years after this trip1 dying on ,march #bd1 #aijc4 ,his good health and physical vigor never left him till almost the moment of his death2 as shortly as a week before1 he had conducted a funeral service4 ,it would be rather easy to dismiss him as a harmless fanatic except that everything known of him indicates that he was not4 ,it is reasonable to believe that his mirrors were made more in the hope than in the certain expectation that they would stimulate the study of astronomy in the institutions receiving them4 ,he was probably well aware of the difficulties of establishing so large a telescope at a newly founded institution such as ,american ,university1 and1 content in the knowledge that he had done his part1 could only hope that others might be inspired to do likewise4 ,dr4 ,peate's great mirror will shortly be put to use in a manner that could hardly have been predicted by its maker4 ,it has been in the ,smithsonian ,institution for over #bj years4 ,the huge glass will form a part of the exhibition of optics and astronomy in the new ,museum of ,history and ,technology that the ,smithsonian ,institution will open to the public about #aifb4 ,there it will be seen by some millions of persons each year4 ,because of its spectacular size it should catch the attention of most museum visitors4 ,surely it will awaken in more than one potentially able worker an interest in astronomy4 ,if so1 it will have accomplished ,dr4 ,peate's purpose4 ,,footnotes #a ,instruments surviving from #ahth-century ,america are almost exclusively of ,european origin1 products of the numerous and famous shops which sprang up1 particularly in ,england and ,france1 to meet the demand occasioned by the popularity of the telescope among amateurs and dilettanti4 #b ,u4,s4 ,national ,museum catalog nos4 #aebjgh and #aebjgi4 #c ,w4 ,i4 ,milham1 ,early ,american ,observatories1 ,williamstown1 ,mass41 ,williams ,college1 #aich4 #d ,mechanics ,magazine1 #ahcj1 vol4 #ac1 pp4 #aad-aae and frontispiece4 #e ,see p4 #ahd for a list of ,holcomb's instruments in the ,u4,s4 ,national ,museum4 #f ,h4 ,c4 ,king1 ,the ,history of the ,telescope1 ,london1 ,charles ,griffin1 #aiee1 pp4 #bdf-bdh4 ,milham op4 cit4 7footnote #c71 p4 #aj4 #g ,as reported in the ,journal of the ,franklin ,institute for ,july #ahcd1 new ser4 vol #ad 7whole no4 #ah71 pp4 #afi-agb2 ,july #ahce1 new ser4 vol4 #af 7whole no4 #bj71 pp4 #aa-ac2 and ,august #ahcf1 new ser4 vol4 #ah 7whole no4 #bb71 p4 #aaj4 ,the first two of these are given in the appendix1 pp4 #aha-ahd4 #h ,reported by 8,r4 ,k4 ,m40 in ,sky and ,telescope1 ,march #aidb1 vol4 #a1 p4 #ba4 ,the 8,catalog of ,objectives ,made by ,henry ,fitz10 the time span of which is unspecified1 lists #dbh objectives up to #ac inches and only #f mirrors4 ,it is not clear1 however1 that these represent finished units4 #i ,langley's work at the ,allegheny ,observatory1 particularly his invention of the bolometer1 brought him international reknown as a scientist4 ,in ,january #ahhg he was appointed assistant secretary of the ,smithsonian ,institution1 and later in that year became its third ,secretary1 serving from #ahhg-aijf4 #aj ,the giant mirrors of ,herschel 7#aghi7 and ,rosse 7#ahdb7 were made of an alloy of #ga copper and #bi tin1 and #fh copper and #ca tin1 respectively4 ,this alloy was known as 8speculum metal40 ,the silvered glass mirror was pioneered by ,steinhill and ,foucault in #ahef4 ,in ,england ,dr4 ,a4 ,a4 ,common made considerable use in the #ahgj's of silvered glass mirrors made by ,george ,calver4 ,about #ahib-ig ,common himself made1 but never finished1 a #fj-;inch mirror4 ,it was later refigured and is still in use4 ,on these matters see ,king1 op4 cit4 7footnote #f74 #aa ,for a list of these1 see appendix1 p4 #ahd4 #ab ,words crossed out in manuscript4 ,see figure #a4 #ac ,for a list of ,fitz material in the ,u4,s4 ,national ,museum1 see appendix1 p4 #ahd4 #ad ,f4 ,w4 ,preston1 8,the first big ,american telescope mirror1 ,john ,peate1 his lens10 ,bulletin of the ,american ,ceramic ,society1 #aicf1 vol4 #ae1 