Smith & Beck "Milk Box" Educational Microscope · Atkins Library: Exhibits

Smith & Beck "Milk Box" Educational Microscope

Item

Title

Smith & Beck "Milk Box" Educational Microscope

Description

This microscope is a rare example as it has a cast iron base which appears to have been purpose-built rather than retrofitted. The actual instrument has been stripped of its gunmetal and black lacquers. The microscope is signed with a stamped with "Smith & Beck, London" on the side pillar. The cast iron base is attached to the dual side pillars which end in trunnions that allow for inclination. The square stage has a substage iris diaphragm which can be removed and a substage plano-concave mirror set in a gimbal. Coarse focusing is achieved by sliding the body-tube through the cylinder attachment connected to the main pillar. The fine focusing is controlled by knurled knob at the base of the pillar and the cast iron base is attached to a mahogany accessories tray that holds the objective and objective lens. The mahogany case is secured by a lock and key, which is broken. The base slides into the case horizontally. The microscope design was low end and became eclipsed by the binocular version —  "Popular Microscope" —  by 1865. The instrument was described by Richard Beck in his book, A Treatise, in 1865 and reviewed by Gerald Turner in his book, The Great Age of the Microscope (1989).

The microscope comes with the following accessories: 1 condenser, 2 unmarked top hat eyepieces and 3 unmarked objectives with brass canisters.

Condition:

Cosmetically: The plane side on concave mirror has a crack in the surface. The brass and cast iron is in good condition, with some signs of age and wear.

Optically: The lenses are clear and functional.

Mechanically: The coarse and fine focusing work well and the instrument is functional. The iris condensers lens is loose in its brass casing.

Subject

Microscopes

Creator

Smith & Beck

Source

Dean Reynold's Microscope Collection Powerpoint https://micro.magnet.fsu.edu/primer/museum/smithbeckcompmon1856.html

Publisher

UNC Charlotte

Date

c. 1857

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, 17 1/2" extended
Base: 11" x 4 1/2"
Case: 5" x 12" x 5 1/2"

Language

English

Type

Three-dimensional object

Identifier

090916

Coverage

69 Mortimer Street, London, England

Item sets

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