Timeline
1901
Lawrence Braymer is born in Chicago, Illinois (June).[1] See details.
1911
Marguerite Annetta Adams (later Dodd and then Braymer) is born in Camden, New Jersey (March 25).[2] See details.
1918
Lawrence Braymer serves as a First Sergeant in the Electrical Division of the Red Cross Ambulance Corps in France during World War I.[3] See details.
1919
Dennis Flanagan, Lawrence Braymer’s stepson, is born in New York City (July 22).[4] See details.
Late 1910s
Lawrence Braymer begins his studies at Northwestern University.[5] See details.
1920
Lawrence Braymer enrolls at Northwestern University and joins the Omega chapter of the Sigma Chi fraternity (fall 1920).[6] See details.
1921
Russell Porter spurs the amateur telescope makers (ATM) movement with the publication of his article entitled “The Poor Man’s Telescope” in Popular Astronomy (November).[7] See details.
Lawrence Braymer continues his education at the Art Institute of Chicago and at the Audubon Tyler School of Art (circa 1921).[8] See details.
1923
Lawrence Braymer is elected as recording secretary of the Palette and Chisel Club of Chicago (January 4).[9] See details.
1924
After a brief time in California with his family, Lawrence Braymer moves to Philadelphia and works for N.W. Ayer & Son as a freelance artist.[10] See details.
1925
Russell Porter meets Albert Ingalls, an editor at Scientific American magazine; their partnership propels the ATM movement.[11] See details.
1929
Lawrence Braymer moves to Bucks County, Pennsylvania.[12] See details.
1928-1929
Marguerite Adams attends the College of South Jersey.[13] See details.
Circa late 1920s
Lawrence Braymer marries Anna “Nan” Apotheker.[14] See details.
1930
Bernhard Schmidt designs a camera with a spherical Newtonian mirror that was corrected by a thin aspheric corrector plate.[15] See details.
1929-1930
Marguerite Adams attends South Jersey Law School.[16] See details.
1931
Marguerite Adams marries Raymond A. Dodd and becomes Marguerite Dodd (September 12).[17] See details.
Lawrence Braymer works as George Ritchey’s assistant at the U.S. Naval Observatory in Washington, DC.[18] See details.
1932
Marguerite Dodd moves to Bucks County, Pennsylvania.[19] See details.
Mid-1930s
Lawrence Braymer meets optical designer Norbert Schell and engages in a lengthy correspondence with him.[20] See details.
1937
Philadelphia science writer Steve Spencer interviews Lawrence Braymer about his twelve-inch polar refractor (January).[21] See details.
Marguerite Dodd gives birth to Peter R. Dodd.[22] See details.
1940
Albert Bouwers begins experimenting with commercial meniscus lenses (August).[23] See details.
Early 1940s
Marguerite Dodd works in advertising and spends a period of time at N.W Ayer & Son.[24] See details.
1941
Albert Bouwers files a patent application in the Netherlands for his own design for a catadioptric telescope with meniscus lens, a design that is similar to that of Dmitri Maksutov; the application eventually became U.S. Patent #2,409,186 (February 13).[25] See details.
1942
Lawrence Braymer meets Norman Edmund.[26] See details.
Early to mid-1940s
Marguerite Dodd writes instruction manuals for the U.S. Armed forces during World War II.[27] See details.
1944
Dmitri Maksutov’s article entitled “New Catadioptric Meniscus Systems” appears in the Journal of the Optical Society of America (May).[28] See details.
Lawrence Braymer encounters Maksutov’s article entitled “New Catadioptric Meniscus Systems” in the Journal of the Optical Society of America (summer 1944).[29] See details.
Lawrence Braymer completes his preliminary sketches for a catadioptric telescope (August).[30] See details.
Joseph Roland Cumberland opens J. R. Cumberland Optical Company in Silver Spring, Maryland.[31] See details.
1943 or 1944
Marguerite Dodd starts her work as decorating editor for Woman’s Day magazine, where she stayed until 1953.[32] See details.
1945
Albert Bouwers, Johannes Becker, and Adriaan Hendrik van Gorum file a patent application in the Netherlands for a reflecting telescope with a spherical mirror, an application which eventually became U.S. Patent #2,504,383 (August 8).[33] See details.
Lawrence Braymer publishes an article entitled “Wanted: A Tube” in Astounding Science Fiction (November).[34] See details.
Mid-1940s
Frank Godwin, who became Lawrence Braymer close friend and advisor for Questar’s early advertising, moves to Honey Hollow Road just west of New Hope.[35] See details.
1946
U.S. Patent and Trademark Office issues Albert Bouwers U.S. Patent #2,409,186 entitled “Telescope System” (October 15).[36] See details.
Lawrence Braymer abandons his career as a professional illustrator and pursues the development of the Questar telescope full time.[37] See details.
Albert Bouwers publishes his book Achievements in Optics.[38] See details.
1947
Lawrence Braymer submits an application entitled “Telescope,” which eventually became U.S. Patent #2,670,656 (November 25).[39] See details.
Dennis Flanagan partners with Donald Miller and Gerard Piel to acquire the flagging 102-year-old Scientific American magazine and revitalize it as a modern publication.[40] See details.
Lawrence Braymer takes his first photographs using the first experimental Questar telescope.[41] See details.
1948
Lawrence Braymer submits an application entitled “Telescope,” which eventually became U.S. Patent #2,649,791 (June 16).[42] See details.
Lawrence Braymer submits an application entitled “Reflecting Telescope with Auxiliary Optical System,” which eventually became U.S. Patent #2,628,529 (September 25).[43] See details.
Lawrence Braymer submits an application entitled “Multiple Image Telescope,” which eventually became U.S. Patent #2,753,760 (September 25).[44] See details.
Nan and Lawrence Braymer divorce.[45] See details.
1949
Lawrence Braymer submits an application entitled “Telescope Mounting,” which eventually became U.S. Patent #2,693,032 (March 15).[46] See details.
Lawrence Braymer’s patent attorney Joseph Denny suggests relocating the secondary spot to the R1 (outside) surface of the corrector lens as a way to circumvent Albert Bouwers’s patent (late 1949).[47] See details.
Between 1940 and 1950
Marguerite and Raymond Dodd divorce.[48] See details.
1950
Marguerite and Lawrence Braymer marry (March 25).[49] See details.
Questar Corporation is chartered in the State of Pennsylvania (April 3).[50] See details.
U.S. Patent and Trademark Office issues Albert Bouwers, Johannes Becker, and Adriaan Hendrik van Gorum U.S. Patent #2,504,383 entitled “Reflecting Type Telescope Having a Spherical Mirror” (April 18).[51] See details.
The beginning of the Korean War causes further problems for the availability of materials and delays for the production of the Questar telescope (June 25).[52] See details.
A design document shows a preliminary extruded metal telescope case (July 25).[53] See details.
A design document shows a revised extruded case consisting of two pieces that snapped together (August 8).[54] See details.
A design document shows a final two-piece extruded case made of material from Alcoa (September 24).[55] See details.
A design document shows end caps for an extruded box (September 26).[56] See details.
Marguerite Dodd (Braymer) begins her work as freelance writer for various magazines including House Beautiful, Better Homes and Gardens, and Country Gentlemen.[57] See details.
Marguerite Braymer becomes secretary and treasurer for Questar Corporation.[58] See details.
1951
A design document shows an eyepiece adapter tube (June 9).[59] See details.
A design document shows a control box casting with a swing-in finder mirror (June 19).[60] See details.
A design document shows a single side arm casting with open sides and no ridges (July 24).[61] See details.
1952
A design document shows a capstan screw knob for connecting a single removable side arm to a turntable (March 23).[62] See details.
A design document shows cover cap nuts for connecting the top of an extruded box (April 2).[63] See details.
A design document shows a control box closure plug that is 0.925 inches wide and has a threading of 32 TPI (May 5).[64] See details.
A design document shows a bracket that supports a swing-in finder mirror (August 11).[65] See details.
Cave Optical Company begins making primary mirrors for Questar.[66] See details.
1953
U.S. Patent and Trademark Office issues Lawrence Braymer U.S. Patent #2,628,529 entitled “Reflecting Telescope with Auxiliary Optical System” (February 17).[67] See details.
A brochure depicting a prototype Questar telescope appears (June).[68] See details.
Lawrence Braymer hires a number of salespersons and distributors to promote the Questar telescope (mid-1953).[69] See details.
A design document shows the base casting in its current shape (July 1).[70] See details.
The Korean War ends, freeing materials that had been reserved for the war effort for use in the production of the Questar telesope (July 27).[71] See details.
U.S. Patent and Trademark Office issues Lawrence Braymer U.S. Patent #2,649,791 entitled “Telescope” (August 25).[72] See details.
A design document shows a preliminary turntable casting with two side arms (September 10).[73] See details.
A design document shows the final and current version of the turntable casting with two side arms (October 8).[74] See details.
A design document shows slip-fit legs—two side legs and one center leg that was adjustable—for a new base (December 16).[75] See details.
1954
U.S. Patent and Trademark Office issues Lawrence Braymer U.S. Patent #2,670,656 entitled “Telescope” (March 2).[76] See details.
Cave Optical Company makes four meniscus corrector lenses (April 20).[77] See details.
The 3.5-inch Questar telescope is introduced to the market (May).[78] See details.
First Questar booklet is printed (May).[79] See details.
First Questar advertisement (June).[80] See details.
Lawrence Braymer submits an application for the Questar trademark, which eventually became registration #609,560 (August 23).[81] See details.
Lawrence Braymer submits an application entitled “Telescope,” which eventually became U.S. Patent #D-175,388 (September 20).[82] See details.
Questar receives 56 extruded flat-bottom aluminum shells from Alcoa in an apparent indication that the company had started to investigate alternatives to Synthane for the telescope tube (September).[83] See details.
U.S. Patent and Trademark Office issues Lawrence Braymer U.S. Patent #2,693,032 entitled “Telescope Mounting” (November 2).[84] See details.
A trio of documents show the current design for the azimuth slow motion knob, the elevation clamp knob, and the elevation drive knob (December 20-23, 1954).[85] See details.
1955
A design document shows the current finder mirror cage design (January 26).[86] See details.
U.S. Patent and Trademark Office issues Lawrence Braymer trademark #609,560 for Questar (July 26).[87] See details.
U.S. Patent and Trademark Office issues Lawrence Braymer U.S. Patent #D-175,388 entitled “Telescope” (August 23).[88] See details.
For the first time in its magazine advertising, Questar uses the term De Luxe or Deluxe to refer to what is today known as the Standard Questar (December).[89] See details.
Questar moves to its current location on U.S. Highway 202 just outside of New Hope.[90] See details.
Photographic equipment developer Charles E. K. Mees acquires a Questar telescope, one that he willed to the University of Hawaii upon his death.[91] See details.
Tom Johnson establishes Valor Electronics, which would later morph into Celestron.[92] See details.
1956
Questar and Cave Optical Company agree to terminate their manufacturing relationship (March 30).[93] See details.
Questar switches away from a control box with a bare metal finish to one with a painted finish (early 1956).[94] See details.
Questar transitions from red, silver, and blue side arm logo badges to ones with “☆Questar” in white lettering against a red background (early 1956).[95] See details.
A design document shows a Praktica/Pentacon camera adapter (April 8).[96] See details.
Introduction of the early version of the Field Model (May).[97] See details.
First appearance in an advertisement of a side arm logo badge with “☆Questar” in white lettering against a red background (May).[98] See details.
First appearance in an advertisement of a Rival Reflex camera, a rebranded domestic version of the Praktica FX, attached to a Questar telescope (May).[99] See details.
U.S. Patent and Trademark Office issues Lawrence Braymer U.S. Patent #2,753,760 entitled “Multiple Image Telescope” (July 10).[100] See details.
Lawrence Braymer does a series of field tests in Colorado using a Questar telescope and a Hexacon camera and produces numerous photographs that he would use later in Questar advertising (summer 1956).[101] See details.
First appearance in an advertisement of a Hexacon camera attached to a Questar telescope (August).[102] See details.
The Maksutov-Cassegrain telescope design makes a prominent appearance at the Stellafane gathering in Vermont and spurs interest among amateur telescope makers (August).[103] See details.
First appearance in an advertisement of the Linhof tripod (September).[104] See details.
Announcement of a twelve-month installment payment plan (December).[105] See details.
J.R. Cumberland Optical begins working with Questar by refiguring optics sets made by other manufacturers.[106] See details.
Eyepieces no longer bear diopter indicators.[107] See details.
Questar switches from a snap-on to thread-on solar filter.[108] See details.
1957
Announcement of accessories for the early version of the Field Model (January).[109] See details.
Questar offers the Praktica camera for $99.50 (January).[110] See details.
Questar offers the Hexacon camera for $134.50 (January).[111] See details.
First appearance in an advertisement of a photograph of the Moon (March).[112] See details.
First appearance in an advertisement of an image by longtime photographic contributors Ralph and Dorothy Davis (March).[113] See details.
John Gregory publishes his milestone article “A Cassegrainian-Maksutov Telescope Design for the Amateur” in Sky and Telescope (March).[114] See details.
A design document shows a camera adapter (May 5).[115] See details.
A design document shows a full-aperture solar filter cell (October 25).[116] See details.
Announcement that every new Questar ships with a high-quality copy of the National Bureau of Standards Microscopy Test Chart and that each Questar resolves to 0.9 seconds of arc (November).[117] See details.
Dwight Eisenhower gives a Questar telescope to King Mohammed V of Morocco during a state visit to the United States (late November or early December 1957).[118] See details.
Quartz primary mirrors appear as a $105 upgrade option (December).[119] See details.
Introduction of aspheric optics (December).[120] See details.
Marguerite Dodd (Braymer) publishes America’s Homemaking Book.[121] See details.
Questar changes its serial numbering convention from a single sequence number (e.g., “123”) to one with the last digit of the year of production and a sequence number separated by a dash (e.g., “7-345”).[122] See details.
1958
Last appearance in an advertisement of the early version of the Field Model (January).[123] See details.
John Schneck completes a machining schematic that specified details for an aluminum telescope barrel and rear cell (February 4).[124] See details.
Questar partners with Dry Dock Savings Bank in New York to place its telescopes in conspicuous public view (March).[125] See details.
An early Questar Seven prototype appears (April).[126] See details.
Astronomer Alfred Mikesell and high-altitude balloonist Malcolm Ross ascend above the tropopause with a custom-built Questar telescope on board (May 6).[127] See details.
J.R. Cumberland Optical makes the first complete optics set for Questar (June).[128] See details.
For the last time in its magazine advertising, Questar uses the term De Luxe or Deluxe to refer to what is today known as the Standard Questar (September).[129] See details.
An revised and expanded Questar booklet is printed (October).[130] See details.