pp4 #abi-aeb4 ,hereafter cited as ,preston4 #ae ,the circumstances of ,peate's life and ministerial career are from ,preston1 supplemented by ,dr4 ,peate's service record1 provided by the ,erie ,conference of the ,methodist ,church4 ,dr4 ,preston's prime sources are3 ,j4 ,n4 ,fradenburgh1 ,history of the ,erie ,conference1 ,oil ,city1 ,pa41 #aijg1 vol4 #b1 pp4 #bjd-baa2 obituary notice by ,r4 ,n4 ,stubbs in ,minutes of the ,erie ,conference1 pl4 publ4 #aijc1 p4 #ij4 ,other data were obtained by ,preston through interviews and letters1 all cited in detail in the article4 #af ,from information provided by ,robert ,barr1 acting secretary of ,oberlin ,college1 ,february #ae1 #aifj4 ,the college records show a ,john ,peate from ,buffalo enrolled in the preparatory department in #ahdb-dc and #ahdd-de4 ,the ,encyclopedia ,americana 7#aibd ed41 vol4 #ba1 p4 #dfj7 states that ,peate attended ,oberlin about this time4 ,the ,doctorate was an honorary one conferred by ,allegheny ,college4 #ag ,fradenburgh1 op4 cit4 7footnote #b71 p4 #bjd4 #ah ,preston1 p4 #acj1 n4 #aj2 p4 #aca1 n4 #ai2 p4 #adh4 #ai 8,on the ,construction of a ,silvered ,glass ,telescope1 ,fifteen and a ,half ,inches in ,aperture1 and its ,use in ,celestial ,photography10 ,smithsonian ,contributions to ,knowledge1 vol4 #ad1 art4 #c1 iv#ee pp41 #ahfe 7reprinted in vol4 #cd as art4 #b1 #aijd74 #bj ,preston1 p4 #adh4 ,from an article in the ,greenville1 ,pa41 ,record ,argus1 ,december #ag1 #aijc4 #ba ,preston1 p4 #adh4 ,in #aifj it was further learned that an 8,american ,temperance0 college or university once existed at ,harriman4 #bb ,scientific ,american1 ,october #bd1 #ahia1 vol4 #fe1 p4 #bfj4 #bc ,communication from ,thiel ,college1 ,preston1 p4 #aca1 n4 #ag4 #bd ,popular ,astronomy1 ,july #ahih1 vol4 #f1 p4 #caj4 #be ,preston1 p4 #abi1 notes #b #c4 ,based on recollections of ,george ,lambert 7#ahie7 and ,john ,morrison 7#aijc74 ,that the decision to make the mirror #fb inches in diameter may have had another origin is suggested by the fact that ,common1 in ,england1 had made two mirrors of #fj and #fa inches in #ahhf-ia4 #bf ,minutes of the ,erie ,conference1 #ahic1 p4 #bi4 ,preston1 p4 #acj1 n4 #d4 #bg ,preston has reconstructed the story of the making of the #fb-;inch mirror from contemporary journals1 which will be cited below1 and from personal communications with some of the participants1 notably ,george ,howard and ,george ,lambert4 ,detailed citation of these communications are given in ,preston4 ,he has also used a brief manuscript account by ,peate himself 7,preston1 p4 #adb1 n4 #fb74 #bh ,communication with ,frank ,a',hearn and ,john ,hodge4 ,preston1 p4 #ace4 #bi ,peate's workshop and apparatus is described in detail by ,preston1 pp4 #ace-ach4 #cj ,preston1 p4 #aci4 #ca ,advance ,argus1 ,greenville1 ,pa41 ,may #i1 #ahie4 ,preston1 p4 #aci4 #cb ,clipping of uncertain date from the ,pittsburgh ,leader1 quoting the ,national ,glass ,budget4 ,preston1 p4 #aci and n4 #ee4 #cc ,preston1 p4 #adj4 #cd ,preston1 p4 #aci4 #ce ,preston1 p4 #adj4 #cf ,preston1 p4 #adb4 #cg ,the ,brashear ,instrument ,company1 after the death of its founder ,john ,brashear1 became the ,j4 ,w4 ,fecker ,company1 ,inc4 ,this concern is now a division of the ,american ,optical ,company4 #ch ,preston1 pp4 #adb-adc4 #ci ,the mirror is no longer silvered4 ,the silver surface was apparently removed during the inspection by the ,bureau of ,standards in the #aibj's4 #dj ,preston1 p4 #add4 ,various notices were published in the ,american ,university ,courier in #ahih4 #da ,preston1 pp4 #ade-adf4 #db ,preston1 p4 #adf4 ,appendix ,,reports ,,of ,,committees ,,of ,,the ,,franklin ,,institute ,report on ,amasa ,holcomb's ,reflecting ,telescope4 ,from ,journal of the ,franklin ,institute1 ,july #ahcd1 new ser4 vol4 #ad 7whole no4 #ah71 pp4 #afi-agb4 ,the ,committee on ,science and the ,arts1 constituted by the ,franklin ,institute of the ,state of ,pennsylvania for the promotion of the ,mechanic ,arts1 to whom was referred for examination a ,reflecting ,telescope1 manufactured