Accession No

1795

Brief Description

microscope compendium with compound microscope, side pillar type and solar microscope; circa 1775

Origin

Maker

Class

microscopes

Earliest Date

1775

Latest Date

1775

Inscription Date

Material

fishskin (shagreen); wood; cloth (velvet); metal (brass); glass; ivory

Dimensions

height 398mm; depth 255mm; breadth 100mm

Special Collection

Heywood collection

Provenance

Purchased from the H.Heywood collection under estate duty exemption benefit with the assistance of a Science Museum grant-in-aid.

Inscription

Description Notes

Black shagreen covered wooden box, lined with green velvet.
Brass stand with folding three legged foot, knurled screw clamp; swinging plano/concave mirror on base of a racked triangular section column; knurled screw moves stage plate over rack; cruciform stage with fittings for stage forceps etc; turned finial at head of column with slot for horizontal arm; screw thread for body; screw fit snout with ‘between lens’ (rather short snout); cylindrical body with field lens; screw fit eye piece with three plano/convex lenses; six objectives ‘1-6’; stage condensor; magnifying glass and stage holder; lieberkuhn objective; lieberkuhn; cone; live box; 4 object brass live slide; tweezers; ivory talc and ring box; stage forceps; frog plate; shagreen slip case with five 4-object ivory slides. Solar microscope square brass plate and rectangular mirror; 2 screws controlling movement of the mirror; screw holes for attachment to shutter; transparent object body with draw tube; slot for objectives; spring slide holder, racked collar (knurled screw broken); 6 objective slider marked ‘1-6’; various condensing lenses.

References

Boris Jardine; 'Benjamin Martin and microscope compendia'; Explore Whipple Collections online article; Whipple Museum of the History of Science; University of Cambridge; 2006: https://www.whipplemuseum.cam.ac.uk/explore-whipple-collections/microscopes/three-microscope-makers/benjamin-martin-and-microscope

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