Accession No
0280
Brief Description
simple microscope, withering folding botanical type, circa 1795
Origin
Maker
Class
microscopes
Earliest Date
1795
Latest Date
1795
Inscription Date
Material
Wood (mahogany); metal (brass, steel); ivory; paper
Dimensions
box length 122mm; breadth 60mm; height 24mm
Special Collection
Robert Whipple collection
Provenance
Purchased from Fenton, London, in 08/1926.
Inscription
“THE BOTANIC MICROSCOPE is particularly adapted to the / examination of dissection of small flowers, and other. the minuter parts of PLANTS.” (on paper label in lid)
Description Notes
Mahogany box, three brass legs rise automatically as box opens; fixed ivory stage (originally black, but now very worn); ivory ring with screw thread for lens in ivory mount (black on one side); focussed by unscrewing lens; black and white ground [not original]; steel stage forceps (not original); box not fitted.
Paper label in lid.
References
Events
Description
During the eighteenth century numerous microscope designs were proposed and marketed, reflecting the various uses to which the instrument was put. These ranged from large ornamental microscopes to hand-held field lenses.
One trend that influenced the development of the microscope was ‘natural history’, the contemporary term for systematic enquiry into nature. As more and more educated ladies and gentlemen took up studying the natural world, portable field microscopes were developed to aid their research.
FM:42388
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