Accession No

0038

Brief Description

simple microscope, compass type, 19th Century

Origin

Maker

Class

microscopes

Earliest Date

1800

Latest Date

1900

Inscription Date

Material

metal (brass, copper)

Dimensions

length 97mm; breadth 30mm; height 32mm

Special Collection

Robert Whipple collection

Provenance

Purchased by Robert Stewart Whipple from M. Beichon, Paris, in 04/1922.

Inscription

Description Notes

Brass microscope, with screw fit and copper lieberkuhn; pivot to piece for forceps which are missing.

References

Events

Description
With this instrument, specimens were held on the point and illuminated by the large silvered mirror which reflected light onto the upper surface of the specimen. This device was invented by Johann Lieberkuhn in about 1740 and became standard equipment for 150 years.

‘Compass’ microscope is a modern term applied to these instruments as a result of their resemblance in construction to a pair of draughtsman compasses. It was called the “small microscope for opaque objects” by Adams (1787), and they were often included in with the accessories of other objects.
01/03/2001
Created by: Corrina Bower on 01/03/2001

FM:42346