When did telescopes become available? The History of Science and Mathematics stack exchange has a question &quot;When Did Telescopes become Affordable?&quot; asking when telescopes became available to members of the general public instead of wealthy people, professional astronomers, sea captains, and army officers.
And I think that telescopes have become more affordable to the general public over centuries.
So do any amateur astronomers at this site have any information about the history of making telescopes to sell to amateur astronomers?
This is an opinion based question and so I don't think there is an objective answer.  For example what constitutes a wealthy person?
However, in his book &quot;Celestial Objects for Common Telescopes&quot;, first published in 1859, the author, Thomas Webb, writes: Instruments quite sufficient for the student's purpose are far less expensive than formerly; a trifling outlay will often procure them, of excellent quality, at second-hand
This suggests to me that telescopes had become reasonably available by the mid 19th C.