Microscope Museum

Collection of antique microscopes and other scientific instruments

 

      

Microscope 127 (F Koristka; stand “O” - Omnium; 1930s)

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Francesco Koristka, Italian of Polish descent, was a maker of microscopes, cameras and other medical and scientific instruments that traded at Via S. Vittore 47 (1880 - 1895), Via Guiseppe Revere 2 (1896 - c1920), Corso Vittorio Emanuele 30 (1930s), and Via Ampere (1970s), Milan, Italy. The firm was founded in the early 1880s and the full name was Fratelli Koristka SA. Thanks to his relationships with Ernst Abbe, Koristka had the opportunity to build microscopes and photographic objectives using the Zeiss’s patents but he also built lenses of original design. Soon, the firm became one of the most important Italian makers of microscopes and one of the few Italian precision industries of the period. In 1928, two sons of Francesco Koristka, Gianfranco and Italo, continued the activity of their father with the company ‘Compagnia Generale d'ottica F.lli Gian Franco & Italo Koristka’, with headquarters in Corso Vittorio Emanuele, 30 Milano. In 1929, the firm was acquired by the Officine Galileo of Florence but continued to produce instruments under its own brand until the late 1960s. Microscope 127 is signed ‘Fratelli Koristka, Milano’ and has the serial number 36180. The tube is also engraved with ‘Regio Esercito Sanita Militare’. The instrument should be dated to the 1930s and came with its original wooden box. This model was named as stand “O” (Omnium) in a 1928 catalogue from the company (Figure 1) and was described as adequate for work in general biology, particularly medicine.

 

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Figure 1. Microscope stand “O” (Omnium) from F. Koristka, as engraved in the firm’s 1928 catalogue.

 

 

References

Compound microscope by Koristka, c. 1930 (https://www.bononiaemicroscope.com/en/the-microscopes/italy/8-koristka-regio-esercito.html), last accessed on 19.09.2020

Microscopio, Officina Ottico-Meccanica Fratelli Koristka, Milano (http://www.lombardiabeniculturali.it/scienza-tecnologia/schede/3o340-00600/), last accessed on 19.09.2020

 

 

LAST EDITED: 19.09.2020