First advertisement in Natural History magazine (November).[131] See details.
Announcement of a heavy vinyl luggage case cover with drawstrings and metal grommets (November).[132] See details.
Questar Corporation has three employees.[133] See details.
1959
A Questar telescope appears in a traveling exhibit entitled 20th Century Design: U.S.A., which was produced by the Albright Art Gallery of Buffalo, New York (April).[134] See details.
First advertisement with an illustration of the full-aperture solar filter (May).[135] See details.
Rocket engineer and space exploration advocate Wernher von Braun acquires a Questar telescope (May).[136] See details.
First advertisement in Scientific American magazine (June).[137] See details.
Questar announces the availability of a drive inverter that works off typical car batteries, an accessory made by American Television and Radio Company of St. Paul, Minnesota (June).[138] See details.
Questar begins to offer the option of a star diagonal prism in addition to the standard Amici prism (circa June 1959).[139] See details.
Questar changes its specification for focal length and ratio to 45.5 inches at f/13 (September).[140] See details.
Questar switches from Synthane to brushed aluminum base plates.[141] See details.
1960
A design document shows an eyepiece adapter ring for use with a camera extension tube set (January 14).[142] See details.
A design document shows Nylatron thrust and plunger pins for a new settable right ascension circle (February 8).[143] See details.
First advertisement appearing on inside front cover of Natural History magazine (February).[144] See details.
Standard Questars no longer require an auxiliary plate for mounting to a tripod (March 26).[145] See details.
The right ascension setting circle now allows the user to set it (March 26).[146] See details.
Lawrence Braymer writes an essay entitled “Telescopic Photography” (June).[147] See details.
Film and stage actor Anthony Perkins acquires a quartz-mirrored Questar telescope (June).[148] See details.
The last Questar marked with a focal length and ratio of 42.4 inches at f/12.1 appears (July 1960).[149] See details.
First appearance in an advertisement of Nikon F cameras (September).[150] See details.
Questar announces that it is a Nikon franchised dealer (September).[151] See details.
Questar offers an Amici prism diagonal as a $50 option (November).[152] See details.
Questar offers a modified version of the Praktina FX camera for $200 (November).[153] See details.
Tom Johnson creates the “Astro-Optical” division within Valor Electronics.[154] See details.
1961
Television technology pioneers Vladimir K. Zworykin and L. E. Flory acquire a Questar telescope for use in a space vehicle (February).[155] See details.
Questar reverses the orientation of the moon map (early 1961).[156] See details.
First advertisement with updated all-caps “QUESTAR” logo (June).[157] See details.
First advertisement appearing on inside front cover of Sky and Telescope magazine (July).[158] See details.
Announcement of a newly designed corrector lens retaining ring (November).[159] See details.
1962
Tom Johnson displays his 18 3/4" Cassegrain telescope before members of the Los Angeles Astronomical Society (January).[160] See details.
Tom Johnson encounters Donald Willey’s article entitled “Cassegrain-Type Telescopes” in Sky and Telescope (April).[161] See details.
First appearance in an advertisement of the “Greek goddess” and the ancient Greek motif as a metaphor for Questar’s pursuit of perfection (June).[162] See details.
First advertisement in Modern Photography magazine (September).[163] See details.
1963
Tom Johnson’s 18 3/4" Cassegrain telescope appears on the front cover of Sky and Telescope magazine (March).[164] See details.
The all-caps “QUESTAR” side arm logo badge replaces the prior “☆Questar” design (spring 1963).[165] See details.
The last Questar marked with a focal length and ratio of 45.5 inches at f/13 appears (spring 1963).[166] See details.
Introduction of the Questar-modified Nikon F (May).[167] See details.
A design document shows a swiveling three-part camera adapter (August 22).[168] See details.
First appearance in an advertisement of a counterweight accessory (October).[169] See details.
A design document shows a dust cap ring and Synthane disk (November 29).[170] See details.
First appearance in an advertisement of the cut-away Questar illustration (December).[171] See details.
Questar delivers “Special 63” to a thirteen-year-old boy (December).[172] See details.
Marguerite Dodd (Braymer) publishes America’s Cook Book.[173] See details.
1958 to 1963
Questar telescopes are used in the Mercury Program missions.[174] See details.
1964
Lawrence Braymer makes his last will and names his wife Marguerite as the beneficiary of a trust fund he established (January 6).[175] See details.
Tom Johnson advertises his Celestronic 20 telescope in Sky and Telescope (January).[176] See details.
Introduction of the modern Field Model (February).[177] See details.
Introduction of a new and improved swiveling camera coupler (February).[178] See details.
Introduction of the wide field construction (February).[179] See details.
First Questar advertisement printed in color (March).[180] See details.
Novelist Arthur C. Clarke and filmmaker Stanley Kubrick meet for the first time after corresponding about Questar telescopes (April 22).[181] See details.
Industrial design critic Walter Dorwin Teague selects the Questar telescope as one of “The Twenty Best Industrial Designs Since World War II,” as an article that appeared in the Saturday Review was entitled (May 23).[182] See details.
Questar changes its specification for focal length and ratio to 50.5 inches at f/14.4 (July).[183] See details.
The third major update to the Questar booklet is printed with eight pages of color photography included (July).[184] See details.
Introduction of a front lens diaphragm.[185] See details.
The first separate Questar price catalog appears.[186] See details.
Questar introduces the Varitrac drive accessory.[187] See details.
The “Astro-Optical Division” part of Valor Electronics evolved into Celestron Pacific.[188] See details.
1962 to 1964
A Questar tours with a worldwide exhibit entitled World Science and the U.S.A., which was sponsored by the United States Information Agency.[189] See details.
1965
Lawrence Braymer wins the Master Design Award from Product Engineering magazine (May 19).[190] See details.
A Questar telescope launches with Gemini 5 (August 21).[191] See details.
Lawrence Braymer dies (December 1).[192] See details.
NASA flies an Aerobee 150 sounding rocket equipped with a spectroheliograph that included a Questar telescope to obtain images of the Sun (December 2).[193] See details.
Robert Little’s work is featured in the December 1965 issue of Scientific American (December).[194] See details.
Introduction of a thread-on Barlow lens for attachment to the axial port (circa 1965).[195] See details.
A separate corrector lens dust cap becomes available for separate purchase (circa 1965).[196] See details.
1964 and 1965
John T. Jefferies and his colleagues at the University of Hawaii use Questar telescopes to evaluate sites for new observatories at Haleakala and Mauna Kea.[197] See details.
1966
Marguerite Braymer becomes president of Questar Corporation (early 1966).[198] See details.
Introduction of a tabletop tripod for use with the Field Model and a suitable tripod head (April 1).[199] See details.
Questar-modified Nikon F with Photomic T viewfinder appears (April 1).[200] See details.
Questar introduces the Varitrac II drive accessory (April 1).[201] See details.
Introduction of the Camera Cradle (April 1).[202] See details.
Introduction of the Questar TV Model (April 1).[203] See details.
Introduction of the Duplex (October).[204] See details.
Questar offers the Beaulieu R16ES 16mm movie camera (November).[205] See details.
Introduction of a C-mount adapter (November).[206] See details.
Patrick Verdone describes how a Questar telescope was used to photograph the Sun at a near-ultraviolet wavelength in his paper entitled “A Telescope Suitable for Rocket-borne Instrumentation” (November).[207] See details.
A Questar telescope appears in the film Way... Way Out.[208] See details.
John Daveler forms Davro Instrument Corporation.[209] See details.
1967
Questar’s optics fabricator (presumably J.R. Cumberland) delivers the first optics set for the Questar Seven (January 26).[210] See details.
Introduction of broadband and VLR (very low reflective) coatings (March).[211] See details.
First appearance in an advertisement of a Beaulieu Super 8 movie camera (June).[212] See details.
Questar offers the Miller Fluid Head (June).[213] See details.
Johnny Carson acquires a Questar telescope with a quartz primary mirror (June).[214] See details.
Introduction of the Questar Seven (September).[215] See details.
Cer-Vit mirror announcement (September).[216] See details.
Jerome Grever demonstrates how a Questar telescope could be used with a television camera to display images of the Moon for broadcast (October).[217] See details.
Barry Goldwater acquires a Questar telescope.[218] See details.
Questar makes an appearance at the the world exposition in Montreal.[219] See details.
1968
First appearance in an advertisement of an image by longtime photographic contributor Hubert Entrop (February).[220] See details.
The fourth major update to the Questar booklet is announced (February).[221] See details.
First appearance in an advertisement of an updated leather carrying case that replaced the original English leather case (March).[222] See details.
Questar begins including a solar filter for the finder system in reaction to the urging of Johnny Carson (April 1).[223] See details.
Introduction of the Questar-modified Beseler Topcon Super D camera body (August).[224] See details.
Introduction of the Piggy-back Mount (August).[225] See details.
Introduction of a finder solar filter as a separate add-on accessory (August).[226] See details.
Quartz primary mirrors are no longer listed as an option (October 1).[227] See details.
Questar-modified Nikon F with Photomic FTn viewfinder appears (October 1).[228] See details.
Re-introduction of an image-erecting porro prism, which Questar had offered with its earlier version of the Field Model (October 1).[229] See details.
Introduction of the Rowi Shoulder Mount (October 1).[230] See details.
Questar appears at the meeting of the American Institute in Philadelphia (October).[231] See details.
The U.S. federal government includes Questar in its Confluence, U.S.A. exhibit at Hemisfare ’68 in San Antonio, Texas.[232] See details.
1969
National Geographic features an article that mentions how one of its staff members used a Questar telescope to photograph the Moon as part of the publication’s lunar map project (February).[233] See details.
A Questar telescope launches with Apollo 9 (March 3).[234] See details.
A corrector lens dust cap becomes a standard accessory for all 3.5-inch Questar telescopes (July 1).[235] See details.
A tabletop fork mount with tripod legs appears for the Questar Seven (July 1).[236] See details.
Questar introduces a set of optical glass filters (July 1).[237] See details.
NASA makes plans to include a Questar telescope as part of a planned Apollo 18 mission that was later cancelled (November).[238] See details.
Walter Dorwin Teague chooses the Questar telescope as part of an exhibit entitled Designed for Use at the Ringling Museum of Art in Sarasota, Florida.[239] See details.
Questar exhausts its supply of its carrying cases that used the original English saddle leather design.[240] See details.
Late 1960s
Tom Johnson meets with Marguerite Braymer, John Schneck, and Paul Schenkle to propose a merger between Celestron and Questar.[241] See details.
Late 1960s or early 1970s
Robert Schwenk takes over much of Questar’s machining operations from Gerald Fegley; he would remain in that role for the next three decades.[242] See details.
1970
A full-aperture solar filter for the Questar Seven appears (March 1).[243] See details.
Introduction of the original Powerguide controller (April).[244] See details.
Introduction of an illuminated crosshair reticle eyepiece and a Varitrac reticle control (April).[245] See details.
Introduction of a Varitrac AC-to-DC converter (April).[246] See details.
Celestron introduces the Celestron 8 Schmidt-Cassegrain telescope (June).[247] See details.
Donald Menzel and Jay Pasachoff do research involving the solar chromosphere using a Questar telescope.[248] See details.
Questar modifies is leather carrying case to include a flare off the top panel (circa 1970).[249] See details.
1969 or 1970
Don Yeier and Rodger Gordon travel to Questar and successfully convince the company to switch to Brandon eyepieces.[250] See details.
1971
First appearance in an advertisement of the Questar Portable Pier (later known as the Folding Pier) (April).[251] See details.
Introduction of the Questar Autocollimator (June).[252] See details.
Introduction of the Cinema Model (June).[253] See details.
Introduction of the Questar Television Camera (June).[254] See details.
A built-in Barlow lens and an option for a Pyrex primary mirror both appear for the Questar Seven.[255] See details.
Vernonscope offers a set of machined metal storage sleeves for Brandon eyepieces.[256] See details.
Milton Friedman acquires a Questar telescope.[257] See details.
1972
The fifth major update to the Questar booklet is announced (March).[258] See details.
Introduction of a cam-based Fast Focus option for the Field Model (June).[259] See details.
First appearance in an advertisement of the Carpod accessory (October).[260] See details.
The company sends optical drawings with R2 secondary spot placement for the 3.5- and 7-inch Questars to Edward K. Kaprelian for review and analysis.[261] See details.
The first Questar telescopes to include Brandon eyepieces appear.[262] See details.
Questar introduces a quick-change filter holder.[263] See details.
Questar splits the content of its price catalog into two separate pieces of literature, more detailed six-page Instruments and Accessory brochure and a brief two-page Price Catalog.[264] See details.
The George Eastman Museum in Rochester, New York, adds Duplex #2-DP-5316-BB, which was a gift to the organization from Questar Corporation, to its permanent collection.[265] See details.
A Questar telescope appears in the film The Mechanic.[266] See details.
Questar exhausts its supply of eyepieces that used the original design with Japanese-made lenses.[267] See details.
1973
Introduction of the Starguide (March).[268] See details.
A Questar appears in an article in Sky and Telescope entitled “Astronomy in Mongolia” (December).[269] See details.
The wide field construction becomes the standard option on all Standard Questars.[270] See details.
Final listing of the Questar-modified Beseler Topcon Super D in company marketing literature.[271] See details.
1972 and 1973
A Questar tours with a worldwide exhibit entitled Outdoor Recreation—U.S.A., an event sponsored by the United States Information Agency.[272] See details.
1974
Announcement of Q Camera in Daytona Beach, Florida (April).[273] See details.
Introduction of the Questar-modified Olympus OM-1 camera body (September).[274] See details.
Introduction of the Questar SR-7 (December).[275] See details.
Questar telescopes with updated Brandon eyepieces appear.[276] See details.
Questar merges the content of its more detailed six-page Instruments and Accessory brochure and its brief two-page Price Catalog into a single Instruments and Accessory brochure.[277] See details.
1975
Introduction of the Questar 20-40 (October).[278] See details.
Questar makes an appearance at the International Ocean Exposition in Okinawa, Japan.[279] See details.
Introduction of the Ruggedized Questar 3.5 and Questar Seven.[280] See details.
1976
Questar publishes its first issue of the Questar Observations newsletter (spring 1976).[281] See details.
Questar Corporation (Edward K. Kaprelian and William E. Mimmack) submits an application for the Questar 700 entitled “Catadioptric Lens System,” which eventually became U.S. Patent #4,061,420 (May 6).[282] See details.
Introduction of Questar 700 (August).[283] See details.
Edward K. Kaprelian updates the Questar Seven’s optical design.[284] See details.
Douglas Knight becomes president of Questar Corporation.[285] See details.
1977
John Schneck and Robert Richardson form Optical Techniques Incorporated (April).[286] See details.
Optical Techniques Incorporated introduces the Quantum telescope to the market (September).[287] See details.
