When we went to tour the South Carolina State Museum in Columbia, we found several tables lined up in front of a mural, holding unimaginably beautiful old telescopes. This is a Gregorian telescope by George Adams, Sr, made in 1760! Isn't it stunning? This is what the Antique Telescope Society is all about. Many members own telescopes like this, and they are not cheap. A telescope made by Alvan Clark & Sons, in Cambridgeport, MA at the turn of the century, with a 3" diameter lens, can be worth nearly $20,000! The "Old is bad, new is good" quote is something said jokingly by members of the society after hearing stories of beautiful old classic telescopes in observatories being replaced by colleges in favor of some new "modern" instruments. In at least one case, the new telescope broke after several years, and the manufacturer said there were no new parts available because the instrument had been discontinued. The original telescope which was replaced had worked perfectly for 80 years!
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