The design of the refracting telescope advanced rapidly following its invention in 1608, reaching its modern
configuration in about a century. Even though the development of binoculars began almost simultaneously, nearly three
hundred years elapsed before practical prismatic binoculars became available. The impediments to practical binoculars
were not only in optical design, but in mechanical design, manufacturing, and materials. This paper will document the
history of telescopes and binoculars from an engineering perspective looking at the evolution of basic optical system
layout as well as some of the mechanical issues faced. This development will be illuminated using examples from the
Museum of Optics at the College of Optical Sciences at the University of Arizona.
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