oy telescopes fall into many categories. Most amateur astronomers consider the white 60mm refractor sold in discount stores as toys, but I am interested in another category altogether: small hand-held spyglasses that were sold honestly as children's toys in the 19th and 20th centuries. Here are some of my favorites from my collection. They're not all antiques, but they're all fun and interesting.
As always, click on an image to enlarge it. These should download quickly, even with a modem.
This little telescope caught my attention because of the colored filter wheel that it came with, with red, blue, and clear filters. The drawtube pulls out about six inches to extend the focal length. The front of the tube is marked "ASTRONOMICAL TELESCOPE, 2x 2.5x 3x" (Talk about truth in advertising! Compare that to the 600x that is usually marked on department store refractors). It has a patent number and is marked "made in Japan." Probably from the 50's or 60's.
This tiny pocket scope has most of the blue-green paint worn off the tube. Possibly 19th-century. It's too small to be anything but a novelty, so I classify it as a toy scope.
This three-draw scope is especially charming because of the marbled papers on each drawtube. The primary tube is covered with black paper, and the fittings are brass, The tubes themselves are cardboard. Both ends are capped. The objective is covered with a brass cap, the eyepiece is covered with a moon filter. (We wouldn't want that moon to be too dazzling with that 24mm objective, would we?) Overall length is 27.5 inches. This scope must have made some child extremely happy during the Great Depression. The eyepiece end is marked "US patent April, 1936. Germany." The box that the telescope came in bear's the manufacturer's name, "Ferry".
Official Boy Scout Telescope.This two-draw scope extends to 14 inches. All three tubes are covered with black paper, and the fittings are black plastic. The tubes themselves are cardboard. The exit pupil of this telescope is so small that it is like looking through a hollow pencil. This scope must have both excited and disappointed a lot of kids.
Let's not forget the cubscouts! This single draw scope extends to ten inches. The main tube is blue anodized aluminum. The exit pupil is also disappointingly small.
This is one of Criterion telescope company's early efforts. The original mailing carton for this little scope bears a 1958 postmark. Click on the photo for details.