The Tricolor Celestron C14 Prototype Discovered

05/08/2025

(Pictures are at the end of the article) 

In  the early 1970's Celestron began announcing its new line of orange tube SCT telescopes. Among one of the catalogs was an image of a three color scheme C14 telescope which interestingly never hit the production line. This three color prototype was never publicly sold and many speculations grew as people wondered  about the fate of this unit. There were multiple catalogs displaying the tricolor C14, some of which even had pictures of, Celestron owner, Tom Johnson.  Many speculated that this prototype sold to Allen Hale as model serial number 1.  The production unit which was sold to the  mass consumer consisted of 7 fork holes and an orange and gray color scheme.  The tricolor prototype consisted of a black motor housing, a black visual back/front, orange tube, and tan forks with 6 holes.  Scroll down to the bottom of this article for reference pictures as well as pictures of the discovered unit.

For nearly 55 years the mystery revolving the tricolor C14 would enchant collectors and enthusiasts. As my luck would have it, I would somehow get roped into this whole story. While many believe the unit never existed, was never sold, or simply ended up in a landfill, the story would take an interesting twist ending in my garage.  During a fall work party at the Racine Astronomical Society, which I am a current board member of, an old Celestron C14 orange tube telescope was discovered stashed in a storage space underneath one of the main telescopes.  It was in very poor condition, looking like it was pulled off of a shipwreck. Come to later find out this was due to a Celestron paint called Velvetone which would melt and bubble in temperatures over 80 degrees. The older members of the club explained that this telescope was purchased preproduction from Celestron by a member and was later sold to the club. Due to its very rough condition the telescope was offered to me, which I gladly accepted as a restoration project.  To make a long story short I ended up giving it a modern paint scheme using epoxy based paints for longevity. This was in October 2024. At this point I end up taking pride in my craftsmanship, and began using it for visual work. The club was very excited for its transformation and this lead to one of the members finding an old picture of the C14 at one of our domes in 1987. This becomes very important later on. 

Come May of 2025 I was bored out of my mind when I should've been studying for my OB nursing exam. I remembered the C14 I had restored lacked serial numbers on the unit which made me question its history. Was this some kind of historical unit? After doing a little bit of research I quickly learned of the mythical tricolor C14 telescope. At this point I remembered the image I had received from one of the members.  With a quick reference to that image I realized that the telescope matched the tricolor C14 telescope. A quick post on Cloudy Nights lead to the confirmation I had suspected. A few feet away from me stood the missing C14 tricolor orange tube many have discussed and looked for over the years. To think that all this time it was located at the Racine Astronomical Society.  One Cloudy Nights user described my find by saying "You found the unicorn".  

So here is the good news. After nearly 55 years the first (or second, no way of knowing) C14 prototype has been found, and somehow I own it.  On the other hand I realized that I had just restored a piece of history in the wrong color scheme.  When I had received it, the original paint color was unrecognizable and by no means did anyone know what history it held. In the near future the telescope will be professionally restored to its original state to better preserve its significance in modern amateur astronomy.  Luckily after discussing this revelation with the longtime members at the club they were able to find a picture of my C14 from the original owner when it was first purchased. This will allow me to accurately bring this piece back to its original historic state. So the conclusion of this story is, I have one of the first if not the first C14 prototypes that has only been rumored to exist. 

As of May 8th 2025, I am waiting on a response from Celestron regarding this telescope's history. The original response I received was that I own a mass produced C14 followed by an image of a two tone 70's orange tube C14 with 7 holes in the forks.  It would be nice if people actually read emails. I once again restated the differentiation and importance of the tricolor pallet and its significance as the lost prototype and am waiting for a reply. I have no plans to sell this telescope and merely want their confirmation of its historical significance and possibly even an interesting story behind it.  There is no bluebook price for this telescope as it is the only one in existence and its sentimental significance to The Racine Astronomical Society and I, as well as the history behind it holds more value to me than cash.  

Below are several pictures of this telescope which I have captioned.

05/12/2025 Update:

I received a reply from Celestron stating that my unit was one of 100 tan units produced.  Unfortunately they once again disregarded my email and completely missed the fact that the telescope I possess had a 3 color scheme prior to restoration. After much discussion with people online I learned that Celestron lost all of their paperwork during a flood and that there is no one left at the company who would know of the scope. Celestron also stated that after the 100 tan units they switch to die casting their mount instead of sandcasting. It is a well known fact that the orange tube C14 telescopes were all sand casted. The general consensus reached is that this is the first evidence of a Tricolor C14 ever seen. Those who were around during the orange tube era never saw one other than in a catalog. So currently I am a proud owner of the Unicorn of telescopes.