John A. Brashear first came to public attention with an 1879 advertisement for silvered-glass specula and an 1882 catalog, Silvered Glass Reflecting Telescopes, and Specula. Over the next four decades, he made numerous instruments for astronomical and astrophysical work.
This telescope has an equatorial mount and a silvered-glass mirror of about 9½ inches aperture. The "J. A. BRASHEAR, PITTSBURGH, PA." inscription on the nameplate indicates that the telescope was made after 1909, when the suburb of Allegheny was incorporated into Pittsburgh city proper. It belonged to Henry E. Paul, a man famous for having helped amateurs interested in astronomy and telescope making.
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