Accession No
0246
Brief Description
simple microscope, aquatic and dissecting; circa 1775
Origin
Maker
Class
microscopes
Earliest Date
1775
Latest Date
1775
Inscription Date
Material
metal (brass); glass; hide (shagreen leather); cloth (velvet)
Dimensions
box length 133mm; breadth 112mm; height 33mm; overall microscope height 156 mm
Special Collection
Robert Whipple collection
Provenance
Purchased by Robert Stewart Whipple from T. H. Court on 08/10/1925. It was formerly part of the Crisp Collection.
Inscription
Description Notes
Brass pillar of microscope screws into lid of box; shoe at head of pillar for circular stage. Aperture at base takes swinging concave mirror. Rod fits into pillar. Lens holder slides into top of rod. One eyepiece with lieberkuhn. Fitted wooden box lined with green velvet and covered with black shagreen. Box takes 5 eyepieces (4 missing, although mentioned in Whipple’s catalogue).
References
Events
Description
Growing interest throughout the eighteenth century in natural history, and more particularly in pond-life, stimulated the development of the “Aquatic” microscope. This was initially designed by John Ellis (1710 - 1776) and is therefore often referred to as the “Ellis Aquatic”.
Ellis, a peripatetic naturalist, commissioned his first instrument in 1752 from John Cuff. It was designed to hold small samples of pond-water on a watch-glass stage. In this way the microscopic creatures contained in it could be observed. Several of these microscopes have dissecting tools as part of the kits and could also be used for microscopic dissection.
FM:42352
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