Accession No

6712

Brief Description

compound microscope in solid nickel silver, No. 288, by Ross, English, c. 1845, with Wenham's binocular apparatus added c. 1859-1860

Origin

England; London

Maker

Ross, Andrew

Class

microscopes

Earliest Date

1845

Latest Date

1845

Inscription Date

Material

metal (nickel silver, other); glass

Dimensions

155mm (width) x 515mm (height) x 210mm (depth)

Special Collection

Provenance

Purchased from Le Zograscope in 9/2020. Previously purchased from a private Belgian collector at an unknown date. Previously purchased in Belgium in the 1990s.

Inscription

A. ROSS.
LONDON.
No. 288
[On base of the microscope]

WENHAM'S BINOCULAR,
by Ross, London.
[On binocular body tube]

Uncovered
Covered
[On objective]

Description Notes

Compound microscope, No. 288, by Ross, English, c. 1845, with Wenham's binocular apparatus added c. 1859-1860.

The microscope is solid nickel silver. It sits on a solid Y-shaped base with two flat uprights with attached buttresses. At the base of the pillar, there is a swivelling mirror (which has cracks and de-silvering) on a gimbal which is attached to the base tube with a ring and can slide up and down. The stage above the mirror can be moved front to back and side to side using two knobs, which move freely and smoothly. Two larger knobs on either side of the stage control the height of the arm (and objective and eye piece). There is a further knob to unscrew the eyepiece. The binocular apparatus, which was added later, is lighter in colour than the rest of the microscope. A knob adjusts the height of the eyepieces at the top.

Condition: good; complete.

References

Events

Description
London instrument-maker Andrew Ross won a number of awards for his improvements to microscope design, including a method for adjusting the instrument’s object glass and a more stable Y-shaped stand, as seen on this instrument.

This microscope is unusual in being made from ‘nickel silver’ (an alloy of copper, nickel, and zinc), which is more resistant to humidity and tropical temperatures than the usual brass, suggesting that it was designed for use overseas. Its serial number dates it to around 1845, although the binocular apparatus must have been added after 1860.
19/11/2021
Created by: Morgan Bell on 19/11/2021

Description
This compound microscope was made circa 1845 by London instrument maker Andrew Ross. Compound microscopes became important scientific instruments in the first half of the 19th Century after a series of optical improvements. Andrew Ross contributed to this transformation through his method of adjusting the microscope's object glass, for which he was awarded a Gold Isis medal by the Royal Society of Arts. In 1843, he also designed a more stable stand for microscopes, with a bar limb and a Y-shaped foot. This microscope is made from solid nickel silver, which is more resistant to humidity and tropical temperatures than the usual brass, suggesting it might have been designed for use overseas. The Wenham's binocular apparatus was added circa 1859-1860 as an improvement to the monocular model.
16/03/2020
Created by: Morgan Bell on 16/03/2020

FM:47441