Victorian Telescope to a British Officer in the Indian Mutiny

A charming Victorian Brass Telescope inscribed “ Archibald H Bell Royal Artillery from A.C.B 24th November 1862”.

Archibald Hamilton Bell was born in London on 24th November 1834 so it is probable the Telescope was a 28th Birthday present. He joined the Army at the age of 21 and served in the Indian Mutiny and was consequently a recipient of the Indian Mutiny Medal. He was a Lieutenant with the 3rd Company 4th Battalion Royal Artillery and died in London on 1st February 1865.

The Telescope is in good working condition extending to 70cms and 25.5 cms. when closed. Optics appear undamaged and focus well but are a little dirty. It has a detachable lens cap and a shutter which protects the ocular lens. Both the Telescope and its original shoulder strap are without damage.

The Indian Rebellion or Mutiny of 1857 was a major uprising in India in 1857–58 against the rule of the British East India Company, which functioned as a sovereign power on behalf of the British Crown. The rebellion began on 10 May 1857 in the form of a mutiny of sepoys of the company's army in the garrison town of Meerut, 40 mi (64 km) northeast of Delhi. It then erupted into other mutinies and civilian rebellions chiefly in the upper Gangetic plain and central India, though incidents of revolt also occurred farther north and east. The rebellion posed a military threat to British power in that region, and was contained only with the rebels' defeat in Gwalior on 20 June 1858. On 1 November 1858, the British granted amnesty to all rebels not involved in murder, though they did not declare the hostilities to have formally ended until 8 July 1859.