Items

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  Society of Arts-Style Microscope

  The compound microscope is made from brass. The monocular microscope stands on a claw foot base which is mounted onto a mahogany base. The base slides into the mahogany case. The curved limb ends in an inclination joint. The square stage is fixed, and has a small shelf attachment which holds the specimen in place. Beneath the stage is an iris diaphragm with 4 apertures that can be rotated. The stage attachment can be moved up and down in order to observe the specimen. The substage mirror is set in a gimbal and connected to the pillar via an arm. Coarse focusing is achieved by a rack and pinion mechanism which moves the body tube closer or further from the stage. The case is fitted, and has a built in drawer for specimen slides. The body tube can be unscrewed to fit into the case and has a compartment which it stands in. The case lock is working but the key is missing.
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  "Society of the Arts" Microscope

  The brass microscope stands on a claw-foot base. The dual curved limb terminates in an inclination joint which allows the instrument to be angled for observation. The square fixed stage has a shelf attachment which allows the slide to be secured for observation. This attachment can be moved horizontally and there is an additional specimen holder attachment which is attached by a pin. Beneath the stage is a iris diaphragm disk with 3 apertures which can be rotated. The sub-stage mirror is attached to the bottom of an cylinder arm and sits in a gimbal. The body-tube is screwed into an arm attachment, and the objective lens can be screwed into the body-tube. The compound microscope also comes with a bulls-eye condenser with its own stand. The fitted, mahogany case has a brass carry handle and would be secured by a lock, however, it is no longer attached to the case.
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  Society of Arts-Style Microscope

  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.
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  Society of Arts-Style Compound Microscope

  The monocular microscope has a Ross Y-shaped foot which is secured to a mahogany platform. The compound microscope is made of brass. The one-sided sub-stage mirror is attached to the bottom of the limb by a gimbal joint that allows it to be maneuvered to catch the light. Coarse focusing is achieved by a rack and pinion mechanism which is controlled by a thumbscrew at the side of the limb. The small thumbscrew at the back of the body-tube by the nose piece controls the fine focusing. The square fixed stage does not seem to have any means of securing specimens. The substage iris diaphragm that can be adjusted by rotating the disk. This microscope design followed the 1854 Society of Arts pattern. The fitted, solid mahogany case has brass hinge and handle. The lock is missing and the door is slightly warped. There are shrinkage cracks to the rear panel.