Accession No
1824
Brief Description
simple microscope, aquatic type; circa 1775
Origin
Maker
Class
microscopes
Earliest Date
1775
Latest Date
1775
Inscription Date
Material
metal (brass,silver); glass; hide (shagreen); cloth (velvet)
Dimensions
h 138; 111 x 111 x 31 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 cross-section stand which screws into the lid of the box; fitting for swinging concave mirror; slot at head of stand for stage; circular stage with socket for forceps; column slides into stand with slot for lens holder; 2 lieberkuhn objectives; watch glass; fitted wooden box covered with black shagreen and lined with velvet.
Stage forceps look an 18th century feature
good condition
References
Events
Description
Growing interest throughout the eighteenth century in natural history, and more particularly in pond-life, stimulated the development of the “Aquatic” microscope. This was initially designed by John Ellis (1710 - 1776) and is therefore often referred to as the “Ellis Aquatic”.
Ellis, a peripatetic naturalist, commissioned his first instrument in 1752 from John Cuff. It was designed to hold small samples of pond-water on a watch-glass stage. In this way the microscopic creatures contained in it could be observed. Several of these microscopes have dissecting tools as part of the kits and could also be used for microscopic dissection.
01/03/2001
Created by: Corrina Bower on 01/03/2001
FM:39893
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