Description

SOLD – A good nickel silver, taper barrelled marine presentation telescope. The single draw is engraved, ‘Troughton & Simms, London’, and also, ‘Presented by Her Majesty’s Government to, Captain Henry Proctor, Master of the Barque ‘Aunt Lizzie’ of Sunderland, in acknowledgment of his humanity and kindness to nine castaway islanders belonging to the island of Yap, who he picked up at sea on the 21st December 1867′. It measures 26.5″ long closed and 32.5″ with the draw tube pulled out. It has a main lens of 42 mm.

The Aunt Lizzie was an iron barque which was launched on Oct. 25, 1862 & first registered, at Sunderland, on Nov. 18, 1862. The vessel is Lloyd’s Register listed from 1862/63 thru 1872/73, owned throughout by T. Scott of Sunderland. For service initially from Sunderland to China (thru 1863/64), later from Swansea, Wales, to India (1865/66 thru 1867/68). From 1868/69 thru 1871/72, service from Cardiff, Wales, to Singapore is indicated. The Mercantile Navy Lists of 1865 thru 1872 all record the vessel as then owned by Thomas Scott of Sunderland. 145.0 ft. long, signal letters TVKC.
Newspaper records report that Henry Proctor, master of Aunt Lizzie, being presented with a telescope for saving  8 castaway islanders from the island of Yap, on Dec. 21, 1867. Yap is in the N. Pacific Ocean, E. of the Philippines.
Lloyds Register of 1872/73 notes that the vessel had been ‘Wrecked’ on Nov. 15, 1871, when the barque was stranded at English Bank (South Atlantic off Rio de la Plata, Uruguay), while en route from Newport, to Buenos Ayres, with a cargo of iron.

The telescope is ‘pin sharp’ to look through and gives a excellent, clear image.

Brass plaque missing from the top of case.

The last picture shows the Aunt Lizzie off Whitby? by John Scott.