by ,mr4 ,amasa ,holcomb1 of ,southwick1 ,hampden county1 ,massachusetts1 ,,report3-- ,that the following is the description of the instrument as given by ,mr4 ,holcomb4 8,the telescope submitted to the examination of the ,committee of the ,franklin ,institute is of the reflecting kind2 has a focal length of six feet2 the diameter of the speculum is three inches nine-tenths2 the rays of light are reflected but once2 the image formed in the focus of the speculum is viewed by a common astronomical eye piece1 or by a single lens2 it has also an eye piece for viewing land objects1 which shows them erect4 ,the telescope is of the same construction as those of ,sir ,william ,herschell1 the observer having his back towards the object and looking directly towards the speculum4 ,it has an advantage over those of the ,gregorian and ,newtonian forms1 by showing the object brighter with the same aperture1 there being no light lost by a second reflection4 ,the diameter of the speculum is small in proportion to the length of the instrument2 it will bear a diameter of eight inches1 with much advantage for viewing very small stars1 in consequence of the great increase of the light4 ,the magnifying powers that are used are1 forty1 ninety1 and two hundred and fifty40 ,through the politeness of ,prof4 ,a4 ,d4 ,bache1 the committee were permitted to compare the performance of ,mr4 ,holcomb's reflector with that of a five feet achromatic1 of four inches aperture1 by ,dolland1 the property of the ,university of ,pennsylvania4 ,the instrument was also compared with a three and a half feet achromatic1 by ,dolland1 and with a ,gregorian of four inches aperture1 the mirrors of which had been lately repolished in ,london4 ,the short stay of ,mr4 ,holcomb in ,philadelphia1 prevented the comparison of it with reflectors in the possession of other members of the committee4 ,on the evening of the #adth of ,april1 the committee met by adjournment in the open lot south of the ,pennsylvania ,hospital1 the use of which was politely permitted to the committee by the managers of that institution4 ,the following were the results of the comparisons3-- ,the moon1 nearly full1 was at a height to be conveniently viewed with the lower powers of the instruments3 with a power of #cej in the five feet achromatic1 the moon appeared bright and well defined1--with the same eye-piece1 giving a power of #djj1 in the reflector by ,mr4 ,holcomb1 the moon was sufficiently bright1 and equally well defined4 ,the same1 with the exception that the moon was more brilliant1 and the field of view much greater1 was remarked with the use of ,mr4 ,holcomb's highest magnifier1 giving a power of two hundred and fifty4 ,as an illustration of their comparative performances1 it was remarked that the waved appearance of the outer declivities of the craters of some of the apparently extinct lunar volcanoes1 indicating the successive depositions of the lava1 was more manifest with a power of four hundred in the reflector4 ,the immersions of #c and #d ,geminorum of the sixth and seventh magnitude1 were observed at the same instant of time in each4 ,the same occurred the evening before with a star of the eighth or ninth magnitude4 ,the immersions1 however1 of two very small stars1 apparently of the tenth or eleventh magnitude1 were observed with difficulty in the refractor1 but could not be observed at all in the reflector4 ,the comparison of ,polaris was best seen when the moon was up in the refractor1 but in the absence of the moon it was readily seen in both4 ,castor was easily divided with the lower powers of either1 but in the case of this1 as well as of other binary and double stars1 the dark space between the stars was less disturbed by scattering rays in the reflector than in the refractor4 ,bootes was seen double in each1 but more distinctly in the reflector1 ,draconis1 ,leonis1 and #dth and #eth ,lyra1 were seen distinctly double in both instruments2 ,draconis1 from the equality of the disks and softness of light1 presented the finest appearance4 ,virginis1 with