Model of Loewy's equatorial "Coude" with stand, scale 1:5

Made for the Science Museum in 1892, this is a model, scale 1:5, of the Coude (elbow) Telescope built for the Paris Observatory in 1882. Designed by Maurice Loewy the compound telescope used a main lens in conjunction with two mirrors. As this arrangement allowed the eyepiece to remain stationary, the observer could be housed in a separate heated room while the telescope was open to the sky. When not in use the telescope was protected by a large moveable shed that was simpler and cheaper to produce than a conventional observatory dome. Supplied by the Parisian model maker Digeon, the model was commissioned because it was considered that telescopes would evolve this way in the future.