Charles Bush, 1825-1900, held the first U.S. kaleidoscope patent, issued 1873, and produced thousands of kaleidoscopes until his death. The eager American public found the images in his scopes beautiful and mystifying. In an attempt to find a source of the magic, many of them took their kaleidoscopes apart only to find that they could not reassemble them. Consequently, fine Bush scopes are a rarity today.
This rare antique Charles Bush kaleidoscope from Cozy Baker’s renowned collection was offered for auction the weekend of September 22-24 at Kaleidoscope Shop during opening celebration hours. The treasured scope went to the lucky top bidders: Jim and June Mindrup. |  |
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