Accession No
1819
Brief Description
simple microscope, screw barrel type, attributed to John Smith, English, circa 1760
Origin
England; London; Royal Exchange [based on attributed maker]
Maker
Smith, John [attributed]
Class
microscopes
Earliest Date
1760
Latest Date
1760
Inscription Date
Material
metal (brass, steel); ivory; organic (horn); glass; leather (shagreen); cloth (velvet); wood; paper
Dimensions
case length 156 mm; breadth 90 mm; height 40 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. George III Collection.
Inscription
“G.III.R (and Royal arms)” (on label glued to box);
“JS (with logo)” (on stage forceps)
Description Notes
Brass; threaded condenser tube in cylindrical body; turned ivory handle; three part stage of horn and brass; each plate stamped 1-3; brass spring; six objectives ‘1’-’6’; hand lens in horn mount with brass holder for opaque objects, with screw thread to body; glass tube; two pairs stage forceps with black and white ground, (missing on one example), one with steel rod; one with brass rod; forceps and pin; glass tube; four ivory 4-object slides; one ivory 3-object slides; three object live-box; four object live box.
References
Events
Description
This type of simple microscope, employing only one lens, was first described in 1702, by James Wilson in the Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society. The design was in fact the work of the Dutch microscopist Nicolaas Hartsoeker.
The essential feature of the design is the threaded cylinder, carrying a condensing lens, which screws in and out of the body. The microscope is hand-held, and the slide is inserted at one end — the whole instrument is then pointed towards a light source.
Large numbers of these microscopes were made, and they proved extremely popular. This was in part due to the recommendation of John Harris, in his 1704 book Lexicon Technicum, in which he wrote that “of all microscopes I have ever seen for commodiousness, various uses, portability and cheapness, I never met with anything like Mr. Wilson’s Glasses.”
26/02/2008
Created by: Boris Jardine, with text from Olivia Brown’s Catalogue 7 on 26/02/2008
FM:43310
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