The Ribrights, Opticians in the Poultry, London; and the use of powered machinery for working lenses and mirrors, in Tewin (Hertfordshire), Bromley (Kent) and Darlington (Co. Durham)

摘要

Reference works give brief accounts of optical and mathematical instrument makers with the surname Ribright, active in London from the 1730s until the last years of the eighteenth century Additional material relating to the activities of Thomas Ribright J (d 1781), his brother George Ribright (d 1783) and nephew Thomas Ribright II (d 1811) points to the mechanisation and proto-industrialisation of optical workshop practice Thomas Ribright I and Thomas Ribright II opened separate manufactories outside London that used water-powered machinery to work lenses and mirrors respectively. Information is provided on the water driven mill for grinding spectacle lenses, established by John Kendrew (d 1800) in Darlington.