a power of three hundred and fifty in either telescope1 gave no certain indications of being double4 ,some of the members of the committee were of opinion that it was slightly elongated4 ,it was stated by the artist that his reflector would divide stars distant #c from each other4 ,estimating the distance of the stars observed by the late observations of ,south1 ,struve1 and ,herschel1 jr41 the committee were of opinion that his instrument is adequate to the distinct division of double stars distant from each other #b4e4 ,the motion of this instrument1 plainly mounted1 was steady1 and with the finder1 even without rack work1 objects were easily made to range with the centre1 or line of collimation of the instrument4 ,the position of the observers with the ,herschelian telescope1 was natural and easy in contemplating objects having seventy or eighty degrees of altitude1 though quite constrained and inconvenient in using the achromatic4 ,the reflector gave a distinct view of land objects1 even when within one-fourth of a mile4 ,some light was lost by the position of the head1 an inconvenience partially obviated by making the end nearest the object three inches greater in aperture4 ,the ,gregorian1 which probably was not a very fine instrument of its kind1 bore no comparison in distinctness1 or in quantity of light1 with the ,herschelian telescope4 ,from these trials1 the committee are of opinion that ,mr4 ,holcomb has been entirely successful in the difficult art of polishing specula with the true curve1 which gives to the objects viewed all the distinctness of figure that is given them by the best refractors by ,dolland4 ,in one respect1 the largeness of the field of view1 the reflectors by ,mr4 ,holcomb have a decided advantage over achromatics and reflectors of different construction4 ,the apparent diameter of the field of view in the ,herschelian being nearly double that of either1 with equal freedom from aberration4 ,the quantity of light furnished by the refractor was greater with the same aperture1 an important advantage in searching for1 and observing very minute objects4 ,this deficiency of light in the ,herschelian for viewing faint objects near the moon1 or satellites near their primaries1 the committee are of opinion may be removed by enlarging the aperture of the ,herschelian reflector to five or five and a half inches4 ,the simplicity of the method of preparing and mounting ,mr4 ,holcomb's telescopes is worthy of notice1 since on this plan1 the artist is enabled to furnish for an expense of one hundred dollars1 with plain mounting1 or of one hundred and fifty to two hundred dollars1 with more expensive mounting1 telescopes whose performance equals that of ,gregorians and achromatics hitherto imported into the country at an expense of five hundred dollars4 ,by order of the committee4 ,,william ,,hamilton1 ,actuary4 ,may #hth1 #ahcd4 ,report on ,holcomb's ,reflecting ,telescopes4 ,from ,journal of the ,franklin ,institute1 ,july #ahce1 new ser4 vol4 #af 7whole no4 #bj71 pp4 #aa-ac ,the ,committee on ,science and the ,arts1 constituted by the ,franklin ,institute of the ,state of ,pennsylvania for the promotion of the ,mechanic ,arts1 to whom was referred for examination1 two reflecting telescopes1 made by ,mr4 ,amasa ,holcomb1 of ,southwick1 ,hampden county1 ,massachusetts1 ,,report3-- ,that the following description of these telescopes is given by ,mr4 ,holcomb3 ,the two reflecting telescopes now submitted by the subscriber1 are constructed on the plan of ,sir ,william ,herschel1 having the front view4 ,the largest has a focal length of #i feet2 the diameter of the speculum is #h inches1 and has five astronomical eye-pieces1 and one terrestrial eye-piece1 for showing objects erect2 the lowest power is #eg1 the highest #ijj4 ,the smallest has a focal length of #g feet #i inches2 the diameter of the speculum is #f inches1 and has one terrestrial1 and four astronomical1 eye-pieces2 the lowest power is #fj1 the highest is #fjj4 ,they are of the same kind as those that were submitted a year ago1 