The Celestron C90 is introduced to the market (October).[288] See details.
Questar performs its first testing for R2 secondary spot placement for the 3.5-inch Questar (November).[289] See details.
U.S. Patent and Trademark Office issues Questar Corporation (Edward K. Kaprelian and William E. Mimmack) U.S. Patent #4,061,420 entitled “Catadioptric Lens System” for the Questar 700 (December 6).[290] See details.
Questar publishes the six major update to its booklet.[291] See details.
Between 1974 and 1977
Tabletop tripod leg rubber tips become larger.[292] See details.
1978
The 3.5-inch Questar with R2 secondary spot placement enters production (April).[293] See details.
Jim Perkins is hired at Questar Corporation (May).[294] See details.
Questar Corporation (Edward K. Kaprelian) submits an application entitled “Dual Focal Length Objective,” which eventually became U.S. Patent #4,235,508 (July 17).[295]
Optical Techniques Incorporated introduces the Quantum 100 telescope to the market (November).[296] See details.
A Questar-modified Contax RTS camera body appears.[297] See details.
Questar publishes two brochures entitled “The Unique Questar” and “When You Choose Questar.”[298] See details.
Final listing of the Questar-modified Nikon F in company marketing literature.[299] See details.
1979
Introduction of the Questar 12 and the Questar-Byers mount (August).[300] See details.
First advertisement in Astronomy magazine (September).[301] See details.
The 25th Anniversary Questar enters production (late 1979).[302] See details.
Delivery of the first 25th Anniversary Questars (mid-December 1979).[303] See details.
1980
Optical Techniques Incorporated introduces instruments for special applications including the Model IR-100, the Model 18016-DP, the Model 15015-M, and the Model TVS-500 (March).[304] See details.
Optical Techniques Incorporated introduces the Quantum Eight telescope to the market (May).[305] See details.
Questar experiments with using broadband coatings with the Questar 700 to increase light throughput (June).[306] See details.
U.S. Patent and Trademark Office issues Questar Corporation (Edward K. Kaprelian) U.S. Patent #4,235,508 entitled “Dual Focal Length Objective” (October 25).[307]
Introduction of the Questar 40-120 (October).[308] See details.
Questar publishes “The Questar Almanac” for 1981 (November).[309] See details.
Zerodur replaces Cer-Vit as a primary mirror substrate.[310] See details.
Marguerite Braymer forms the Questar Library of Science and Art.[311] See details.
1981
First appearance in an advertisement of the Micro-Questar (later the M1 and QM-1) (January).[312] See details.
First appearance in an advertisement of the Questar mount for the Questar 12 and the Observa-Dome (June).[313] See details.
Final Questar advertisement in Natural History magazine (July).[314] See details.
Questar begins including broadband coatings as a standard feature on all Questar 700 lenses (July).[315] See details.
The Criterion Dynamax 4, a Questar lookalike, is introduced to the market (August).[316] See details.
Optical Techniques Incorporated ceases operations (October).[317] See details.
Questar publishes “The Questar Almanac” for 1982 (November).[318] See details.
Push-in tabletop tripod legs are changed to threaded screw-in ones.[319] See details.
Side arm logo badges add a small “®” symbol.[320] See details.
Davro Optical Systems begins doing business.[321] See details.
Questar publishes “The Questar Moon.”[322] See details.
1982
Introduction of the M1 (later the QM-1) (May).[323] See details.
1983
Introduction of the Wide-sky Questars (February).[324] See details.
First appearance in an advertisement of the QM-1 (June).[325] See details.
Questar publishes the seventh major update to its booklet.[326] See details.
Introduction of a rack-and-pinion Fast Focus II option for the Field Model.[327] See details.
Final listing of the Questar-modified Contax RTS in company marketing literature.[328] See details.
Between 1979 and 1983
Questar-manufactured eyepieces ship with instruments.[329] See details.
1984
First appearance in an advertisement of the Industrial 700 (June).[330] See details.
First appearance in an advertisement of the MFL 3.5 (June).[331] See details.
A Questar telescope appears in the film Body Double.[332] See details.
1985
Marguerite Braymer receives the Business Achievement Award from the Central Bucks Chamber of Commerce.[333] See details.
Mid-1980s
Tripod leg hole plugs change to flat versions.[334] See details.
Questar adopts a new vinyl-clad carrying case.[335] See details.
Questar briefly considers designing and producing a Questar 18.[336] See details.
1986
Questar transitions from side arm edges with a polished finish to ones with a brushed, satin finish (late 1986).[337] See details.
1987
Questar Corporation (Edward K. Kaprelian) submits an application entitled “Dual Axis Optical System,” which eventually became U.S. Patent #4,728,770 (April 27).[338]
Introduction of the Questar Remote Measurement System (QRMS) (September).[339] See details.
The option to order a 3.5-inch Questar with a Zerodur primary mirror upgrade but with standard magnesium fluoride coatings disappears.[340] See details.
Final listing of the Questar-modified Olympus OM-1 in company marketing literature.[341] See details.
1988
U.S. Patent and Trademark Office issues Questar Corporation (Edward K. Kaprelian) U.S. Patent #4,728,770 entitled “Dual Axis Optical System” (March 1).[342]
A Nikon F3HP camera body appears for the first time in Questar’s marketing literature.[343] See details.
Questar ends its practice of indicating specifications for the Field Model using triangle stickers affixed to the side of the control box.[344]
1989
First appearance in an advertisement of the QM-100, the QM-2, and the DR-1 (April).[345] See details.
Questar develops the QM-200 long-distance microscope.[346] See details.
Photonics Excellence awards Questar for its QM-200 long distance microscope as an innovative product.[347]
Introduction of broadband and narrowband light pollution reduction filters.[348] See details.
Circa 1989
Questar transitions from handwritten to stenciled serial number etchings.[349] See details.
1990
Introduction of the QRMS II (March).[350] See details.
First appearance in an advertisement of the QRMS M (March).[351] See details.
A handheld Powerguide controller is introduced.[352] See details.
Questar adopts a new carrying case that accomodates the new handheld Powerguide controller (circa 1990).[353] See details.
1991
Final Questar advertisement in Scientific American magazine (February).[354] See details.
Introduction of the Questar Solar Observatory and SunShield accessory (September).[355] See details.
A Birder model is introduced (November).[356] See details.
Questar Astro Pier is introduced (November).[357] See details.
First appearance in an advertisement of the leather carrying case upgrade option (December).[358] See details.
First appearance in an advertisement of the handheld Powerguide controller (December).[359] See details.
First appearance in an advertisement of the Tri-Stand Mount (December).[360] See details.
1992
A specification document for a proposed Questar Maksutov-Newtonian telescope appears (March 20).[361] See details.
Questar revives its Observations newsletter (spring 1992).[362] See details.
Questar receives the R&D Award for its QRMS II system.[363]
Rodger Gordon authors a brochure for Questar entitled “Choosing a Telescope.”[364] See details.
Early 1990s
Questar opens numerous international sales offices.[365] See details.
1993
Questar publishes its last advertisement on the inside front cover of Sky and Telescope (February).[366] See details.
Questar publishes its last advertisement in Sky and Telescope until 1997, breaking a chain of advertisements in that publication that lasted over 39 years (October).[367] See details.
NASA uses a modified QM-1 long distance microscope to inspect and test the Wide Field Planetary Imaging Camera that was to be installed on the Hubble Space Telescope.[368] See details.
1995
Questar moves to reorganize under Chapter 11 bankruptcy (September 13).[369] See details.
Nylon thumbscrews are introduced in Questar’s dipoter eyepiece adapter for setting standard 1.25-inch eyepieces into place.[370] See details.
1996
Marguerite Braymer dies (October 27).[371] See details.
A handheld Powerguide II controller is introduced.[372] See details.
Douglas Knight assumes ownership of Questar Corporation (late 1996).[373] See details.
An email-based Questar Users Group emerges (late 1996).[374] See details.
1997
Questar Seven Astro is introduced (January).[375] See details.
An advertisement appears in Sky and Telescope magazine after a gap lasting nearly four years (April).[376] See details.
Questar emerges from Chapter 11 bankruptcy (summer 1997).[377] See details.
Joseph Cumberland retires and leaves his company J.R. Cumberland Optical to his sons, Stephen and Dwight.[378] See details.
Final listing of the Nikon F3HP in company marketing literature.[379] See details.
1998
Questar advertises a proposed convertible Maksutov-Newtonian telescope with two focal lengths and wide rich-field capabilities (September).[380] See details.
Questar indicates a website address for the first time (September).[381] See details.
1999
Questar Corporation submits an application entitled “Stereoscopic, Long-distance Microscope,” which eventually became U.S. Patent #6,256,143 B1 (February 19).[382] See details.
First appearance in an advertisement of the “rays” Questar logo (July).[383] See details.
Planning begins for the 50th Anniversary Questar.[384] See details.
Right ascension setting circle indicates change from hours and degrees to hours and minutes (circa 1999).[385] See details.
Late 1990s
Dew shield finish changes to matte blue.[386] See details.
2000
Introduction of the 50th Anniversary Questar (August).[387] See details.
A Questar Users Group starts on Yahoo! Groups (September 24).[388] See details.
The first 50th Anniversary Questar is delivered to its buyer at the Q-Fest event in New Hope (September 28).[389] See details.
2001
The Alt-Telescopes-Questar Majordomo mailing list moves to the Questar Users Group on Yahoo! Groups (February).[390] See details.
U.S. Patent and Trademark Office issues Questar Corporation U.S. Patent #6,256,143 B1 entitled “Stereoscopic, Long-distance Microscope” (July 3).[391] See details.
Earlene Austin announces the purchase of Questar Corporation by Donald Bandurick (July 16).[392] See details.
2002
A design document shows updates to the optics, baffle system, and secondary spot size for the 3.5-inch Questar (September 24).[393] See details.
Introduction of the Lightweight Titanium 7 (September).[394] See details.
Coronado etalons and blocking filters are listed part of the Questar Solar Observatory.[395] See details.
2003
Introduction of the Qmax Spectrometer (January).[396] See details.
A 3.5-inch Questar telescope helps capture images of the Space Shuttle Columbia shortly before its destruction (February 1).[397] See details.
A design document shows updates to the Questar Seven’s optics, baffle system, and secondary spot size (April 4).[398] See details.
The first discussion thread appears on the Questar forum on Cloudy Nights (April 24).[399] See details.
Questar’s last distinct advertisement series appears (August).[400] See details.
2004
Questar produces a Questar Seven base with a digital setting circles upgrade.[401]
2005
Douglas Knight dies (January 25).[402] See details.
Introduction of the Questar German Equatorial Mount (circa 2005).[403] See details.
2007
A Questar telescope appears in the film Into the Wild.[404] See details.
2008
A design document shows a new/modified design for the Questar Seven used by NASA for video rocket tracking; the instrument has a dual effective focal length of 1500 and 3000mm (December 8).[405] See details.
2014
Planet Labs uses Questar optics for its fleet of tiny Dove satellites that could capture high-resolution images of the Earth.[406] See details.
2015
Longtime J.R. Cumberland Optical employees Robert Kautz and William Greening buy the company.[407] See details.
2016
Questar produces the PowerGuide III DC motor drive to replace the PowerGuide II system; upgrades for setting circle and dataset hardware are planned for the future.[408] See details.
2018
Questar begins design and prototype work on the Questar 5; the company studies several designs and determines that version 4 with its field flatteners, which resemble those in the Questar 700, is best.[409] See details.
Davro Optical Systems ceases operations.[410] See details.
2019
Yahoo! shuts down all Yahoo! Groups and forces the Questar Users Group to move to Groups.io (December 14). See details.
Questar develops the Powerguide III’s object database and setting circle software.[411] See details.
Questar designs a tube for the Questar 5.[412] See details.
An updated carrying case is introduced (late 2019).[413] See details.
2020
The first optics for the Questar 5 (version 4) are produced; the design for the base of the Questar 5 is in progress (August 15).[414] See details.
2022
Vernonscope introduces a 20mm Brandon eyepiece (October).[415] See details.
2023
Vernonscope introduces flat-top Questar eyepieces (January).[416] See details.
2024
Jim Reichert and Jim Perkins, two long-time employees of the company, retire from Questar Corporation (spring 2024).[417]
Notes
1 “Lawrence Braymer, Devised a Telescope,” New York Times, December 2, 1965, 41, https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1965/12/02/95917409.pdf, accessed December 2, 2019; “Lawrence Ernest Braymer (1901 - 1965),” Ancestry.com, n.d., https://www.ancestry.com.au/genealogy/records/lawrence-ernest-braymer-24-6k9clr, accessed June 7, 2020.
2 Contemporary Authors: A Bio-bibliographical Guide to Current Writers in Fiction, General Nonfiction, Poetry, Journalism, Drama, Motion Pictures, Television and Other Fields (Gale Research Company, 1969), 307, https://archive.org/details/contemporaryauth5-8gale/page/307/mode/1up, accessed June 3, 2022; Charles Shaw, “Larry Braymer: ‘In Quest of the Stars,’” New Hope Gazette, March 14, 1985, 3, https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/Questar/files/FAQ/, accessed October 15, 2019; Who’s Who in America, 1992-1993 (New Providence: Marquis Who’s Who, 1992), volume 1, 392, https://archive.org/details/isbn_0837901480_1/page/392/mode/1up, accessed June 3, 2022; Herb Drill, “Marguerite Braymer, 85, Questar Corp. co-founder,” Philadelphia Inquirer, November 1, 1996, R4, https://www.newspapers.com/clip/21814542/the_philadelphia_inquirer/, accessed October 8, 2019.
3 Stewart Squires, online forum posting, Questar Users Group, August 10, 2010, https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/Questar/conversations/messages/21190, accessed November 3, 2019; Stewart Squires, online forum posting, Questar Users Group, August 10, 2010, https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/Questar/conversations/messages/21191, accessed November 3, 2019.
4 Federal Bureau of Investigation, notes from interview with Dennis Flanagan, September 26, 1951, https://archive.org/stream/JuliusRosenberg/Rosenberg%2C%20Julius%2041#page/n37/mode/1up, accessed June 7, 2020; “Dennis Flanagan,” Wikipedia, n.d., https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dennis_Flanagan, accessed March 19, 2020.
5 Stewart Squires, online forum posting, Questar Users Group, August 10, 2010, https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/Questar/conversations/messages/21191, accessed November 3, 2019.
6 Northwestern University junior class, The Syllabus (Evanston: Northwestern University, 1921), 148-149, https://archive.org/details/syllabus36nort/page/148/mode/2up, accessed June 3, 2022.
