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Microscope Museum Collection of antique microscopes and other
scientific instruments |
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Microscope 307 (unknown maker; early 19th
century)
Microscope
307 should be dated to the very early 19th century and
the maker is unknown. This microscope resembles other instruments made by P.
Carpenter, Jones or Cuff in the early to mid-19th
century. According to the seller, also a collector, when acquired, little of
the original lacquer remained in the instrument and the Lieberkühn mirror was
missing from the end of its tube. Also missing were the original stage, the
mirror assembly and the focussing pinion, and the rack was defective. A
replica of the brass stage and the mirror and gimbal assembly were made based
on an image of an identical instrument (highlighted below), the rack teeth
were also restored, and a new matching steel pinion was adjusted by that
seller. Instruments identical to microscope 307 look to be very rare.
However, in 2006, an identical and complete microscope was sold by an
antiques dealer, which was engraved on the stage with the maker or retailer’s
name ‘P MYERS, Nottingham’. This maker or retailer should correspond
to Philip Myers, who was active at least between 1825 and 1835 as an optical
and mathematical instrument maker trading from Smithy Row (1825 – 1828), 1 Okeham Street (1830) and Pelham Street (1834 – 1835),
Nottingham. Other similar instruments are featured in Figure 1.
Figure 1. (A) Microscope from an unknown maker, c. 1790, as featured in Hansen,
J. L. et al. (1974) The Billings microscope collection. Armed Forces
Institute of Pathology, Washington, USA; (B) Jones Improved Compound
Microscope, c1810, as featured in Lentz, T. L. (2017) Lentz Microscopy and
Histology Collection. Peabody Museum of Natural History at Yale University. |