except the manner of mounting1 which is very different4 ,,amasa ,,holcomb4 ,on the evening of the #dth of ,may1 the committee met1 by appointment1 in an open lot south of the ,pennsylvania ,hospital1 for the purpose of testing the performance of the telescopes1 which had previously been tried by some of the members of the committee1 and by other gentlemen1 on the evening of the #b;d4 ,the result of the examination was highly creditable to ,mr4 ,holcomb1 and cannot fail to gratify all who have at heart the advancement of astronomical science in this country4 ,the instruments1 with powers varying from #ej to #fjj in the smaller1 and to #ijj in the larger1 gave satisfactory views of the moon with a sufficiency of light4 ,mr4 ,holcomb's ability to manufacture telescopes which should bear a comparison1 on favourable terms1 with the best four and five feet achromatics now in the country1 having been established by the report of the committee in ,may1 #ahcd1 their attention was chiefly directed to ascertaining the degree of perfection to which he has attained in his art1 by his persevering efforts during the past year4 ,accordingly1 the remarks which follow are made with reference to the larger telescope1 of about ten feet focal length1 eight inches aperture1 and with a positive eye-piece1 giving a power of about #ijj1 and the surface of the field of view nearly twice as great as that of a ,gregorian1 and one-third greater than that of an achromatic telescope1 under similar circumstances4 ,the view of the moon with its rugged surface1 its ridges of mountains1 and the endless variety of indentations on its surface1 was interesting beyond description1 and exceeded any thing of the kind the committee have ever witnessed4 ,saturn's ring1 though not in a favourable position1 was seen manifestly double1 for the first time in this country1 as far as the information of the committee extends4 ,the companion of ,polaris appeared as a star of the fourth or fifth magnitude1 to the unassisted eye4 ,the double stars1 ,castor1 ,draconis1 #d and #e ,lyr1 and #dd ,bootes1 were distinctly separated1 and the dark space between them made evident4 ,the last mentioned1 consisting of two stars of the fifth magnitude1 distant #c made a fine appearance2 they were soft1 and well defined1 and there were no scattering rays of light1 as was the case with ,castor1 in both instruments4 ,a class of closer doubles stars1 of which #f ,coron1 distant #a4b41 and ,bootes1 distant #a4d41 may serve as examples1 was acknowledged by the artist1 last year1 to be too difficult for his telescope4 ,this has furnished a stimulus for his exertions1 and the complete division of the latter1 as witnessed by the committee on the present occasion1 has been the reward of his disinterested labours4 ,the discs of the two stars in ,bootes appeared to be tangent to each other4 ,the committee have no evidence that the same has been effected by any other telescope in the country4 ,for the purpose of finding the limit to the power of ,mr4 ,holcomb's telescope1 the committee called his attention to a class of still closer stars2 among them were mentioned1 ,cancri1 #b ,bootes1 ,coron1 #cf ,andromed1 and ,arietis1 the last of which is only divisible by two telescopes now in use1 viz43 the ,dorpat telescope1 and the twenty foot reflector of ,sir ,john ,herschel4 ,these stars1 distant from #j4f4 to #a4j41 are made to appear with their discs tangent to each other in those celebrated instruments1 as appears by their notes appended to the observations contained in their printed catalogues4 ,it is almost needless to add1 that ,mr4 ,holcomb acknowledged these stars to be too difficult for any telescopes he has yet made4 ,it may seem presumptuous to compare the small instrument of ,holcomb with the chefs d'oeuvre of ,british and ,german genius2 but1 thanks to the admirable labours of the ,herschels1 of ,struve1 and of ,south1 observers are enabled1 through their printed catalogues1 to compare together the optical capacities of their telescopes in distant regions4 ,accordingly