7 Russell Porter, “The Poor Man’s Telescope,” Popular Astronomy, November 1921, 527-536, http://adsabs.harvard.edu/full/1921PA.....29..527P, accessed December 17, 2020; Gary Leonard Cameron, “Public Skies: Telescopes and the Popularization of Astronomy in the Twentieth Century,” PhD diss., (Iowa State University, 2010), 195, https://lib.dr.iastate.edu/etd/11795/, accessed September 30, 2019.
8 Stewart Squires, online forum posting, Questar Users Group, August 10, 2010, https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/Questar/conversations/messages/21191, accessed November 3, 2019.
9 American Art News, January 20, 1923, https://archive.org/details/sim_artnews_1923-01-20_21_15/page/n7/mode/1up, accessed June 3, 2022; Stewart Squires, online forum posting, Questar Users Group, August 10, 2010, https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/Questar/conversations/messages/21191, accessed November 3, 2019.
10 Stewart Squires, online forum posting, Questar Users Group, August 10, 2010, https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/Questar/conversations/messages/21191, accessed November 3, 2019.
11 Gary Leonard Cameron, “Public Skies: Telescopes and the Popularization of Astronomy in the Twentieth Century,” PhD diss., (Iowa State University, 2010), 195, https://lib.dr.iastate.edu/etd/11795/, accessed September 30, 2019.
12 Stewart Squires, online forum posting, Questar Users Group, August 10, 2010, https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/Questar/conversations/messages/21191, accessed November 3, 2019.
13 Contemporary Authors: A Bio-bibliographical Guide to Current Writers in Fiction, General Nonfiction, Poetry, Journalism, Drama, Motion Pictures, Television and Other Fields (Gale Research Company, 1969), 307, https://archive.org/details/contemporaryauth5-8gale/page/307/mode/1up, accessed June 3, 2022; Ralph Foss, “Lawrence E Braymer” (unpublished manuscript, June 11, 2006, revised June 26, 2006), typescript, https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/Questar/files/FAQ/, accessed October 15, 2019.
14 “Lawrence Ernest Braymer (1901 - 1965),” Ancestry.com, n.d., https://www.ancestry.com.au/genealogy/records/lawrence-ernest-braymer-24-6k9clr, accessed June 7, 2020; Federal Bureau of Investigation, notes from September 26, 1951, interview with Dennis Flanagan, October 1, 1951, https://archive.org/stream/JuliusRosenberg/Rosenberg%2C%20Julius%2041#page/n37/mode/1up, accessed June 7, 2020; Stewart Squires, online forum posting, Questar Users Group, August 10, 2010, https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/Questar/conversations/messages/21191, accessed November 3, 2019; Ralph Foss, “Lawrence E Braymer” (unpublished manuscript, June 11, 2006, revised June 26, 2006), typescript, https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/Questar/files/FAQ/, accessed October 15, 2019.
15 James Mullaney, A Buyer’s and User’s Guide to Astronomical Telescopes & Binoculars (London: Springer, 2007), 47, https://books.google.com/books?id=hzpoQRh9QEQC&pg=PA46#v=onepage&q&f=false, accessed June 17, 2020.
16 Charles Shaw, “Larry Braymer: ‘In Quest of the Stars,’” New Hope Gazette, March 14, 1985, 3, https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/Questar/files/FAQ/, accessed October 15, 2019; Who’s Who in America, 1992-1993 (New Providence: Marquis Who’s Who, 1992), volume 1, 392, https://archive.org/details/isbn_0837901480_1/page/392/mode/1up, accessed June 3, 2022; “Marguerite Annetta Braymer,” Prabook, n.d., https://prabook.com/web/marguerite_annetta.braymer/491976, accessed November 2, 2020.
17 Who’s Who in America, 1992-1993 (New Providence: Marquis Who’s Who, 1992), volume 1, 392, https://archive.org/details/isbn_0837901480_1/page/392/mode/1up, accessed June 3, 2022; “Marguerite Annetta Braymer,” Prabook, n.d., https://prabook.com/web/marguerite_annetta.braymer/491976, accessed November 2, 2020.
18 “Lawrence Braymer, Devised a Telescope,” New York Times, December 2, 1965, 41, https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1965/12/02/95917409.pdf, accessed December 2, 2019; Stewart Squires, online forum posting, Questar Users Group, August 10, 2010, https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/Questar/conversations/messages/21192, accessed November 3, 2019.
19 Charles Shaw, “Larry Braymer: ‘In Quest of the Stars,’” New Hope Gazette, March 14, 1985, 3, https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/Questar/files/FAQ/, accessed October 15, 2019; Herb Drill, “Marguerite Braymer, 85, Questar Corp. co-founder,” Philadelphia Inquirer, November 1, 1996, R4, https://www.newspapers.com/clip/21814542/the_philadelphia_inquirer/, accessed October 8, 2019.
20 Stewart Squires, online forum posting, Questar Users Group, August 10, 2010, https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/Questar/conversations/messages/21192, accessed November 3, 2019; Rodger Gordon to the author, September 23, 2020.
21 Stewart Squires, online forum posting, Questar Users Group, August 10, 2010, https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/Questar/conversations/messages/21188, accessed November 3, 2019; Stewart Squires, online forum posting, Questar Users Group, August 10, 2010, https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/Questar/conversations/messages/21192, accessed November 3, 2019.
22 1940 U.S. census, Bucks County, Pennsylvania, population schedule, Plumstead Township, sheet 5A, Raymond Dodd; digital image, 1940census.archives.gov, https://1940census.archives.gov/search/?search.result_type=image&search.state=PA&search.county=Bucks+County&search.city=Plumstead&search.street=#filename=m-t0627-03446-00582.tif&name=9-65&type=image&state=PA&searchby=location&searchmode=browse&year=1940&index=9&pages=28&bm_all_text=Bookmark, accessed November 2, 2020.
23 Henry C. King, The History of the Telescope (Bucks, England: Charles Griffin & Company, 1955), 360, https://books.google.com/books?id=KAWwzHlDVksC&pg=PA360#v=onepage&q&f=false, accessed September 26, 2020.
24 Contemporary Authors: A Bio-bibliographical Guide to Current Writers in Fiction, General Nonfiction, Poetry, Journalism, Drama, Motion Pictures, Television and Other Fields (Gale Research Company, 1969), 307, https://archive.org/details/contemporaryauth5-8gale/page/307/mode/1up, accessed June 3, 2022; Charles Shaw, “Larry Braymer: ‘In Quest of the Stars,’” New Hope Gazette, March 14, 1985, 3, https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/Questar/files/FAQ/, accessed October 15, 2019.
25 Albert Bouwers, 1946, Telescope System, U.S. Patent 2,409,186, filed December 24, 1942, and issued October 15, 1946, https://patents.google.com/patent/US2409186A/en, accessed December 11, 2021; Albert Bouwers, Achievements in Optics (New York: Elsevier, 1946), 53.
26 Stewart Squires, online forum posting, Questar Users Group, August 10, 2010, https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/Questar/conversations/messages/21192, accessed November 3, 2019.
27 Charles Shaw, “Larry Braymer: ‘In Quest of the Stars,’” New Hope Gazette, March 14, 1985, 3, https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/Questar/files/FAQ/, accessed October 15, 2019.
28 D. D. Maksutov, “New Catadioptric Meniscus Systems,” Journal of the Optical Society of America 34, no. 5 (1944): 270-284.
29 Charles Shaw, “Larry Braymer: ‘In Quest of the Stars,’” New Hope Gazette, March 14, 1985, 3, https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/Questar/files/FAQ/, accessed October 15, 2019; “Questar Products Index & Overview Page,” Company Seven, n.d., http://www.company7.com/questar/index.html, accessed November 3, 2019; Stewart Squires, online forum posting, Questar Users Group, August 10, 2010, https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/Questar/conversations/messages/21189, accessed November 3, 2019.
30 Stewart Squires, online forum posting, Questar Users Group, August 10, 2010, https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/Questar/conversations/messages/21192, accessed November 3, 2019.
31 J.R. Cumberland, Inc., home page, n.d., https://www.cumberlandoptical.com, accessed November 25, 2020.
32 Contemporary Authors: A Bio-bibliographical Guide to Current Writers in Fiction, General Nonfiction, Poetry, Journalism, Drama, Motion Pictures, Television and Other Fields (Gale Research Company, 1969), 307, https://archive.org/details/contemporaryauth5-8gale/page/307/mode/1up, accessed June 3, 2022; Foremost Women in Communications: A Biographical Reference Work on Accomplished Women in Broadcasting, Publishing, Advertising, Public Relations, and Allied Professions (New York: Foremost Americans Publishing Corporation, 1970), 75, https://archive.org/details/foremostwomeninc0000unse/page/75/mode/1up, accessed June 3, 2022; Charles Shaw, “Larry Braymer: ‘In Quest of the Stars,’” New Hope Gazette, March 14, 1985, 3, https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/Questar/files/FAQ/, accessed October 15, 2019; Who’s Who in America, 1992-1993 (New Providence: Marquis Who’s Who, 1992), volume 1, 392, https://archive.org/details/isbn_0837901480_1/page/392/mode/1up, accessed June 3, 2022; Herb Drill, “Marguerite Braymer, 85, Questar Corp. co-founder,” Philadelphia Inquirer, November 1, 1996, R4, https://www.newspapers.com/clip/21814542/the_philadelphia_inquirer/, accessed October 8, 2019; “Marguerite Annetta Braymer,” Prabook, n.d., https://prabook.com/web/marguerite_annetta.braymer/491976, accessed November 2, 2020; Ralph Foss, “Lawrence E Braymer” (unpublished manuscript, June 11, 2006, revised June 26, 2006), typescript, https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/Questar/files/FAQ/, accessed October 15, 2019.
33 Albert Bouwers, Johannes Becker, and Adriaan Hendrik van Gorum, 1950, Reflecting Type Telescope Having a Spherical Mirror, U.S. Patent 2,504,383, filed December 18, 1945, and issued April 18, 1950, https://patents.google.com/patent/US2504383, accessed December 29, 2019; Albert Bouwers, Achievements in Optics (New York: Elsevier, 1946), 53.
34 Lawrence Braymer, “Wanted: A Tube,” Astounding Science Fiction, November 1945, 101-110, 123-126.
35 “Frank Godwin,” Michener Art Museum, n.d., https://bucksco.michenerartmuseum.org/artists/frank-godwin, accessed December 20, 2020; Jim Perkins, email message to author, November 12, 2020.
36 Albert Bouwers, 1946, Telescope System, U.S. Patent 2,409,186, filed December 24, 1942, and issued October 15, 1946, https://patents.google.com/patent/US2409186A/en, accessed December 11, 2021.
37 Dun and Bradstreet, report for Questar Corporation, March 25, 1958, https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/Questar/files/Fred%20K.%20Leisch%20Questar%20/, accessed October 14, 2019; “Lawrence Braymer, Devised a Telescope,” New York Times, December 2, 1965, 41, https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1965/12/02/95917409.pdf, accessed December 2, 2019; Stewart Squires, online forum posting, Questar Users Group, August 10, 2010, https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/Questar/conversations/messages/21192, accessed November 3, 2019.
38 Albert Bouwers, Achievements in Optics (New York: Elsevier, 1946).
39 Lawrence Braymer, 1954, Telescope, U.S. Patent 2,670,656, filed November 25, 1947, and issued March 2, 1954, https://patents.google.com/patent/US2670656, accessed December 29, 2019.
40 “Dennis Flanagan,” Wikipedia, n.d., https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dennis_Flanagan, accessed March 19, 2020.
41 Questar Corporation, advertisement, Sky and Telescope, August 1956, 456.
42 Lawrence Braymer, 1953, Telescope, U.S. Patent 2,649,791, filed June 16, 1948, and issued August 25, 1953, https://patents.google.com/patent/US2649791, accessed June 9, 2020.
43 Lawrence Braymer, 1953, Reflecting Telescope with Auxiliary Optical System, U.S. Patent 2,628,529, filed September 25, 1948, and issued February 17, 1953, https://patents.google.com/patent/US2753760, accessed June 9, 2020.
44 Lawrence Braymer, 1956, Multiple Image Telescope, U.S. Patent 2,753,760, filed September 25, 1948, and issued July 10, 1956, https://patents.google.com/patent/US2628529, accessed June 9, 2020.
45 Federal Bureau of Investigation, notes from interview with Dennis Flanagan, September 26, 1951, https://archive.org/stream/JuliusRosenberg/Rosenberg%2C%20Julius%2041#page/n37/mode/1up, accessed June 7, 2020.
46 Lawrence Braymer, 1954, Telescope Mounting, U.S. Patent 2,693,032, filed March 15, 1949, and issued November 2, 1954, https://patents.google.com/patent/US2693032, accessed June 9, 2020.
47 Stewart Squires, email message to author, October 28, 2019; “Questar Products Index & Overview Page,” Company Seven, n.d., http://www.company7.com/questar/index.html, accessed November 3, 2019.
48 Charles Shaw, “Larry Braymer: ‘In Quest of the Stars,’” New Hope Gazette, March 14, 1985, 3, https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/Questar/files/FAQ/, accessed October 15, 2019; “Questar Products Index & Overview Page,” Company Seven, n.d., http://www.company7.com/questar/index.html, accessed November 3, 2019; Stewart Squires, online forum posting, Questar Users Group, August 10, 2010, https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/Questar/conversations/messages/21189, accessed November 3, 2019; Stewart Squires, online forum posting, Questar Users Group, August 10, 2010, https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/Questar/conversations/messages/21192, accessed November 3, 2019; Herb Drill, “Marguerite Braymer, 85, Questar Corp. co-founder,” Philadelphia Inquirer, November 1, 1996, R4, https://www.newspapers.com/clip/21814542/the_philadelphia_inquirer/, accessed October 8, 2019; Federal Bureau of Investigation, notes from interview with Dennis Flanagan, September 26, 1951, https://archive.org/stream/JuliusRosenberg/Rosenberg%2C%20Julius%2041#page/n37/mode/1up, accessed June 7, 2020.
49 Contemporary Authors: A Bio-bibliographical Guide to Current Writers in Fiction, General Nonfiction, Poetry, Journalism, Drama, Motion Pictures, Television and Other Fields (Gale Research Company, 1969), 307, https://archive.org/details/contemporaryauth5-8gale/page/307/mode/1up, accessed June 3, 2022; Who’s Who in America, 1992-1993 (New Providence: Marquis Who’s Who, 1992), volume 1, 392, https://archive.org/details/isbn_0837901480_1/page/392/mode/1up, accessed June 3, 2022; “Marguerite Annetta Braymer,” Prabook, n.d., https://prabook.com/web/marguerite_annetta.braymer/491976, accessed November 2, 2020.
50 Dun and Bradstreet, report for Questar Corporation, March 25, 1958, https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/Questar/files/Fred%20K.%20Leisch%20Questar%20/, accessed October 14, 2019.
