Accession No
0587
Brief Description
simple microscope, withering folding botanical type; circa 1800
Origin
Maker
Class
microscopes
Earliest Date
1800
Latest Date
1800
Inscription Date
Material
metal (brass, steel) wood (oak); ivory; glass; cloth; paper
Dimensions
h 85 mm; Box: 117 x 60 x 28 mm
Special Collection
Robert Whipple collection
Provenance
Purchased from T.H. Court in 03/1930.
Inscription
THE BOTANICAL MICROSCOPE
is particularly adapted to the examination or dissection of small flowers,
and other, the minuter parts of PLANTS...
Description Notes
Oak box; brass pillar raises automatically; hinged ivory stage (originally painted black, now mostly worn off) with ivory knob slides up and down pillar; hinged lens in an ivory mount at top of pillar; second ‘separate glass’ for use as hand lens or to increase magnification; ivory handled dissecting knife. Paper label inside lid.
condition: fair
References
Events
Description
During the eighteenth century numerous microscope designs were proposed and marketed, reflecting the various uses to which the instrument was put. These ranged from large ornamental microscopes to hand-held field lenses.
One trend that influenced the development of the microscope was ‘natural history’, the contemporary term for systematic enquiry into nature. As more and more educated ladies and gentlemen took up studying the natural world, portable field microscopes were developed to aid their researches.
01/03/2001
Created by: Corrina Bower on 01/03/2001
FM:39896
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