Concave enamel mirror, 1780-1820
- Object Number:
- 1925-462 Pt1
- type:
- components , concave mirrors and ceramic mirrors
White enamel glass mirror and box, by William Herschel
- maker:
- William Herschel
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LicenseThis image is released under a CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 Licence
Buy this image as a print
BuyLicense this image for commercial use at Science and Society Picture Library
LicenseThis image is released under a CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 Licence
Buy this image as a print
BuyLicense this image for commercial use at Science and Society Picture Library
LicenseThis image is released under a CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 Licence
Buy this image as a print
BuyLicense this image for commercial use at Science and Society Picture Library
LicenseThis image is released under a CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 Licence
Buy this image as a print
BuyLicense this image for commercial use at Science and Society Picture Library
LicenseThis image is released under a CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 Licence
Buy this image as a print
BuyLicense this image for commercial use at Science and Society Picture Library
LicenseSix and a half inch concave mirror of enamel (white glass or
Science Museum Group Collection
© The Board of Trustees of the Science Museum
Six and a half inch concave mirror of enamel (white glass or
Science Museum Group Collection
© The Board of Trustees of the Science Museum
Six and a half inch concave mirror of enamel (white glass or
Science Museum Group Collection
© The Board of Trustees of the Science Museum
Six and a half inch concave mirror of enamel (white glass or
Science Museum Group Collection
© The Board of Trustees of the Science Museum
Six and a half inch concave mirror of enamel (white glass or
Science Museum Group Collection
© The Board of Trustees of the Science Museum
Six and a half inch concave mirror of enamel (white glass or
Science Museum Group Collection
© The Board of Trustees of the Science Museum
Six and a half inch concave mirror of enamel (white glass or Tassies compound) prescribed at back:- "no.8, 7 feet enamel mirror (F)" in cardboard round box ("Pl ) with lid, exact focal length 7ft, 3.25 in
The astronomer William Herschel constructed his own reflecting telescopes using mirrors made of speculum metal. A bronze alloy with arsenic added for a more lustrous finish, the hard metal was very brittle, difficult to polish and tarnished quickly. To avoid these shortcomings, Herschel experimented with trying to produce mirrors from glass. The mirror shown here is made of a white enamel glass, known as Tassie's compound. First used in London by James Tassie in the 1760s, the moulded material was polished to made cameo glasses. Although this 6 ½-inch concave mirror has been fully polished, its low reflectivity made it unsuitable for use in an astronomical telescope.
Parts
Lid, for box containing Herschel's concave enamel mirror
- Object Number:
- 1925-462 Pt2
- type:
- components , storage boxes , lids and instruments