51 Albert Bouwers, Johannes Becker, and Adriaan Hendrik van Gorum, 1950, Reflecting Type Telescope Having a Spherical Mirror, U.S. Patent 2,504,383, filed December 18, 1945, and issued April 18, 1950, https://patents.google.com/patent/US2504383, accessed December 29, 2019.
52 Charles Shaw, “Larry Braymer: ‘In Quest of the Stars,’” New Hope Gazette, March 14, 1985, 3, 32, https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/Questar/files/FAQ/, accessed October 15, 2019.
53 Jim Perkins, “Questar Serial Number Systems” (unpublished manuscript, August 20, 2020), typescript.
54 Jim Perkins, “Questar Serial Number Systems” (unpublished manuscript, August 20, 2020), typescript.
55 Jim Perkins, “Questar Serial Number Systems” (unpublished manuscript, August 20, 2020), typescript.
56 Jim Perkins, “Questar Serial Number Systems” (unpublished manuscript, August 20, 2020), typescript.
57 Contemporary Authors: A Bio-bibliographical Guide to Current Writers in Fiction, General Nonfiction, Poetry, Journalism, Drama, Motion Pictures, Television and Other Fields (Gale Research Company, 1969), 307, https://archive.org/details/contemporaryauth5-8gale/page/307/mode/1up, accessed June 3, 2022; Foremost Women in Communications: A Biographical Reference Work on Accomplished Women in Broadcasting, Publishing, Advertising, Public Relations, and Allied Professions (New York: Foremost Americans Publishing Corporation, 1970), 75, https://archive.org/details/foremostwomeninc0000unse/page/75/mode/1up, accessed June 3, 2022; Charles Shaw, “Larry Braymer: ‘In Quest of the Stars,’” New Hope Gazette, March 14, 1985, 3, https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/Questar/files/FAQ/, accessed October 15, 2019; Who’s Who in America, 1992-1993 (New Providence: Marquis Who’s Who, 1992), volume 1, 392, https://archive.org/details/isbn_0837901480_1/page/392/mode/1up, accessed June 3, 2022; “Marguerite Annetta Braymer,” Prabook, n.d., https://prabook.com/web/marguerite_annetta.braymer/491976, accessed November 2, 2020.
58 Contemporary Authors: A Bio-bibliographical Guide to Current Writers in Fiction, General Nonfiction, Poetry, Journalism, Drama, Motion Pictures, Television and Other Fields (Gale Research Company, 1969), 307, https://archive.org/details/contemporaryauth5-8gale/page/307/mode/1up, accessed June 3, 2022; Foremost Women in Communications: A Biographical Reference Work on Accomplished Women in Broadcasting, Publishing, Advertising, Public Relations, and Allied Professions (New York: Foremost Americans Publishing Corporation, 1970), 75, https://archive.org/details/foremostwomeninc0000unse/page/75/mode/1up, accessed June 3, 2022; Who’s Who in America, 1992-1993 (New Providence: Marquis Who’s Who, 1992), volume 1, 392, https://archive.org/details/isbn_0837901480_1/page/392/mode/1up, accessed June 3, 2022; Ralph Foss, “Lawrence E Braymer” (unpublished manuscript, June 11, 2006, revised June 26, 2006), typescript, https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/Questar/files/FAQ/, accessed October 15, 2019.
59 Jim Perkins, “Questar Serial Number Systems” (unpublished manuscript, August 20, 2020), typescript.
60 Jim Perkins, “Questar Serial Number Systems” (unpublished manuscript, August 20, 2020), typescript.
61 Jim Perkins, “Questar Serial Number Systems” (unpublished manuscript, August 20, 2020), typescript.
62 Jim Perkins, “Questar Serial Number Systems” (unpublished manuscript, August 20, 2020), typescript.
63 Jim Perkins, “Questar Serial Number Systems” (unpublished manuscript, August 20, 2020), typescript.
64 Jim Perkins, “Questar Serial Number Systems” (unpublished manuscript, August 20, 2020), typescript.
65 Jim Perkins, “Questar Serial Number Systems” (unpublished manuscript, August 20, 2020), typescript.
66 Jim Perkins, “Questar Serial Number Systems” (unpublished manuscript, August 20, 2020), typescript.
67 Lawrence Braymer, 1953, Reflecting Telescope with Auxiliary Optical System, U.S. Patent 2,628,529, filed September 25, 1948, and issued February 17, 1953, https://patents.google.com/patent/US2753760, accessed June 9, 2020.
68 Questar Corporation, salesman instrument leaflet, June 1953.
69 Jim Perkins, email message to author, November 11, 2020.
70 Jim Perkins, “Questar Serial Number Systems” (unpublished manuscript, August 20, 2020), typescript.
71 Charles Shaw, “Larry Braymer: ‘In Quest of the Stars,’” New Hope Gazette, March 14, 1985, 3, 32, https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/Questar/files/FAQ/, accessed October 15, 2019.
72 Lawrence Braymer, 1953, Telescope, U.S. Patent 2,649,791, filed June 16, 1948, and issued August 25, 1953, https://patents.google.com/patent/US2649791, accessed June 9, 2020.
73 Jim Perkins, “Questar Serial Number Systems” (unpublished manuscript, August 20, 2020), typescript.
74 Jim Perkins, “Questar Serial Number Systems” (unpublished manuscript, August 20, 2020), typescript.
75 Jim Perkins, “Questar Serial Number Systems” (unpublished manuscript, August 20, 2020), typescript.
76 Lawrence Braymer, 1954, Telescope, U.S. Patent 2,670,656, filed November 25, 1947, and issued March 2, 1954, https://patents.google.com/patent/US2670656, accessed December 29, 2019.
77 Jim Perkins, “Questar Serial Number Systems” (unpublished manuscript, August 20, 2020), typescript.
78 Questar Corporation, Questar booklet, May 1954.
79 Questar Corporation, Questar booklet, May 1954.
80 Questar Corporation, advertisement, Sky and Telescope, June 1954, 272-273.
81 Lawrence Braymer, 1955, Questar Trademark, U.S. Trademark Registration 609,560, filed August 23, 1954, and issued July 26, 1955, http://tsdr.uspto.gov/#caseNumber=71672101&caseType=SERIAL_NO&searchType=statusSearch, accessed April 22, 2021.
82 Lawrence Braymer, 1955, Telescope, U.S. Patent D-175,388, filed September 20, 1954, and issued August 23, 1955, https://patents.google.com/patent/USD175388S, accessed June 9, 2020.
83 Jim Perkins, email message to author, December 1, 2020.
84 Lawrence Braymer, 1954, Telescope Mounting, U.S. Patent 2,693,032, filed March 15, 1949, and issued November 2, 1954, https://patents.google.com/patent/US2693032, accessed June 9, 2020.
85 Jim Perkins, “Questar Serial Number Systems” (unpublished manuscript, August 20, 2020), typescript.
86 Jim Perkins, “Questar Serial Number Systems” (unpublished manuscript, August 20, 2020), typescript.
87 Lawrence Braymer, 1955, Questar Trademark, U.S. Trademark Registration 609,560, filed August 23, 1954, and issued July 26, 1955, http://tsdr.uspto.gov/#caseNumber=71672101&caseType=SERIAL_NO&searchType=statusSearch, accessed April 22, 2021.
88 Lawrence Braymer, 1955, Telescope, U.S. Patent D-175,388, filed September 20, 1954, and issued August 23, 1955, https://patents.google.com/patent/USD175388S, accessed June 9, 2020.
89 Questar Corporation, advertisement, Sky and Telescope, December 1955, 96-97.
90 Charles Shaw, “Larry Braymer: ‘In Quest of the Stars,’” New Hope Gazette, March 14, 1985, 32, https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/Questar/files/FAQ/, accessed October 15, 2019.
91 Questar Corporation, advertisement, Sky and Telescope, April 1961, 223.
92 “Tom Johnson (astronomer),” Wikipedia, n.d., https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Johnson_(astronomer), accessed February 22, 2021; Dennis di Cicco, “Tom Johnson, 1923-2012,” Sky and Telescope, March 13, 2012, https://skyandtelescope.org/astronomy-news/tom-johnson-19232012/, accessed August 14, 2020.
93 Jim Perkins, “Questar Serial Number Systems” (unpublished manuscript, August 20, 2020), typescript.
94 “Early Production Questar 3-½ Telescopes: 1954 and 1955,” Company Seven, n.d., http://www.company7.com/library/questar/que54-55.html, accessed July 11, 2019.
95 “Early Production Questar 3-½ Telescopes: 1954 and 1955,” Company Seven, n.d., http://www.company7.com/library/questar/que54-55.html, accessed July 11, 2019.
96 Jim Perkins, “Questar Serial Number Systems” (unpublished manuscript, August 20, 2020), typescript.
97 Questar Corporation, advertisement, Sky and Telescope, May 1956, 327.
98 Questar Corporation, advertisement, Sky and Telescope, May 1956, 327.
99 Questar Corporation, advertisement, Sky and Telescope, May 1956, 327.
100 Lawrence Braymer, 1956, Multiple Image Telescope, U.S. Patent 2,753,760, filed September 25, 1948, and issued July 10, 1956, https://patents.google.com/patent/US2628529, accessed June 9, 2020.
101 Questar Corporation, advertisement, Sky and Telescope, December 1956, 98; Questar Corporation, Questar booklet, July 1964, 7.
102 Questar Corporation, advertisement, Sky and Telescope, August 1956, 456.
103 “Convention in Vermont,” Sky and Telescope, October 1956, 533; Gary Leonard Cameron, “Public Skies: Telescopes and the Popularization of Astronomy in the Twentieth Century,” PhD diss., (Iowa State University, 2010), 246-247, https://lib.dr.iastate.edu/etd/11795/, accessed September 30, 2019.
104 Questar Corporation, advertisement, Sky and Telescope, September 1956, 500-501.
105 Questar Corporation, advertisement, Sky and Telescope, December 1956, 98.
106 Stewart Squires, Alt-Telescopes-Questar Majordomo list message, March 17, 1999, digest 345, https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/Questar/files/Alt-Telescopes-Questar%20Digests/, accessed October 14, 2019.
107 “Early Production Questar 3-½ Telescopes: 1954 and 1955,” Company Seven, n.d., http://www.company7.com/library/questar/que54-55.html, accessed November 3, 2019.
108 “Early Production Questar 3-½ Telescopes: 1954 and 1955,” Company Seven, n.d., http://www.company7.com/library/questar/que54-55.html, accessed July 11, 2019.
109 Questar Corporation, advertisement, Sky and Telescope, January 1957, 133.
110 Questar Corporation, advertisement, Sky and Telescope, January 1957, 133.
111 Questar Corporation, advertisement, Sky and Telescope, January 1957, 133.
112 Questar Corporation, advertisement, Sky and Telescope, March 1957, 249.
113 Questar Corporation, advertisement, Sky and Telescope, March 1957, 249.
114 John Gregory, “A Cassegrainian-Maksutov Telescope Design for the Amateur,” Sky and Telescope, March 1957, 236-240.
115 Jim Perkins, “Questar Serial Number Systems” (unpublished manuscript, August 20, 2020), typescript.
116 Jim Perkins, “Questar Serial Number Systems” (unpublished manuscript, August 20, 2020), typescript.
117 Questar Corporation, advertisement, Sky and Telescope, November 1957, 23.
118 “King Mohammed V, Back from His Visit, Lauds U.S. Leaders; U.S. Aid to Continue,” New York Times, December 16, 1957, https://www.nytimes.com/1957/12/16/archives/king-mohammed-v-back-from-his-visit-lauds-us-leaders-us-aid-to.html, accessed December 12, 2020; Questar Corporation, advertisement, Sky and Telescope, February 1958, 186.
119 Questar Corporation, advertisement, Sky and Telescope, December 1957, 91.
120 Questar Corporation, advertisement, Sky and Telescope, December 1957, 91.
121 Marguerite Dodd, America’s Homemaking Book (New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1957), https://archive.org/details/americashomemaki00dodd/, accessed November 17, 2020.
122 As of July 13, 2021, the first Questar known to the author to have its year of manufacture indicated in its serial number is #7-294, built in 1957 (Ben Langlotz, online forum posting, Cloudy Nights, February 15, 2019, https://www.cloudynights.com/topic/641258-observations-on-servicing-an-old-1957-questar/?p=9148911, accessed July 13, 2021).
123 Questar Corporation, advertisement, Sky and Telescope, January 1958, 132.
124 Jim Perkins, email message to author, March 2, 2022.
125 Jim Perkins, email message to author, November 12, 2020.
126 Questar Corporation, advertisement, Sky and Telescope, April 1958, 301.
127 “Space Explorers Rise Nearly 8 Miles in a Balloon; 2 in Balloon Soar to 40,000 Feet; Find Stars Don't Twinkle There,” New York Times, May 8, 1958, https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1958/05/08/83412955.pdf?pdf_redirect=true&ip=0, accessed July 4, 2020; Questar Corporation, advertisement, Sky and Telescope, July 1958, 463; Alfred Mikesell, “Observations of Stellar Scintillation from Moving Platforms,” Astronomical Journal 63 (1958): 309, http://adsabs.harvard.edu/full/1958AJ.....63R.308M, accessed July 2, 2020.
128 Stewart Squires, Alt-Telescopes-Questar Majordomo list message, March 17, 1999, digest 345, https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/Questar/files/Alt-Telescopes-Questar%20Digests/, accessed October 14, 2019.
129 Questar Corporation, advertisement, Sky and Telescope, September 1958, 591.
130 Questar Corporation, Questar booklet, October 1958.
131 Questar Corporation, advertisement, Natural History, November 1958, 528.
132 Questar Corporation, advertisement, Sky and Telescope, November 1958, 41.
133 Dun and Bradstreet, report for Questar Corporation, March 25, 1958, https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/Questar/files/Fred%20K.%20Leisch%20Questar%20/, accessed October 14, 2019.
134 Questar Corporation, advertisement, Sky and Telescope, March 1959, 294.
135 Questar Corporation, advertisement, Sky and Telescope, May 1959, 392.
136 Kennedy Space Center Amateur Astronomers, “The Story of Dr. Wernher von Braun’s Questar,” n.d., https://kscaa.space/vonbraunquestar, accessed September 30, 2019.
137 Questar Corporation, advertisement, Scientific American, June 1959, 82.
138 Questar Corporation, Questar booklet, October 1958, with addenda, June 1959, 28.
139 Questar Corporation, Questar booklet, October 1958, with addenda, June 1959, 28; “Early Production Questar 3-½ Telescopes: 1954 and 1955,” Company Seven, n.d., http://www.company7.com/library/questar/que54-55.html, accessed July 5, 2019.
