Society of Arts-Style Microscope

Item

Title

Society of Arts-Style Microscope

Description

The compound microscope follows the "Society of Arts" design with pre-society thread. This dates it to the late 1850s or early 1860s. In 1854, the Society of Arts gave a prize for the design of a low cost microscope that would come with two eyepieces and two objectives, a bullseye condenser, stage forceps, and a live box. The microscope stands on a claw-foot base which is japanned black. The pillar is connected to the substage mirror via a gimbal joint. The fixed square stage has holes for the stage clips and small magnifier. The coarse focusing functions via a rack and pinion mechanism which extends a triangular column out of the pillar that moves the body-tube. Fine focus is achieved via a small thumbscrew at the bottom of the body-tube. The mahogany case has small drawer to hold slides and other items. The door has had some shrinkage and the lock no longer lines up so the door will not close all the way.
The microscope comes with the following accessories: Some glass slides and 6 old prepared slides. 2 objectives: 1/4 inch & 1 & 2 inch.
Condition:

Cosmetically: The brass has tarnishes from age and use but is in otherwise good condition.

Optically: The lenses are clear and functional.

Mechanically: The microscope is functional.

Subject

Microscopes

Creator

Unsigned

Source

Dean Reynold's Microscope Collection Powerpoint

Publisher

UNC Charlotte

Date

c. 1850-1860

Contributor

Laura Burgess

Rights

Texts and images from this collection may not be used for any commercial purpose without prior permission from the Graduate Office, UNC Charlotte.

Relation

N/A

Format

Microscope: 13 1/2" closed, 16 1/2" extended
Case: 9 1/2" x 8" x 6 3/4"

Language

N/A

Type

Three-dimensional object

Identifier

080511

Coverage

England

Item sets

Microscopes

Tags

glass
Brass
Wood
japanned
Monocular
Compound
Microscope
19th century
Society of Arts
Unsigned
English
British