it appears from an examination of these catalogues1 and of ,holcomb's instruments1 that what the best telescopes in ,europe can do upon stars distant #j4f41 can be done upon stars distant #a4d41 by instruments which are the work of an unassisted1 and almost neglected1 ,american optician4 ,judging from the progress made in his art1 by ,mr4 ,holcomb1 during the past year1 the committee look forward1 with confident expectation1 to the not far distant period1 when1 should his health be spared1 the country will be in possession of a twenty feet reflector1 of native workmanship1 rivalling the best ,european instruments1 and that1 too1 without the patronage of any corporate institution1 should all of them be willing to waive the opportunity of sharing with him the merit of such an enterprise4 ,the committee have been led to enlarge upon this subject1 from a knowledge that one of our national institutions has1 within a few years1 imported into the country1 at an expense of #b1ejj1 a telescope which1 though excellent in its kind1 is inferior to that exhibited by ,mr4 ,holcomb1 which was made and mounted to order for an individual in ,georgia1 at less than the eighth part of the above mentioned sum4 ,it is not probable that a twenty foot instrument from ,mr4 ,holcomb1 would cost eight times as much as one of the length of ten feet4 ,the mode of mounting the instrument appears to be original1 and nothing can exceed it in simplicity1 or steadiness4 ,indeed1 with a power of #ijj1 no inconvenience was perceived from resting with one hand on the frame1 and another on the tube1 although the same could not be done with the mounting used by ,mr4 ,holcomb last year1 or with that of common achromatics with a power of #bjj1 without serious inconvenience4 ,in conclusion1 the committee beg leave to recommend ,mr4 ,holcomb to the ,board of ,managers of the ,franklin ,institute1 as a candidate for a premium and medal from the ,scott's legacy fund1 for his new mode of mounting reflecting telescopes4 ,by order of the committee4 ,,william ,,hamilton1 ,actuary4 ,may #adth1 #ahce4 ,,relics ,,of ,,holcomb1 ,,fitz1 ,,and ,,peate ,,in ,,the ,,smithsonian ,,institution 7,united ,states ,national ,museum catalog number shown at right7 ,,amasa ,,holcomb 7,all items from ,mrs4 ,grace ,e4 ,holcomb ,steere and ,mrs4 ,eva ,c4 ,holcomb ,storey7 #a4 ,undated and unsigned original autobiographical sketch1 ink on notepaper 7as published here1 p4 #afj7 #b4 ,manuscript notebook on meteorological and astronomical matters1 covering the period #ahcd-da4 #cajfjj #c4 ,herschelean reflecting telescope1 #h-;inch aperture1 #i feet #d inches long4 ,this is the telescope made by ,holcomb and shown at the ,franklin ,institute in #ahce4 #cajeih #d4 ,refracting telescope1 #a-;inch aperture1 #ba inches long1 on #ad-;inch axis for use as a transit telescope1 without support4 #cajeii ,,henry ,,fitz1 ,,jr4 7,item #a from ,mr4 ,l4 ,c4 ,eichner1 items #b-d from ,mrs4 ,julia ,fitz ,howell1 item #e from ,mr4 ,arthur ,v4 ,a4 ,fitz7 #a4 ,refracting telescope1 comet seeker1 #h-;inch aperture1 #fa-;inch wooden tube1 fitted for equatorial mounting1 but without mount4 #cagjbg #b4 ,machines1 tools1 and partially completed instruments from the shop of ,henry ,fitz1 of which the major pieces are3 ,lens grinding machine #caeaeb ,lens polishing machine #caeaec ,lens edging and testing machine #caeaea #c4 ,manuscript notebook of ,fitz accounts from #ahea to #ahee4 #cagjbf 7#b7 #d4 ,manuscript 8,catalogue of ,objectives made by ,henry ,fitz40 #cagjbf 7#b7 #e4 ,refracting telescope1 #e-section draw1 marked 8,ta4 ,long1 ,royal ,exchange1 ,london10 #b-;inch objective1 #db inches long1 open4 ,purchased in ,london by ,fitz in #ahci4 ,the present objective was made by ,fitz4 #cafgjf ,,john ,,peate 7,from ,the ,american ,university7 #a4 ,mirror1 glass1 unsilvered1 #fb-;inch diameter1 about #f inches thick4 #cajhii ,u4,s4 ,,government ,,printing ,,office3 #aifb ,for sale by the ,superintendent of ,documents1 ,u4,s4 ,government ,printing ,office ,washington #be1 ,d4,c4--,price #cj cents