140 Questar Corporation, Questar booklet, October 1958, prices effective September 1, 1959, addenda September 1959, 30.
141 As of June 8, 2023, the latest Questar known to the author to have a Synthane base plate is #9-474. This example clearly shows a Synthane base plate complete with serial number etched onto it in handwriting that is consistent with that of most other examples from the 1950s and early 1960s (“Vintage QUESTAR Catadioptric Photo-Visual Telescope in Original Case + Accessor” [sic], eBay, June 7, 2023, https://www.ebay.com/itm/314635240259, accessed June 8, 2023).
142 Jim Perkins, “Questar Serial Number Systems” (unpublished manuscript, August 20, 2020), typescript.
143 Jim Perkins, “Questar Serial Number Systems” (unpublished manuscript, August 20, 2020), typescript.
144 Questar Corporation, advertisement, Natural History, February 1960, inside front cover.
145 Questar Corporation, instruction book, late 1961, 10.
146 Questar Corporation, “Questar Serial Number Systems,” n.d., https://www.questarcorporation.com/start.htm, accessed September 30, 2019.
147 Lawrence Braymer, “Telescopic Photography” (unpublished manuscript, June 1960), typescript.
148 Questar Corporation, advertisement, Sky and Telescope, August 1960, 90.
149 As of January 4, 2023, the last Questar known to the author to have an effective focal length and focal ratio marked as 42.4 inches at f/12.1 is #0-713, built in July 1960 (“Questar Telescope, Standard Model with Case and Camera screw adapter #0-713,” eBay, January 4, 2023, https://www.ebay.com/itm/185724855313, accessed January 4, 2023).
150 Questar Corporation, advertisement, Sky and Telescope, September 1960, 151.
151 Questar Corporation, advertisement, Sky and Telescope, September 1960, 151.
152 Questar Corporation, Questar booklet, October 1958, with addenda, June 1959, 28; “Early Production Questar 3-½ Telescopes: 1954 and 1955,” Company Seven, n.d., http://www.company7.com/library/questar/que54-55.html, accessed July 5, 2019.
153 Questar Corporation, Questar booklet, November 1960, 28.
154 Dennis di Cicco, “Tom Johnson, 1923-2012,” Sky and Telescope, March 13, 2012, https://skyandtelescope.org/astronomy-news/tom-johnson-19232012/, accessed August 14, 2020.
155 Questar Corporation, advertisement, Sky and Telescope, April 1961, 223.
156 As of July 12, 2021, the last Questar known to the author to have its moon map orientation with the lunar north pole positioned towards the front part of the scope is #1-922, built around the spring of 1961 (“Questar Catadioptic Apochromatic Telescope Variable Focal Length: 45.5" f/13,” eBay, July 7, 2021, https://www.ebay.com/itm/313595466085, accessed July 12, 2021).
157 Questar Corporation, advertisement, Sky and Telescope, June 1961, 347.
158 Questar Corporation, advertisement, Sky and Telescope, July 1961, inside front cover.
159 Questar Corporation, advertisement, Natural History, November 1961, inside front cover.
160 Dennis di Cicco, “Tom Johnson, 1923-2012,” Sky and Telescope, March 13, 2012, https://skyandtelescope.org/astronomy-news/tom-johnson-19232012/, accessed August 14, 2020.
161 Dennis di Cicco, “Tom Johnson, 1923-2012,” Sky and Telescope, March 13, 2012, https://skyandtelescope.org/astronomy-news/tom-johnson-19232012/, accessed August 14, 2020.
162 Questar Corporation, advertisement, Sky and Telescope, June 1962, inside front cover; Questar Corporation, advertisement, Natural History, June-July 1962, 3.
163 Questar Corporation, advertisement, Modern Photography, September 1962, 96.
164 Dennis di Cicco, “Tom Johnson, 1923-2012,” Sky and Telescope, March 13, 2012, https://skyandtelescope.org/astronomy-news/tom-johnson-19232012/, accessed August 14, 2020.
165 As of January 23, 2024, the last Questar known to the author to have the early “☆Questar” red and white side arm logo badge is #3-QTZ-1697, built in the spring of 1963 (online forum posting, Cloudy Nights, January 22, 2024, https://www.cloudynights.com/topic/568428-what-year-was-my-questar-made-serial-number-code/?p=13214257, accessed January 23, 2024).
166 As of February 10, 2024, the last Questar known to the author to have an effective focal length and focal ratio marked as 45.5 inches at f/13 is #3-QTZ-1697, built in the spring of 1963 (oline forum posting, Cloudy Nights, February 10, 2024, https://www.cloudynights.com/topic/688216-early-questar-focal-length-report-yours-here/?p=13256062, accessed February 10, 2024).
167 Questar Corporation, advertisement, Scientific American, May 1963, 188; Questar Corporation, advertisement, Analog Science Fact/Science Fiction, May 1963, 5.
168 Jim Perkins, “Questar Serial Number Systems” (unpublished manuscript, August 20, 2020), typescript.
169 Questar Corporation, advertisement, Sky and Telescope, October 1963, inside front cover.
170 Jim Perkins, “Questar Serial Number Systems” (unpublished manuscript, August 20, 2020), typescript.
171 Questar Corporation, advertisement, Sky and Telescope, December 1963, inside front cover.
172 Todd Wilk Estroff, online forum posting, Questar Users Group, January 10, 2004, https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/Questar/conversations/messages/7375, accessed November 3, 2019.
173 Marguerite Dodd, America’s Cook Book (New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1963); “Vintage AMERICA’S COOK BOOK by Marguerite Dodd,” Etsy, n.d., https://www.etsy.com/sg-en/listing/689008527/vintage-americas-cook-book-by-marguerite?show_sold_out_detail=1, accessed November 17, 2020.
174 Charles Shaw, “Larry Braymer: ‘In Quest of the Stars,’” New Hope Gazette, March 14, 1985, 32, https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/Questar/files/FAQ/, accessed October 15, 2019.
175 Ralph Foss, “Lawrence E Braymer” (unpublished manuscript, June 11, 2006, revised June 26, 2006), typescript, https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/Questar/files/FAQ/, accessed October 15, 2019.
176 Celestron, advertisement, Sky and Telescope, January 1964, 61; Dennis di Cicco, “Tom Johnson, 1923-2012,” Sky and Telescope, March 13, 2012, https://skyandtelescope.org/astronomy-news/tom-johnson-19232012/, accessed August 14, 2020.
177 Questar Corporation, advertisement, Sky and Telescope, February 1964, inside front cover; Questar Corporation, advertisement, Natural History, February 1964, 65; Questar Corporation, advertisement, Scientific American, February 1964, 26.
178 Questar Corporation, advertisement, Sky and Telescope, February 1964, inside front cover; Questar Corporation, advertisement, Natural History, February 1964, 65; Questar Corporation, advertisement, Scientific American, February 1964, 26.
179 Questar Corporation, advertisement, Sky and Telescope, February 1964, inside front cover; Questar Corporation, advertisement, Natural History, February 1964, 65; Questar Corporation, advertisement, Scientific American, February 1964, 26.
180 Questar Corporation, advertisement, Natural History, March 1964, outside back cover.
181 Michael Benson, Space Odyssey: Stanley Kubrick, Arthur C. Clarke, and the Making of a Masterpiece (New York: Simon and Schuster, 2018), 42.
182 Walter Dorwin Teague, “The Twenty Best Industrial Designs Since World War II,” Saturday Review, May 23, 1964, 17, http://www.company7.com/library/questar/notes.html, accessed September 20, 2019.
183 Questar Corporation, Questar booklet, July 1964, 38.
184 Questar Corporation, Questar booklet, July 1964.
185 Questar Corporation, Questar booklet, July 1964, 30.
186 Questar Corporation, price catalog, 1964.
187 Questar Corporation, price catalog, 1964.
188 Dennis di Cicco, “Tom Johnson, 1923-2012,” Sky and Telescope, March 13, 2012, https://skyandtelescope.org/astronomy-news/tom-johnson-19232012/, accessed August 14, 2020.
189 Questar Corporation, “On the Problem of Choosing a Telescope,” 1973.
190 Questar Corporation, advertisement, Sky and Telescope, December 1965, inside front cover; Questar Corporation, advertisement, Scientific American, December 1965, 83.
191 “Looking Sharp,” Newsweek, September 27, 1965, 88; Questar Corporation, advertisement, Sky and Telescope, October 1965, inside front cover; Questar Corporation, advertisement, Natural History, October 1965, 67; Questar Corporation, advertisement, Scientific American, October 1965, 122; P.W. Malik and G.A. Souris, McDonnell Douglas Corporation, Project Gemini: A Technical Summary, Washington, D.C.: National Aeronautics and Space Administration, June 1968, 297-301, https://ntrs.nasa.gov/archive/nasa/casi.ntrs.nasa.gov/19680016105.pdf, accessed December 23, 2019.
192 “Lawrence Braymer, Devised a Telescope,” New York Times, December 2, 1965, 41, https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1965/12/02/95917409.pdf, accessed December 2, 2019.
193 Significant Achievements in Space Science 1966 (Washington, D.C.: National Aeronautics and Space Administration, 1967), 392, https://books.google.com/books?id=F7UjOdoDS9UC&pg=PA392#v=onepage&q&f=false, accessed August 8, 2020.
194 C.L. Stong, “The Amateur Scientist,” Scientific American, December 1965, 106-113.
195 Questar Corporation, price catalog, circa 1965.
196 Questar Corporation, price catalog, circa 1965.
197 John T. Jefferies, “Astronomy in Hawaii, 1964-1970: Planning a Program in Solar Physics,” University of Hawaii Institute for Astronomy, n.d., https://www.ifa.hawaii.edu/users/jefferies/Planning_a%20Program_in_Solar_Physics.htm, accessed July 9, 2020; John T. Jefferies, “Astronomy in Hawaii, 1964-1970: The Selection of Mauna Kea,” University of Hawaii Institute for Astronomy, n.d., https://www.ifa.hawaii.edu/users/jefferies/The_Selection_of_Mauna_Kea.htm, accessed July 9, 2020.
198 Contemporary Authors: A Bio-bibliographical Guide to Current Writers in Fiction, General Nonfiction, Poetry, Journalism, Drama, Motion Pictures, Television and Other Fields (Gale Research Company, 1969), 307, https://archive.org/details/contemporaryauth5-8gale/page/307/mode/1up, accessed June 3, 2022; Who’s Who in America, 1992-1993 (New Providence: Marquis Who’s Who, 1992), volume 1, 392, https://archive.org/details/isbn_0837901480_1/page/392/mode/1up, accessed June 3, 2022; Ralph Foss, “Lawrence E Braymer” (unpublished manuscript, June 11, 2006, revised June 26, 2006), typescript, https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/Questar/files/FAQ/, accessed October 15, 2019.
199 Questar Corporation, price catalog, April 1, 1966.
200 Questar Corporation, price catalog, April 1, 1966.
201 Questar Corporation, price catalog, April 1, 1966.
202 Questar Corporation, price catalog, April 1, 1966.
203 Questar Corporation, price catalog, April 1, 1966.
204 Questar Corporation, advertisement, Sky and Telescope, October 1966, inside front cover; Questar Corporation, advertisement, Natural History, October 1966, 75; Questar Corporation, advertisement, Scientific American, October 1966, 48.
205 Questar Corporation, advertisement, Natural History, November 1966, 6; Questar Corporation, advertisement, Scientific American, November 1966, 9.
206 Questar Corporation, advertisement, Natural History, November 1966, 6; Questar Corporation, advertisement, Scientific American, November 1966, 9.
207 Patrick H. Verdone, “A Telescope Suitable for Rocket Borne Instrumentation,” Greenbelt, Maryland: NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, November 1966, https://ntrs.nasa.gov/archive/nasa/casi.ntrs.nasa.gov/19670009591.pdf, accessed August 6, 2020; Questar Corporation, advertisement, Sky and Telescope, June 1967, inside front cover.
208 Way... Way Out, directed by Gordon Douglas (1966).
209 “Davro Instrument Corp,” Bloomberg, n.d., https://www.bloomberg.com/profile/company/0066652D:US, accessed February 21, 2021.
210 Alt-Telescopes-Questar Majordomo list message, September 15, 1998, digest 258, https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/Questar/files/Alt-Telescopes-Questar%20Digests/, accessed October 14, 2019.
211 Questar Corporation, advertisement, Sky and Telescope, March 1967, inside front cover.
212 Questar Corporation, advertisement, Natural History, June-July 1967, 61; Questar Corporation, advertisement, Scientific American, June 1967, 111.
213 Questar Corporation, advertisement, Natural History, June-July 1967, 61; Questar Corporation, advertisement, Scientific American, June 1967, 111.
214 “Questar News and Developments Page,” Company Seven, n.d., http://www.company7.com/questar/news.html, accessed August 12, 2019.
215 Questar Corporation, advertisement, Sky and Telescope, September 1967, inside front cover.
216 Questar Corporation, price catalog, September 1, 1967.
217 Jerome L. Grever, “Want to Shoot the Moon?” RCA Broadcast News, March 1968, 18-23, https://www.americanradiohistory.com/ARCHIVE-RCA/RCA-Broadcast-News/RCA-138.pdf, accessed May 13, 2020.
218 Robert Howe, letter to the editor, National Review, May 5, 2008, 4.
219 Questar Corporation, advertisement, Sky and Telescope, September 1967, inside front cover.
220 Questar Corporation, advertisement, Natural History, February 1968, 73; Questar Corporation, advertisement, Scientific American, February 1968, 137.
221 Questar Corporation, advertisement, Sky and Telescope, February 1968, inside front cover; Questar Corporation, advertisement, Natural History, February 1968, 73; Questar Corporation, advertisement, Scientific American, February 1968, 137.
222 Questar Corporation, advertisement, Natural History, March 1968, 10; Questar Corporation, advertisement, Scientific American, March 1968, 134.
223 Questar Corporation, price catalog, October 1, 1968.
224 Questar Corporation, advertisement, Sky and Telescope, August 1968, inside front cover; Charles Beseler Company, advertisement, Scientific American, August 1968, 44; Questar Corporation, advertisement, Scientific American, August 1968, 45.
225 Questar Corporation, advertisement, Sky and Telescope, August 1968, inside front cover.
226 Questar Corporation, advertisement, Sky and Telescope, August 1968, inside front cover.
227 Questar Corporation, price catalog, October 1, 1968.
228 Questar Corporation, price catalog, October 1, 1968.
229 Questar Corporation, price catalog, October 1, 1968.
230 Questar Corporation, price catalog, October 1, 1968.
231 Questar Corporation, advertisement, Sky and Telescope, October 1968, inside front cover; Questar Corporation, advertisement, Scientific American, October 1968, 59.
