Accession No
0332
Brief Description
simple microscope, withering botanical type; circa 1800
Origin
Maker
Class
microscopes
Earliest Date
1800
Latest Date
1800
Inscription Date
Material
metal (brass, steel); ivory; glass; stone (mica); paper (card); hide (shagreen)
Dimensions
case height 68mm; diameter 42mm
Special Collection
Robert Whipple collection
Provenance
Purchased from Antique Art Galleries in 05/1928.
Inscription
Description Notes
Brass; circular base with lens; 2 pillars supporting a sliding stage and a circular top with screw thread for screw fit [eyepiece]. Slots in stage and top for 5-object ivory slide; ivory handled tweezers and knife. Cardboard slip case covered with black shagreen. includes slide, scalpel, and tweezers.
condition: fair, case is worn
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:39898
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