Franklin and His Friends: Portraying the Man of Science in Eighteenth-Century America"

Gregorian reflecting telescope
made in London by James Short for John Winthrop
Brass, steel, specula metal, and glass, circa 1758
Courtesy Collection of Historical Scientific Instruments
Harvard University, Cambridge Massachusetts

James Short (1710-1768) made more than a thousand telescopes for astronomers throughout Britain and across Europe. John Winthrop seems to have been his first American customer. Like most of Short's telescopes, this is based on the optical design introduced by James Gregory in 1663. The markings "JAMES SHORT LONDON 163/954 = 12" mean that it was made in London, that it has a focal length of 12 inches, that it was the 954th telescope that Short had made, and the 163rd of that focal length.

Title image: Gregorian reflecting telescope made in London by James Short for John Winthrop/Courtesy Collection of Historical Scientific Instruments, Harvard University, Cambridge Massachusetts

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