Francis Watkins and the Dollond telescope patent controversy

Francis Watkins was an eminent figure in his field of mathematical and optical instrument making in mid-eighteenth century London.

Working from original documents, Brian Gee has uncovered the life and times of an optical instrument maker, who - at first glance - was not among the most prominent in his field.

In fact, because Francis Watkins came from a landed background, the diversification of his assets enabled him to weather particular business storms - discussed in this book - where colleagues without such an economic cushion, were pushed into bankruptcy or forced to emigrate.

He played an important role in one of the most significant legal cases to touch this profession, namely the patenting of the achromatic lens in telescopes.