Accession No

1113

Brief Description

two lenses in a red leather Pritchard's case, by Andrew Pritchard, English, 1827-1834 (c)

Origin

England

Maker

Pritchard, Andrew

Class

microscopes

Earliest Date

1827

Latest Date

1834

Inscription Date

Material

glass; metal; cloth (velvet, silk); hide (leather); paper

Dimensions

(case) length 110mm, width 43mm, height 18mm

Special Collection

Provenance

Inscription

(case)
'A.PRITCHARD
LONDON.'

Description Notes

Two lenses in a red leather Pritchard's case, by Andrew Pritchard, English, 1827-1834 c.

The leather case has an inscription 'A.PRITCHARD/LONDON' on the lid. The inside is divided into three sections and laid with pale and purple felt. Two lenses made with brass and glass. One lens is inscribed 'A. Pritchard, 18 Picket St, Strand,' on the rim, and the other is indicated '1/30 and Tt'. A piece of paper note is placed in the case, on which the handwriting says, 'Excellent Sapphire lens from Mr. Pond see his letter 6 Jany, 1856.' A round white plastic tag '1113' was placed inside the case.

References

Events

Description
Andrew Pritchard (1804-1882) was a British naturalist, natural history dealer, and microscopist. He was an apprentice to his cousin Cornelius Varley (1781-1873), who was a watercolour artist and an optical instrument maker. Pritchard later set up his own shop of optical instrument in London in 1827. Since then, he had been operating a broad business, selling wide range of achromatic microscopes and microscopic slides. His techniques and improved skills on achromitisation microscope lenses were recognised, especially for his refinement on the high refraction of ruby, diamond, and sapphire lenses.

According to the inscription on one of the lenses '18 Picket St, Strand', this set could be dated between 1827 and 1834, as this is the period when Pritchard had his shop at the address.
15/12/2022
Created by: Guey-Mei Hsu on 15/12/2022

FM:47576