Accession No
1827
Brief Description
simple microscope, botanical; circa 1800
Origin
Maker
Class
microscopes
Earliest Date
1800
Latest Date
1800
Inscription Date
Material
metal (brass); glass (mirror); ivory; paper (cardboard); leather (morocco)
Dimensions
case height 95 mm; diameter 53 mm
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
Brass; circular base with two pillars to sliding circular stage; pillars extend to support eyepiece; swinging mirror below stage; single screw fit eyepiece; stage forceps; ivory handled pin (pin missing); cylindrical cardboard slip case covered in morocco.
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 researches.
FM:43306
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