Accession No

6669

Brief Description

double-convex lens filled with clear liquid (water?) mounted on a stand

Origin

Maker

Class

optical

Earliest Date

1900

Latest Date

1950

Inscription Date

Material

wood; glass; metal; water(?)

Dimensions

290mm (height) x 180mm (widest point -- item rotates)

Special Collection

Michael J. Clark Bequest

Provenance

Inscription

Description Notes

Double-convex lens filled with a clear liquid (water?) mounted on a stand

The double-convex lens (105mm diameter) is hollow, and just over half-full with a clear liquid, possibly water. It is contained within a circular wooden frame, painted black; this frame has two brass nubs affixed on either side, which allow the lens to sit in the u-shaped metal cradle. The U-shaped cradle is affixed to a turned, varnished wooden pillar and base, also painted black. This allows the cradle and lens to rotate 360 degrees, and the lens to pivot on its horizontal axis.

As the lens is hollow, it only magnifies when the liquid is present; the lens may therefore once have been more full than it is now. The liquid has some kind of white debris in it (wood? glue?).

Complete

References

Events