Antique John Browning London Telescope

[starseeker]

Antique John Browning London Brass Telescope For Sale
Antique John Browning London Brass Telescope(4' in diameter and 52' long)Valued by Brisbane Antique Valuations for AU$4,500.00. This scope comes with a solid mount and tripod, and brass eyepieces,brass filters and brass extensions.More photos of scope and photo of original valuation availlable.Asking price AU$4,000.00 ONO

[xelasnave]

Where could one inspect the scope.
alex

[DobDobDob]

Hi Alex, this scope is already listed in my Registry, see: http://www.antiquescopes.com/Zwarenkant.aspx the people involved are very nice and have been most helpful. I hope that the eventual new owner will contact me so that I can continue to monitor this and all other John Browning telescopes.

Regards

[xelasnave]

I should have know you would have know ... mmm you may need a bigger shed and a stronger gate.
alex

[starseeker]

Hi Alex, the telescope is situated in Brisbane,it belongs to a dear friend of mine. i could organize for you to see it if you desire. please contact me on 07 38247676 or 0419790634 thanks regards John

[DobDobDob]

Try to organize a trip up to view the scope Alex, it certainly would be a worthy prize, I'm sure lots of our friends would like to know how you go so please make your journey public and we can follow along. I'm amazed at how the adventure continues :)

[xelasnave]

Thanks for that John. I have to sort out something re a Sydney trip but leave it with me

alex

[xelasnave]

guess who lives for most of the time in Brisbane Ron;)..maybe we can stay at her place...maybe she can get involved:whistle:.
alex:):):)

[DobDobDob]

I know the timeline is probably wrong, but I will be on the Gold Coast in the middle of February, around 13/14/15, however I suspect that you will get there well before then and that John up North may be keen to move things along.

[DobDobDob]

Just an update, I got as far as the Gold Coast, it was raining all the time, every day and all night, so I couldn't make it to Brisbane, what about you Alex, any plans in the near future to go back up?

[Lyinxz]

Anyone care to explain why this scope would cost $4.000???
It looks very old and not that useable at all.:screwy:

not intending to "put down" the scope and its respective owners, but i just dont understand.

[DobDobDob]

Hi Ash, that’s a good question and I can’t answer for the owner but just as a general comment, the scope is excessively rare and more of a collector’s item, however the paradox is that there are not many Browning collectors, especially in Australia.

The value that anything is worth is what someone is willing to pay for it and the fact that this has been on the market for some time and not sold might mean that the price is a little high or that the person that is willing to pay such a price has not become aware of it yet.

I personally have a Browning which is in the final stages of restoration which is well documented on various forums including this one and I have a dedicated website for it, which also includes a registry of known existing Browning telescopes. I have manged the registry for between two to three years with the full cooperation and assistance of the Antique telescope Society and The Royal Astronomical Society and in all that time have come up with only 20 Browning telescopes. More than half of these are in museums around the world, so you can well understand that these scopes are indeed rare.

The manufacturer (John Browning) was a fascinating man and his story is told on my website which is at: http://www.antiquescopes.com (http://www.antiquescopes.com/)

The site incudes extracts from original catalogues produced by John Browning and thus is 100% accurate and bona fide, if you have any interest in the telescopes of the era then please take a visit to the site.

So in conclusion, to some the telescope may seem expensive, but in terms of purchasing one anytime soon, you either have to pay it or not own it. I would certainly love to have it and add it to my own collection, but I cannot raise the funds, do I think 4K is expensive, yes, but then again I’d say the same about a Porsche. :P

[Lyinxz]

Thanks for the info tailwag :)

So it looks like its just a collectors item.
Would be interesting to see the end product after restoration though.

Ive checked ur website, some very interesting stuff! nice work:thumbsup:

Ash