232 Questar Corporation, “On the Problem of Choosing a Telescope,” 1973.
233 David W. Cook, “How We Mapped the Moon,” National Geographic, February 1969, 242.
234 Associated Press, “Visibility Surprised the Apollo 9 Crew,” New York Times, March 17, 1969, 30, https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1969/03/17/issue.html, accessed December 20, 2019. Although this article does not explicitly identify the instrument on board the spacecraft, Rodger Gordon noted that it was indeed a Questar telescope (Rodger Gordon in discussion with the author, August 15, 2020). Company Seven also makes note of this (“Questar Long Distance Surveillance / Ultra Telephoto Lens Systems,” Company Seven, n.d., http://www.company7.com/questar/surveillance.html, accessed August 12, 2019).
235 Questar Corporation, price catalog, July 1, 1969.
236 Questar Corporation, price catalog, July 1, 1969.
237 Questar Corporation, price catalog, July 1, 1969.
238 National Aeronautics and Space Administration, “Apollo Lunar Exploration Missions (ALEM) Program and Mission Definition,” Houston: Advanced Missions Program Office, Manned Spacecraft Center, November 1, 1969, 3-9, 3-11, 3-13, 3-14, https://repository.hou.usra.edu/handle/20.500.11753/588, accessed March 19, 2020; David J. Shayler, Apollo: The Lost and Forgotten Missions (New York: Springer, 2002), 263, https://books.google.com/books?id=nL3lLGtc9mgC&pg=PA263#v=onepage&q&f=false, accessed June 17, 2020.
239 Questar Corporation, “On the Problem of Choosing a Telescope,” 1973.
240 As of May 5, 2021, the latest Questar known to the author to have included the original English saddle leather carrying case is #9-CV-DP-4008-BB, built in 1969 (“Q_Inventory_083115b.xls” (unpublished manuscript, August 31, 2015), spreadsheet, https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/Questar/files/Questar%20Information%20Database/, accessed October 15, 2019).
241 Rodger Gordon in discussion with the author, October 6, 2020.
242 Jim Perkins, email message to author, November 30, 2020.
243 Questar Corporation, price catalog, March 1, 1970.
244 Questar Corporation, advertisement, Sky and Telescope, April 1970, inside front cover.
245 Questar Corporation, advertisement, Sky and Telescope, April 1970, inside front cover.
246 Questar Corporation, advertisement, Sky and Telescope, April 1970, inside front cover.
247 Celestron, advertisement, Sky and Telescope, June 1970, 385.
248 Solar Eclipse 1970 Bulletin: F (Final Bulletin) Program for Observations of the Total Solar Eclipse, March 7, 1970 (Washington, D.C.: National Science Foundation, 1970), 141, https://books.google.com/books?id=uKhuLkgkBB0C&pg=PA141&lpg=PA141#v=onepage&q&f=false, accessed October 1, 2020.
249 As of February 4, 2021, the latest example known to the author to include the initial redesign of Questar’s leather carrying case that appeared in the late 1960s is #0-CV-4350-BB, built in 1970 (“Questar,” Astromart, November 14, 2008, https://astromart.com/classifieds/astromart-classifieds/telescope-catadioptric/show/questar-now-sold-thank-you-all-very-much, accessed February 4, 2021).
250 Rodger Gordon in discussion with the author, August 15 and October 7, 2020; Bill Swan, “A Sharp Eye for Business: Yeier Builds a Precision Optics Empire,” Ithaca Times, November 3, 2010, https://www.ithaca.com/news/local_news/a-sharp-eye-for-business/article_db43dc3a-0d4f-5ea8-aaa1-5ed6c50a2a4d.html, accessed October 7, 2020.
251 Questar Corporation, advertisement, Sky and Telescope, April 1971, inside front cover.
252 Questar Corporation, advertisement, Scientific American, June 1971, 55.
253 Questar Corporation, advertisement, Scientific American, June 1971, 55.
254 Questar Corporation, advertisement, Scientific American, June 1971, 55.
255 Questar Corporation, price catalog, 1971.
256 “Questar Vernonscope Eyepiece Canisters / Metal Protective Tubes of 1971,” Company Seven, n.d., http://www.company7.com/library/questar/q1971canisters.html, accessed February 3, 2021.
257 Marylin Bender, “Chicago School Goes to the Head of Class,” New York Times, May 23, 1971, 3, https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1971/05/23/issue.html, accessed October 8, 2019.
258 Questar Corporation, advertisement, Sky and Telescope, March 1972, inside front cover.
259 Questar Corporation, advertisement, Natural History, June-July 1972, 9.
260 Questar Corporation, advertisement, Natural History, October 1972, 109.
261 Jim Perkins, “Questar Serial Number Systems” (unpublished manuscript, August 20, 2020), typescript.
262 Questar Corporation, price catalog, 1972. As of February 3, 2021, the earliest Questar known to the author to have the early Questar Brandon eyepieces is #2-DP-5304-BB, built in 1972 (“Questar Duplex ++,” Astromart, August 4, 2017, https://astromart.com/classifieds/astromart-classifieds/telescope-catadioptric/show/questar-duplex-413969, accessed February 3, 2021).
263 Questar Corporation, price catalog, 1972.
264 Questar Corporation, Instruments and Accessories catalog, 1972; Questar Corporation, price catalog, 1972.
265 Rudolph Kingslake, “New Acquisitions: The Questar Telescope,” Journal of Photography and Motion Pictures 15, no. 4 (1972): 17-18, https://archive.org/details/sim_image_1972-12_15_4/mode/1up, accessed December 3, 2021; Questar Corporation, “On the Problem of Choosing a Telescope,” 1973; “Questar 3 1/2 in. CAT telescope,” George Eastman Museum, 2015, https://collections.eastman.org/objects/53953/questar-3-in-cat-telescope, accessed December 16, 2022.
266 The Mechanic, directed by Michael Winner (1972).
267 As of June 3, 2022, the last Questar known to the author to have the original Questar eyepieces with Japanese-made lenses is #2-CV-DP-5214-BB-AC, built in 1972 (MerylB, online forum posting, Cloudy Nights, July 5, 2019, https://www.cloudynights.com/topic/667426-questar-telescope/, accessed June 3, 2022).
268 Questar Corporation, advertisement, Sky and Telescope, March 1973, inside front cover.
269 Krzysztof Ziolkowski, “Astronomy in Mongolia,” Sky and Telescope, December 1973.
270 Questar Corporation, Instruments and Accessories catalog, 1973, revision 3.
271 Questar Corporation, Instruments and Accessories catalog, 1973, revision 3.
272 Questar Corporation, “On the Problem of Choosing a Telescope,” 1973.
273 Questar Corporation, advertisement, Scientific American, April 1974, 121.
274 Questar Corporation, price catalog, revised printing 1973, no. 3; Questar Corporation, advertisement, Sky and Telescope, September 1974, inside front cover; Questar Corporation, advertisement, Scientific American, September 1974, 208.
275 Questar Corporation, advertisement, Scientific American, December 1974, 167.
276 As of June 30 ,2023, the last Questar known to the author to have the early Questar Brandon eyepieces is #4-DP-5781, built in 1974 (“Questar Duplex With Full Aperture Solar Filter,” Astromart, February 15, 2018, https://astromart.com/classifieds/astromart-classifieds/telescope-catadioptric/show/questar-duplex-with-full-aperture-solar-filter, accessed June 30 ,2023).
277 Questar Corporation, Instruments and Accessories catalog, 1972, revised 1974.
278 Questar Corporation, advertisement, Scientific American, October 1975, 137; Questar Corporation, advertisement, Industrial Research, October 1975, 102.
279 Questar Corporation, Questar booklet, 1977, 23.
280 Questar Corporation, “Optical Systems for Special Applications,” 1975.
281 Questar Corporation, Questar Observations (Spring 1976).
282 Questar Corporation, 1977, Catadioptric Lens System, U.S. Patent 4,061,420, filed May 6, 1976, and issued December 6, 1977, https://patents.google.com/patent/US4061420, accessed June 9, 2020.
283 Questar Corporation, advertisement, Modern Photography, August 1976, 12.
284 Jim Perkins, “Questar Serial Number Systems” (unpublished manuscript, August 20, 2020), typescript.
285 Charles Shaw, “Larry Braymer: ‘In Quest of the Stars,’” New Hope Gazette, March 14, 1985, 32, https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/Questar/files/FAQ/, accessed October 15, 2019.
286 Rodger Gordon, “The O.T.I. Experience,” Gemini: A Publication of the Minnesota Astronomical Society, December 1983, 1, http://forums.mnastro.org/gemini/files/gemini_198312.pdf, accessed August 3, 2020.
287 Optical Techniques Incorporated, advertisement, Sky and Telescope, September 1977, 197.
288 Celestron, advertisement, Sky and Telescope, October 1977, outside back cover.
289 Jim Perkins, “Questar Serial Number Systems” (unpublished manuscript, August 20, 2020), typescript.
290 Questar Corporation, 1977, Catadioptric Lens System, U.S. Patent 4,061,420, filed May 6, 1976, and issued December 6, 1977, https://patents.google.com/patent/US4061420, accessed June 9, 2020.
291 Questar Corporation, Questar booklet, 1977.
292 Ben Langlotz, online forum posting, Cloudy Nights, June 12, 2017, https://www.cloudynights.com/topic/580599-questar-design-change-history/?p=7935420, accessed July 11, 2019.
293 Jim Perkins, “Questar Serial Number Systems” (unpublished manuscript, August 20, 2020), typescript.
294 Jim Perkins, email message to author, March 5, 2021.
295 Questar Corporation, 1978, Dual Focal Length Objective, U.S. Patent 4,235,508, filed July 17, 1978, and issued November 25, 1980, https://patents.google.com/patent/US4235508, accessed August 28, 2020.
296 Optical Techniques Incorporated, advertisement, Sky and Telescope, November 1978, 478.
297 Questar Corporation, Instruments and Accessories catalog, 1978.
298 Questar Corporation, “The Unique Questar,” 1978; Questar Corporation, “When You Choose a Questar,” 1978.
299 Questar Corporation, Instruments and Accessories catalog, 1978 (second revision).
300 Questar Corporation, advertisement, Sky and Telescope, August 1979, inside front cover.
301 Questar Corporation, advertisement, Astronomy, September 1979, 3.
302 Alt-Telescopes-Questar Majordomo list message, December 29, 1997, digest 109, https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/Questar/files/Alt-Telescopes-Questar%20Digests/, accessed October 14, 2019.
303 Alt-Telescopes-Questar Majordomo list message, December 29, 1997, digest 109, https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/Questar/files/Alt-Telescopes-Questar%20Digests/, accessed October 14, 2019; Jon Sagud, online forum posting, Cloudy Nights, June 22, 2023, https://www.cloudynights.com/topic/880822-questar-25th-anniversary-telescopes-a-brief-history/, accessed June 23, 2023.
304 Optical Techniques Incorporated, advertisement, Sky and Telescope, March 1980, 231.
305 Optical Techniques Incorporated, advertisement, Sky and Telescope, May 1980, 391.
306 “Questar Products Index & Overview Page,” Company Seven, n.d., http://www.company7.com/questar/index.html, accessed November 5, 2019.
307 Questar Corporation, 1978, Dual Focal Length Objective, U.S. Patent 4,235,508, filed July 17, 1978, and issued November 25, 1980, https://patents.google.com/patent/US4235508, accessed August 28, 2020.
308 Questar Corporation, advertisement, Scientific American, October 1980, 187.
309 Questar Corporation, advertisement, Sky and Telescope, November 1980, 451; Questar Corporation, advertisement, Astronomy, November 1980, 79.
310 Questar Corporation, Instruments and Accessories catalog, 1980.
311 Charles Shaw, “New Hope’s Questar: A Quiet Company,” New Hope Gazette, March 21, 1985, 14, https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/Questar/files/FAQ/, accessed October 15, 2019; Who’s Who in America, 1992-1993 (New Providence: Marquis Who’s Who, 1992), volume 1, 392, https://archive.org/details/isbn_0837901480_1/page/392/mode/1up, accessed June 3, 2022; Herb Drill, “Marguerite Braymer, 85, Questar Corp. co-founder,” Philadelphia Inquirer, November 1, 1996, R4, https://www.newspapers.com/clip/21814542/the_philadelphia_inquirer/, accessed October 8, 2019; Questar Corporation, “The Questar Library: A Marguerite Braymer Foundation,” n.d., http://www.questar-corp.com/popups/eventscenter.htm, accessed June 6, 2020.
312 Questar Corporation, advertisement, Sky and Telescope, January 1981, inside front cover; Questar Corporation, advertisement, Astronomy, January 1981, 63.
313 Questar Corporation, advertisement, Sky and Telescope, June 1981, inside front cover; Questar Corporation, advertisement, Scientific American, June 1981, 48.
314 Questar Corporation, advertisement, Natural History, July 1981, 74.
315 “Questar Products Index & Overview Page,” Company Seven, n.d., http://www.company7.com/questar/index.html, accessed November 5, 2019.
316 Criterion, advertisement, Sky and Telescope, August 1981, 183; Criterion, advertisement, Astronomy, August 1981, inside back cover.
317 Rodger Gordon, “The O.T.I. Experience,” Gemini: A Publication of the Minnesota Astronomical Society, December 1983, 2, http://forums.mnastro.org/gemini/files/gemini_198312.pdf, accessed August 3, 2020.
318 Questar Corporation, advertisement, Sky and Telescope, November 1981, 509.
319 Ben Langlotz, online forum posting, Cloudy Nights, June 12, 2017, https://www.cloudynights.com/topic/580599-questar-design-change-history/?p=7935420, accessed July 11, 2019.
320 Ben Langlotz, online forum posting, Cloudy Nights, June 12, 2017, https://www.cloudynights.com/topic/580599-questar-design-change-history/?p=7935420, accessed February 16, 2021. As of February 16, 2021, the last Questar known to the author to have a side arm logo badge without an “®” symbol is #1-Z-8370-BB, built in 1981 (“Questar 3.5 Zerodor with Broad Band coatings,” Astromart, March 31, 2016, https://astromart.com/classifieds/astromart-classifieds/telescope-catadioptric/show/questar-35-zerodor-with-broad-band-coatings, accessed February 16, 2021).
321 “Company History,” Davro Optical Systems, n.d., http://www.davrooptical.com/#HISTORY, accessed August 14, 2020.
322 Questar Corporation, “The Questar Moon,” 1981.
323 Questar Corporation, advertisement, Industrial Research & Development, May 1982, 200.
324 Questar Corporation, advertisement, Sky and Telescope, February 1983, inside front cover.
325 Questar Corporation, advertisement, Scientific American, June 1983, 120; Questar Corporation, advertisement, Biomedical Communications, June 1983, 10.
