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Naval officer's telescope

Image Naval officer's telescope

TLF ID R1787

This is a naval officer's telescope or spyglass. It was made in England in about 1760 from brass, glass and wood. There is an eyepiece at one end. The telescope is 51.5 centimetres long when closed and 88 centimetres when fully extended.

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Educational details

Educational value
  • This asset shows the type of telescope used in the 1760s by English naval officers - it was reputedly used by Captain James Cook on his Pacific voyages, although this has not been proven.
  • It is in good condition, indicating that telescopes such as this were valued by their owners and looked after carefully.
  • It shows that seamen needed to be able to see objects at a distance - to aid in navigation, to assess hazards, and to observe the activities of other ships.
Topics Telescopes Spatial technologies Optical instruments

Other details

Contributors
  • Contributor
  • Name: Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa
  • Organization: Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa
  • Description: Content provider
  • URL: http://www.tepapa.govt.nz
  • Name: Education Services Australia
  • Organization: Education Services Australia
  • Description: Data manager
  • Copyright Holder
  • Name: Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa
  • Organization: Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa
  • Publisher
  • Name: Education Services Australia Ltd
  • Organization: Education Services Australia Ltd
  • Description: Publisher
  • Address: VIC, AUSTRALIA
  • URL: http://www.esa.edu.au
  • Resource metadata contributed by
  • Name: Education Services Australia Ltd
  • Organisation: Education Services Australia Ltd
  • Address: AUSTRALIA
  • URL: www.esa.edu.au
Access profile
  • Colour independence
  • Device independence
  • Hearing independence
Learning Resource Type
  • Image
Rights
  • © Education Services Australia Ltd and Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa, 2013, except where indicated under Acknowledgements