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Harvard College Observatory History in Images

This is a personal project collecting and documenting early images of Harvard College Observatory, focusing on the site at Observatory Hill (previously Summer House Hill). Buildings, instruments, people, and observations.

Disclaimer: all content here is solely my own views, and in no way represents the views of my employer, or anyone else. Also, I'm documenting things as I learn about them, so expect frequent errors. Corrections will occur without notice and without a changelog at this point.

Great Refractor Chair

This page shows a list of all images tagged with "Great Refractor Chair".

[link]1848/11/8 Adjustable Chair for Great Refractor

Earliest source: William Cranch Bond. "Description of the Observatory at Cambridge." Memoirs of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences vol. 4. Metcalf and Company, 1849.academybond

The observing chair for the Great Refractor. This chair was on wheels that set on a pair of circular tracks surrounding the refractor. The observer could use a rope and pully system to move the chair around the track. A crank in front of him was used to raise and lower the position of the seat.

This article, as well as Annals volume 1, includes additional drawings of the mechanical components of the chair that have not been included in this image database at this time.

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