As the Chelsea Flower Show closes we feature Telescopes of Vermont, creators of timeless designs. They had the honor of a visit by HRH Queen Elizabeth at the Chelsea Flower Show 2010. Indeed, behind their telescopes and new bird baths one finds a fascinating story of technological challenges and craftsmanship.
The story is shared here by Russ Schleipman.
On a mission to re-eintroduce the telescope to the world:
Thirty years ago Fred Schleipman, my father, an avid amateur astronomer from Vermont, photographed a solar eclipse in Mauritania.
There he befriended Bert Willard, an expert optical engineer at The Springfield Telescope makers in the US.
Soon after, Schleipman visited Springfield to see Willard's collection of telescopes.
He saw an original of the Porter Garden Telescope, designed by Russell Porter in 1923 .
This design inspired the 200 inch telescope at Palomar (and also included in the Smithsonian Institution's collection).
He was smitten, and began his crusade to reintroduce the telescope to the world.
There were many hurdles, the first of which was to find an original, from less then twenty, which he could borrow for patterning.
The Springfield Telescope Makers had been approached in that regard many times.
Being staunchly non commercial and covetous of Porter's reputation and their own, they had many times declined the request.
They finally reversed that stance, convinced that with Schleipman came the assurance that an instrument worthy of their endorsement would result.
The challenge of Crafstmanship:
An original procured several daunting issues that needed to be addressed and solved: engineering, patterning, casting, machining, and optics design...
It was at this point that Schleipman set about finding the craftsmen who could help him manufacture a new garden telescope.
He knew he was looking for skills that are disappearing, and scoured the continent for the best and the brightest.
They all surfaced in New England.
High tech meets traditional art:
Because cooling bronze shrinks in devilishly tricky ways, simply copying the original would not suffice.
Computer modeling, accounting for the shrinkage of bronze, was leveraged to create patterns which would yield castings of the proper dimensions.
Then came design and creation of the complicated fixtures which would facilitate machining of the castings to tenths of thousandths of an inch.
The fixtures look like Stonehenge in stainless steel; beautiful custom pieces which hold the odd shaped castings for machining.
The patina of bronze takes decades, but it can be duplicated with the same chemistry as that which happens naturally, but it must be applied with a talented hand.
An art foundry in Boston, Massachusetts has partnered with us to finish the telescope in a beautiful verdigris finish. The process takes several days.
And finally, the superb optics were designed by two gentlemen whose life's work is the design of systems for military satellites.
The honor of a visit by HRH Queen Elizabeth at the Chelsea Flower Show 2010
Twice we have been honored with visitors of distinction in the UK.
I invited Queen Elizabeth to our booth at the Chelsea Flower Show, and she graciously accepted.
It was of course an unforgettable milestone for us to receive the Queen's attention and interest that day in May.
When I visited Sir Patrick Moore to show him the telescope, He dubbed her "Capella" after the eponymous star which is always visible in the Northern hemisphere. The name is beautiful and was bestowed, appropriately, by the man who suggested that a lunar crater be named in honor of Russell Porter.
Functional art
The Porter Garden Telescope was originally designed to be both a superb optical instrument and a beautiful sculpture. It is the clever and artistic reconfiguration of a reflecting telescope more familiarly housed in a tube with an eyepiece projecting from the top.
Quite simply, a parabolic mirror brings an image to a focal point, and an eyepiece magnifies that image. In the case of the Porter Garden Telescope, the tube has become a bronze ginger leaf which holds the exposed optics in place.
The optics lift out in seconds, leaving a graceful Art Nouveau sculpture which can reside outdoors permanently as a distinctive centerpiece to a garden. With the optics removed, it is also an unusual sundial: when the blade is pointed at the sun, the correct time aligns with a pointer adjacent to the roman numerals on the hour ring. It is a wonderful educational tool for demonstrating the relationship of time and solar position, especially for children.
Serial numbers and limited runs:
Serial numbered and limited, it has the cachet of rarity, and is an heirloom imbued with hand wrought craftsmanship. It appeals to those who desire a singular piece of functional art. It will spark conversations, delight owners and guests, and instill a certain awe when trained on the moon, the moons of Jupiter, or the rings of Saturn.
Currently there are twenty five in the world. An original resides in the Smithsonian Institution.
Sizes:
The telescope is 1.6 meters (63″) tall, pedestal included.
Weight:
56 Kilos (125 lbs)
Price pointer:
39,000 pounds, plus shipping and VAT.
Introducing a new classic design : The Bird bath
We have recently introduced a new piece, a customizable bird bath sundial which was inspired by the graceful botanical Art Nouveau design of the telescope.
It is also of bronze and is given a verdigris patina.
Dimensions and textures were suggested and approved by ornithologists at Harvard University and the Mass Audubon Society.
Dimensions:
The dish is 24 inches across, and is bordered by Roman numerals.
A third of that circumference is blank, and can be customized with lettering for a specific client.
As such it makes the ideal wedding, anniversary or graduation gift, commemorative award or thoughtful memorial.
The pedestal matches that of the telescope, thereby creating an opportunity for symmetry and visual echoes in a garden. www.birdbathsundial.com.
Diameter 24″ height to dish 35″ overall height 45″
Price pointer:
4,900 GBP plus shipping and VAT, (not including customization)
Installation:
The process is simple for both pieces. They can be placed on level stone or ground. THey are quite stable by virtue of their shape. The bird bath dish has a locating pin which makes it easy to lift off the pedestal, but which makes it impossible to tip if a child were to hang from the edge.
We offer a threaded piece which can be inserted in concrete to further anchor either piece. We suggest security and privacy for both items. We supply complete instructions, and can support you by phone.
Options:
For an additional fee, we will fly to you for set up and tutorials. Such arrangements can mitigate shipping charges when excess baggage fees are lower than air freight.
Care & installation:
Both items are robust. Of necessity care must be exercised with the optics. We will make that abundantly clear and understood with the directions. Otherwise, both pieces are of bronze, and can endure outside forever.
They only become more beautiful with time, as the patina deepens with it's own natural nuances.
We will always be available by phone or email for support or even replacement parts if necessary.
Orders:
A full payment initiates custom fabrication of either piece.
Lead time:
Four months is the suggested delivery time, though we may have a small inventory at times.
Guarantees:
We guarantee the functionality of all the bronze for twenty years. However it will last for generations. Vandalism and mistreatment excepted.
The optics are delivered inspected, laser collimated and fully functional. Because of their relative delicacy (like binoculars) we cannot guarantee their permanence. We simply urge careful use and adherence to our advice, in which case they will last indefinitely. All Edmund Optics manufactured parabolic mirrors are precision-made and guaranteed to provide optimum performance of 1/8 wave surface accuracy or better.
MORE
http://gardentelescopes.com/
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