326 Questar Corporation, Questar booklet, 1983.
327 Billydee, online forum posting, Cloudy Nights, November 16, 2017, https://www.cloudynights.com/topic/598740-fast-focus-questar/?p=8218101, accessed April 22, 2021; Ben Langlotz, online forum posting, Cloudy Nights, August 21 2019, https://www.cloudynights.com/topic/673398-fast-focus-ii-technical-analysis/, accessed April 22, 2021.
328 Questar Corporation, Instruments and Accessories catalog, 1983.
329 Questar Corporation, “Eyepieces Used by Questar,” n.d., http://www.questarcorporation.com/eyepiece.htm, accessed July 3, 2019.
330 Questar Corporation, advertisement, Industrial Research & Development, June 1984, 307.
331 Questar Corporation, advertisement, Industrial Research & Development, June 1984, 307.
332 Body Double, directed by Brian De Palma (1984).
333 Charles Shaw, “Larry Braymer: ‘In Quest of the Stars,’” New Hope Gazette, March 14, 1985, 3, 32, https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/Questar/files/FAQ/, accessed MMMM DD, YYYY; Charles Shaw, “New Hope’s Questar: A Quiet Company,” New Hope Gazette, March 21, 1985, 3, 14, https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/Questar/files/FAQ/, accessed MMMM DD, YYYY; Who’s Who in America, 1992-1993 (New Providence: Marquis Who’s Who, 1992), volume 1, 392, https://archive.org/details/isbn_0837901480_1/page/392/mode/1up, accessed June 3, 2022.
334 Ben Langlotz, online forum posting, Cloudy Nights, June 12, 2017, https://www.cloudynights.com/topic/580599-questar-design-change-history/?p=7935420, accessed July 11, 2019.
335 Ben Langlotz, online forum posting, Cloudy Nights, June 12, 2017, https://www.cloudynights.com/topic/580599-questar-design-change-history/?p=7935420, accessed July 11, 2019. The latest example known to the author to include the redesigned case that appeared in the early 1970s is #2-DP-Z-8498-BB, built in 1982 (“Questar Duplex, Zerodur, Broadband,” Astromart, February 2, 2010, https://astromart.com/classifieds/astromart-classifieds/telescope-catadioptric/show/questar-duplex-zerodur-broadband-pending-david, accessed February 4, 2021).
336 “The Questar 12 Telescope,” Company Seven, n.d., http://www.company7.com/library/questar/q12.html, accessed February 28, 2021.
337 Ben Langlotz, online forum posting, Cloudy Nights, October 7, 2019, https://www.cloudynights.com/topic/580599-questar-design-change-history/?p=9689859, accessed October 7, 2019; architel, online forum posting, Cloudy Nights, October 7, 2019, https://www.cloudynights.com/topic/580599-questar-design-change-history/?p=9690518, accessed October 7, 2019.
338 Questar Corporation, 1988, Dual Axis Optical System, U.S. Patent 4,728,770, filed April 27, 1987, and issued March 1, 1988, https://patents.google.com/patent/US4728770, accessed August 28, 2020.
339 Questar Corporation, advertisement, Scientific American, September 1987, 88B.
340 Questar Corporation, Instruments and Accessories catalog, 1987.
341 Questar Corporation, Instruments and Accessories catalog, 1987.
342 Questar Corporation, 1988, Dual Axis Optical System, U.S. Patent 4,728,770, filed April 27, 1987, and issued March 1, 1988, https://patents.google.com/patent/US4728770, accessed August 28, 2020.
343 Questar Corporation, Instruments and Accessories catalog, 1988.
344 As of October 25, 2021, the last Questar Field Model known to the author to have its specifications indicated on a triangle sticker afixed to the side of its control box is F-3904-BB, built in 1988 (“Questar 3.5 Field Model (SOLD),” Astromart, July 21, 2009, https://astromart.com/classifieds/astromart-classifieds/telescope-catadioptric/show/questar-35-field-model-sold, accessed October 25, 2021).
345 Questar Corporation, advertisement, Scientific American, April 1989, 9.
346 Jim Perkins, “Questar Serial Number Systems” (unpublished manuscript, August 20, 2020), typescript.
347 Jim Perkins, “Questar Serial Number Systems” (unpublished manuscript, August 20, 2020), typescript.
348 Questar Corporation, Instruments and Accessories catalog, 1989.
349 As of December 19, 2021, the latest Questar known to the author to have its serial number hand-etched into its base plate is #9-9754-BB, built in 1989 (“Questar 3.5" Mak (Standard -?) - SN: 9-9754-BB,” Cloudy Nights, December 18, 2021, https://www.cloudynights.com/classifieds/item/280010-questar-35-mak-standard-sn-9-9754-bb/, accessed December 19, 2021).
350 Questar Corporation, advertisement, Scientific American, March 1990, 127.
351 Questar Corporation, advertisement, Scientific American, March 1990, 127.
352 Questar Corporation, “Questar Serial Number Systems,” n.d., https://www.questarcorporation.com/start.htm, accessed September 30, 2019.
353 “Questar Vinyl-clad Carrying Case,” Company Seven, n.d., http://www.company7.com/questar/products/quevinylcase.html, accessed September 20, 2019. As of September 8, 2024, the latest Questar known to the author to have included a 1980s-era vinyl case is #1-Z-10124-BB, built in 1991 (“Rare Questar Catadioptric Apochromatic Telescope For Close Coupled Cameras 56”” [sic], eBay, September 7, 2024, https://www.ebay.com/itm/387367121914, accessed September 8, 2024).
354 Questar Corporation, advertisement, Scientific American, February 1991, 141.
355 Questar Corporation, advertisement, Astronomy, September 1991, 31.
356 Questar Corporation, price list, November 1991.
357 Questar Corporation, price list, November 1991.
358 Questar Corporation, advertisement, Sky and Telescope, December 1991, inside front cover.
359 Questar Corporation, advertisement, Sky and Telescope, December 1991, inside front cover.
360 Questar Corporation, advertisement, Sky and Telescope, December 1991, inside front cover.
361 Questar Corporation, “Product Proposal [and] Initial Specification: 16cm Maksutov Astronomical Telescope” (unpublished manuscript, March 20, 1992), typescript.
362 Questar Corporation, Questar Observations (Spring 1992).
363 Jim Perkins, “Questar Serial Number Systems” (unpublished manuscript, August 20, 2020), typescript.
364 Questar Corporation, “Choosing a Telescope,” 1992; Rodger Gordon to the author, September 23, 2020.
365 Questar Corporation, advertisement, Sky and Telescope, July 1991, inside front cover; Questar Corporation, advertisement, Astronomy, January 1992, 109.
366 Questar Corporation, advertisement, Sky and Telescope, February 1993, inside front cover.
367 Questar Corporation, advertisement, Sky and Telescope, October 1993, 50.
368 “How to Choose Your Questar 3-½ Astronomical Telescope,” Company Seven, n.d., http://www.company7.com/library/questar/queintro.html, accessed December 20, 2019; “Recollections of the NASA STS-61 First Hubble Space Telescope Servicing Mission,” Company Seven, n.d., http://www.company7.com/c7news/nasa_sts61.html, accessed December 20, 2019.
369 “Telescope Makers’ Misfortunes,” Sky and Telescope, March 1996, 14.
370 Questar Corporation, “Eyepieces Used by Questar,” n.d., http://www.questarcorporation.com/eyepiece.htm, accessed July 3, 2019.
371 Herb Drill, “Marguerite Braymer, 85, Questar Corp. co-founder,” Philadelphia Inquirer, November 1, 1996, R4, https://www.newspapers.com/clip/21814542/the_philadelphia_inquirer/, accessed October 8, 2019.
372 Questar Corporation, price list, February 1996.
373 Questar Corporation, “Douglas Maitland Knight,” n.d., http://www.questarcorporation.com/dknight.htm, accessed August 12, 2019.
374 Stewart Squires, email message to author, November 10, 2020.
375 Questar Corporation, Questar Seven price list, January 1997.
376 Questar Corporation, advertisement, Sky and Telescope, April 1997, 81.
377 Barry Kawa, unpublished essay on Douglas Knight and Maurice Sweiss (unpublished manuscript, n.d.), typescript, https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/Questar/files/Questar%20Manuals/, accessed October 14, 2019.
378 J.R. Cumberland, Inc., home page, n.d., https://www.cumberlandoptical.com/, accessed November 25, 2020.
379 Questar Corporation, price list, March 1997.
380 Questar Corporation, advertisement, Sky and Telescope, September 1998, 97.
381 Questar Corporation, advertisement, Sky and Telescope, September 1998, 97.
382 Questar Corporation, 2001, Stereoscopic, Long-distance Microscope, U.S. Patent 6,256,143 B1, filed February 19, 1999, and issued July 3, 2001, https://patents.google.com/patent/US6256143B1, accessed December 26, 2020.
383 Questar Corporation, advertisement, Sky and Telescope, July 1999, 25.
384 “Questar 50th Anniversary 3-½ Telescope,” Company Seven, n.d., http://www.company7.com/questar/telescopes/que50thanniversary.html, accessed July 27, 2019.
385 Ben Langlotz, online forum posting, Cloudy Nights, March 19, 2020, https://www.cloudynights.com/topic/628806-the-perfect-questar-setup/?p=10053098, accessed March 19, 2020.
386 Ben Langlotz, online forum posting, Cloudy Nights, June 12, 2017, https://www.cloudynights.com/topic/580599-questar-design-change-history/?p=7935420, accessed July 11, 2019.
387 Questar Corporation, advertisement, Sky and Telescope, August 2000, 71.
388 Online forum posting, Questar Users Group, September 24, 2000, https://groups.io/g/Questar/topic/saturn_edgewise_photo/48845160, accessed April 6, 2021.
389 “Questar 50th Anniversary 3-½ Telescope,” Company Seven, n.d., http://www.company7.com/questar/telescopes/que50thanniversary.html, accessed July 27, 2019.
390 Stewart Squires, email message to author, November 10, 2020.
391 Questar Corporation, 2001, Stereoscopic, Long-distance Microscope, U.S. Patent 6,256,143 B1, filed February 19, 1999, and issued July 3, 2001, https://patents.google.com/patent/US6256143B1, accessed December 26, 2020.
392 “Questar News and Developments Page,” Company Seven, n.d., http://www.company7.com/questar/news.html, accessed November 6, 2019.
393 Jim Perkins, “Questar Serial Number Systems” (unpublished manuscript, August 20, 2020), typescript.
394 Questar Corporation, advertisement, Sky and Telescope, September 2002, 9.
395 Questar Corporation, 3.5" telescope and accessory price list, June 2002.
396 Questar Corporation, advertisement, Sky and Telescope, January 2003, 143.
397 Matthew L. Wald with Andrew C. Revkin, “Loss of the Shuttle: The Inquiry; Scientists Suspect a Wider Field of Debris, With the Breakup Starting Over California,” New York Times, February 8, 2003, 23, https://www.nytimes.com/2003/02/05/us/loss-shuttle-inquiry-scientists-suspect-wider-field-debris-with-breakup-starting.html, accessed June 16, 2020; George Johnson, “Loss of the Shuttle: Photographic Evidence; From Earth, Special Photos Of Columbia,” New York Times, February 8, 2003, 13, https://www.nytimes.com/2003/02/08/us/loss-of-the-shuttle-photographic-evidence-from-earth-special-photos-of-columbia.html, accessed June 16, 2020; John Fleck, “Tiny Telescope Took Critical Shot of Shuttle,” Albuquerque Journal, February 13, 2003, A1, https://www.abqjournal.com/scitech/shuttle/833266news02-13-03.htm, accessed March 5, 2020.
398 Jim Perkins, “Questar Serial Number Systems” (unpublished manuscript, August 20, 2020), typescript.
399 Online forum posting, Cloudy Nights, April 24, 2003, https://www.cloudynights.com/topic/530-eyepieces-that-come-to-focus-with-finder/, accessed April 4, 2021.
400 Questar Corporation, advertisement, Sky and Telescope, August 2003, 65; Questar Corporation, advertisement, Astronomy, August 2003, 111.
401 Jim Perkins, “Questar Serial Number Systems” (unpublished manuscript, August 20, 2020), typescript.
402 Questar Corporation, “Douglas Maitland Knight,” n.d., http://www.questarcorporation.com/dknight.htm, accessed November 6, 2019.
403 Questar Corporation, “German Equatorial Mount Instruction Manual,” February 2005, https://groups.io/g/Questar/topic/78988338, accessed December 19, 2020.
404 Into the Wild, directed by Sean Penn (2007).
405 Jim Perkins, “Questar Serial Number Systems” (unpublished manuscript, August 20, 2020), typescript.
406 Mike Wall, “First ‘Cubesats’ in Record-Breaking Fleet Launched from Space Station,” Space.com, February 11, 2014, https://www.space.com/24651-cubesats-launch-space-station-planet-labs.html, accessed October 10, 2020; “Cute Little CubeSats,” Red Chair Blogs, May 1, 2015, https://www.redchairblogs.com/starstruck/2015/05/01/cute-little-cubesats/, accessed April 9, 2021.
407 J.R. Cumberland, Inc., home page, n.d., https://www.cumberlandoptical.com/, accessed November 25, 2020.
408 Jim Perkins, “Questar Serial Number Systems” (unpublished manuscript, August 20, 2020), typescript.
409 Jim Perkins, “Questar Serial Number Systems” (unpublished manuscript, August 20, 2020), typescript.
410 Rodger Gordon to the author, September 23, 2020.
411 Jim Perkins, “Questar Serial Number Systems” (unpublished manuscript, August 20, 2020), typescript.
412 Jim Perkins, “Questar Serial Number Systems” (unpublished manuscript, August 20, 2020), typescript.
413 medpeds, online forum posting, Cloudy Nights, January 18, 2020, https://www.cloudynights.com/topic/691088-leather-case/?p=9925058, accessed April 8, 2021.
414 Jim Perkins, “Questar Serial Number Systems” (unpublished manuscript, August 20, 2020), typescript.
415 Online forum posting, Cloudy Nights, October 10, 2022, https://www.cloudynights.com/topic/845474-20mm-brandon-the-missing-eyepiece-focal-length/, accessed November 7, 2022; “New 20mm Brandon Eyepiece,” Vernonscope, n.d., https://www.vernonscope.com/new-20mm-brandon-eyepiece/, accessed November 7, 2022.
416 “Questar Eyepieces,” Vernonscope, n.d., https://vernonscope.com/questar-eyepieces/, accessed January 29, 2023.
417 Online forum posting, Cloudy Nights, April 24, 2024, https://www.cloudynights.com/topic/920056-jim-reicherts-retirement/, accessed May 27, 2024; online forum posting, Cloudy Nights, May 3, 2024, https://www.cloudynights.com/topic/921080-jim-perkins-last-day-is-today/, accessed May 27, 2024.