Accession No

0082

Brief Description

compound microscope; made by Cornelius Varley; circa 1860

Origin

London; England

Maker

Varley. Cornelius

Class

microscopes

Earliest Date

1860

Latest Date

1860

Inscription Date

Material

metal (brass); glass

Dimensions

overall height 480mm; depth 190 mm; breadth 215 mm

Special Collection

Robert Whipple collection

Provenance

Purchased by Robert Stewart Whipple from T. H. Court in 12/1922.

Inscription

“Varley Invent. London” on the stage

Description Notes

Brass compound microscope. Flat hollow base with two long and one short feet. pillar and wing nut clamp onto a screw thread through plate and square limb. At the base of the plate there is a pivoting arm with 5 holes for an articulated arm attachment that leads to a concave mirror. The plate carries a lever operated stage. The stage is two tier, with a screw thread for the sub stage accessories. A knurled screw at the back of the plate operates the rack on limb. There is a bar limb to body, fine focus screw below bar limb. A screw fit objective and a screw fit eyepiece. “Varley Invent. London” on the stage

References

Boris Jardine; 'Cornelius Varley: artist; astronomer; and instrument maker'; Explore Whipple Collections online article; Whipple Museum of the History of Science; University of Cambridge; 2008: https://www.whipplemuseum.cam.ac.uk/explore-whipple-collections/astronomy/art-and-astronomy-cornelius-varley

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