Accession No
3466
Brief Description
print of Withering’s botanical microscope, 1796
Origin
England
Maker
Withering. William
Class
microscopes; ephemera
Earliest Date
1796
Latest Date
1796
Inscription Date
Material
paper
Dimensions
height 212mm; breadth 130mm
Special Collection
Provenance
Purchased from D.H. & R.A. Morgan, Norfolk, England, 29/11/1986.
Inscription
‘THE PLATES’ (top of p.99)
Description Notes
Two pages taken from William Withering’s An Arrangement of British Plants, 3rd edition (1796), illustrating Withering’s botanical microscope and giving instructions for its use.
Condition good; complete.
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.
FM:40759
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