336
NOTES AND QUERIES. 11-2 H. in. JUNE, 1917.
" The objection to Dollond's patent was that
he was not the inventor of the new method of
making object glasses, but that Dr. Hall had
made the same discovery before him. But it
was holden, that as Dr. Hall had confined it to
his closet and the public were not acquainted
with it, Dollond was to be considered as the
inventor " (Webster's ' Patent Law Reports,'
p. 43).
Chester Moor Hall was a practising barrister, and a bencher of the Inner Temple. His failure to assert his rights is somewhat mysterious, but, so far as is known, he made no protest when the Copley Medal of the Royal Society was awarded to John Dollond , nor did he oppose the grant of Dollond's patent. He did not communicate an account of his discovery to any learned society, nor did he publish any book or pamphlet on the subject. None of his papers has been preserved, and the only specimens of his handwriting consist of signatures to documents connected with his duties as a county magistrate. One of these is in the possession of the Royal Astronomical Society. He left no will.
The researches of the late Mr. A. C. Ranyard at the Public Record Office prove that Peter Dollond brought two other actions for infringement, in both of which he was successful, though it does not appear that either of them came to trial. The defendants in one case were Addison Smith and Francis Watson, both of St. Martin's Lane, opticians, and in the other Henry Pyefinch of Cornhill, optician. The exact date when these actions were commenced cannot be ascertained, but it is certain that the earlier one was begun before judgment was given in the case against Champneys. Addison Smith, who was one of the defendants in the first-named action, was one of the signatories of the petition in favour of revocation, and Pyefinch is known as the patentee of an improvement in achromatic telescopes, No. 976, A.D. 1770. Neither Watson nor Pyefinch signed the petition.
I have endeavoured to keep this note as short as possible, and have been obliged to leave out several points which I should like to have dealt with. Those who desire to pursue the subject further will find much valuable information, in Mr. A. C. Ranyard' s papers in The Astronomical Register, 1881 and 1886 ; and in the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, vol. xlvi. p. 460. These papers, with other matter, will be found in the Woodcroft Collection in the Patent Office Library, s.v. Dollond.
R. B. P
BIBLIOGRAPHY OF HISTORIES OF
IRISH COUNTIES AND TOWNS.
(11 S. xi. 103, 183, 315 ; xii. 24, 276, 375 ; 12 S. i. 422; ii. 22, 141, 246, 286, 406, 445, 522.)
I OFFER the following additions to MR. W. MAC ARTHUR'S interesting collection of titles :
ANTRIM. Bassett, G. H. The Book of Antrim. 1888.
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Antiquities of the Southern Isles of Aran.
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1897. Synge, J. M. The Aran Islands. Dublin, 1907.
AKMAGH. Rogers, Edward. Topographical Sketches of
Armagh and Tyrone. 1874.
Bassett, G. H. Book of the County Armagh. 1888.
ATHY.
Irish Penny Magazine, Jan. 22, 1842. Weekly Freeman, Feb. 13, 1892.
BALLYHACK (WEXFOBD). Hore, P. H. History of Wexford, vol. iii. 1901.
BELFAST. Smith, J. H. Belfast and its Environs. 1842,
1843.
B. N. F. C. Guide to Belfast. 1874, 1902. Doran, Dr. J. Memories of our Great Towns.
1878. Lady of the House. (Numerous articles.)
CHAPELIZOD (DUBLIN). Lady of the House, July 15, 1909. CLABE ISLAND.
Clare Island Survey, Part I. (Proc. R.I. A., vol. xxxi.K
CLONTABF AND DOLLYMOUNT (DUBLIN). Lady of the House, June 15, 1909.
DUBLIN. Harris, W. History and Antiquities of City of
Dublin. 1766. Warburton, Whitelaw, and Walsh. History of
City of Dublin. 2 vols. 1818. Dublin Penny Journal, 1832-6. Irinh Penny Journal, 1840-41. Gilbert, J. T. History of City of Dublin. 3 vols.
Brit. Assoc. Handbooks to Dublin. 1878 and 1908. Halliday, C. Scandinavian Kingdom of Dublin.
1881.
Evfniny Telegraph Reprints, 1889 92. M'Cready. Dublin 'Bibliography. 1892. Dix, E. K. McC. Lesser Castles in the co. Dublin
(Irish Builder, 1896-7). Gerard, F. Picturesque Dublin. 1898. Carmichael, Rev. F. F. Dublin, a lecture. 1907. | Peter, A. Sketches of Old Dublin. 1907.
