Items

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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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  Simple Dissecting Microscope

  The simple dissecting microscope is made from brass and wood. The lenses, mirror, and other components fit into compartments on the underside of the stage. The stand is folded in the legs hold all the components in place. The stage has a circular cut out for observation of a specimen. The instrument should come with three lenses, but only one remains with the microscope. The mirror holder is present, but the mirror is missing. There is another arm and body tube attachment which would allow the microscope to operate as a compound microscope; however, it is not clear if it is original to the microscope.
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  Wilson Screw Barrel Microscope

  The screw barrel microscope is made from brass and has an ivory handle which can be dissembled to fit into the original case. The microscope consists of a cylinder with an external screw thread. The microscope has a mounted objective lens with a condenser lens screwed into the other side to illuminate the specimen during observation. Coarse focusing is achieved by screwing the body tube along the screw thread which adjusts the distance between lenses. The microscope is also equipped with an extension attachment that is needed to mount the objectives when using the stage forceps. The instrument can be used as a simple or compound microscope, depending on how many objectives are used. The case has a red velvet interior that has compartments for the dissembled microscope and its accessories. The case is secured by two brass swing hooks; however, one is missing.
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  Pocket Microscope

  The microscope is made from brass. The instrument can be closed and extended to reveal two square cutouts on either side of the microscope. In the middle section, a specimen can be placed through the cutout for observation. The presence of an ocular lens, magnifying lens (in the center) and a lens at the bottom of the instrument allows it to also function as a telescope.
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  Stage Forceps

  The stage forceps/specimen holder is made from brass. The instrument would be attached to a microscope/stage for holding the chosen specimen in any position under a microscope. There is a cork encased in brass at one end which would have been used by sticking a needle/pin in the cork and picking up a specimen for observation. The arm rotates and swivels on a ball joint in the center. There are two small turning screws which open and close the tweezers holder.
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  Simple Microscope Replica

  This instrument is a replica of the Antonie van Leeuwenhoek simple microscope and is entirely handmade from polished brass. The biconvex glass lens was hand-ground and polished using similar techniques to those used by Leeuwenhoek himself. It has approximately 100 x magnification. The replica is treated with "Renaissance" micro-crystalline wax.
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  Compressor Lever

  A compressor lever was designed to contain living (and moving) specimens for observation under a microscope. The thick brass plate connects to a swivel arm which provides a pivot for a bar that holds at one end a glass disk in a gimbal. The other end has a screw with a knurled knob that provides the leverage to press the glass disc down on the thick glass disc held in the plate with the specimen sandwiched between discs.
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  Simple Pocket Microscope

  The simple pocket microscope is made from brass. The lens on the underside of the microscope is a Stanhope lens. The ocular lens is a lower-power convex simple lens. Each lens can be focused by drawing the body tube in and out of the drawtube. The mirror is located between the lenses and revolves to reflect light into either lens. To view, specimens are held on a pin, between tweezers, or between the microscopist's fingers as the small size cannot accommodate slides. The lower simple lens can be removed so the instrument can be used as a magnifier.
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  Brass Telescope

  The brass telescope has a 3-tier draw tube. The ocular lens has a cover that can be slid to protect the lens via a pin. The telescope can be fully or partly extended in order to focus the instrument.
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  Pocket Microscope

  The simple pocket microscope is made from brass and is similar to a "squat" model. The ocular lens has a cover to protect the lens which slides out a slot compartment. The lower section of the instrument has two pillars and a square cut out in the bottom in which a specimen can be inserted for observation. The microscope comes with a fitted cylinder case.
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  Desktop Magnifier

  The circular desktop magnifier can be adjusted via a thumbscrew thread which works as the coarse focusing. The magnifier is made from brass and contains two lenses. The instrument has three legs that seem to date it in the 1840s due to the popularity of the design. The instrument would be used to assist those with failing eyesight to read or observe photographs.
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  Magnifying Glass

  The magnifying glass is made from black stained mahogany with a long decorative turned handle.
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  Magnifying Glass

  The Victorian "hammer" magnifying glass/loupe is made from brass and has a dark wood handle. The brass has two etched lines around the circumference of the lenses. The instrument would have been used by jewelers for inspecting their products or as a magnifying glass for reading.
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  Pocket Magnifier

  The pocket focusing magnifier is made from lacquered brass and has an unusual Archimedean screw thread. To focus the instrument, the body-tube is twisted up along the thread in a screwing motion to adjust the distance between the ocular lens and the objective lens. These instruments were commonly composed of two plano-convex lenses of identical focal length, mounted with their plane sides outward at a distance apart equal to two-thirds of the focal length. This instrument would have been used for photography and were designed to image what they are aimed at, or place against and therefore do not let light to enter.
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  Compass Pocket Microscope with Magnifying Glass

  The miniature botanist microscope has the original lens intact. The objective lenses are set in a Lieberkuhn reflector which reflects light evenly onto the specimen. The simple microscope seems to have an ivory or bone handle. There is an attachment with an inclination joint which allows the stage forceps to be angled for observation. The specimen holder is not original to the instrument. The instrument comes with a magnifying glass with a matching ivory (or bone) handle. 
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  Candlestick with Condenser

  The brass candlestick has a bulls-eye condenser attachment. The candle stick can function with or witho ut the attachment. This accessory was used as an artificial light source to the microscope if and when natural light was unavailable. Candlesticks and lamps were commonly used by microscopists with the added modification of the bulls-eye condenser. Its origins can be found in Robert Hooke and illustrations shown in his book, Micrographia, which show the use of a glass globe filled with water to help intensify and concentrate the light from a candle. The use of optics to intensify the light of a candle or lamp was explored more closely in the nineteenth century with the creation of the bulls-eye condenser, which became a popular accessory to a microscope.
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  "Cary-Gould Style" Compound Microscope

  The Gould-Cary style microscope — when assembled — is case mounted and the pillar screws into the top of the case. The substage mirror is connected via a gimbal and pin which allows for maneuvering to catch the light as well as easy removal from the microscope. The square fixed stage has a small bullseye condenser and specimen clip attached via a pin. The body-tube and objective lenses are attached via a screwing mechanism and can then be attached to the arm. Coarse focusing is controlled by the thumbscrew located next to the stage and uses a rack and pinion mechanism. The mahogany case is fitted and has compartments for the dissembled parts of the microscope. The interior of the lid is lined with blue velvet and the compartments are made from wood. The case is secured by two brass swivel hooks at the front of the case.
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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.
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  Drum Compound Microscope

  The drum compound microscope is made of brass. The style was manufactured in France, Germany and England and sold throughout the United States and Europe. Many of the microscopes manufactured using this design were unsigned due to the huge quantities sold by various makers. The microscope consists of a body-tube suspended by a tubular base above a circular specimen platform. Coarse focus functions by moving the body-tube closer or further away from the specimen platform via a sliding mechanism operated by a thumbscrew. There is also a concave sub-stage mirror located at the bottom of the microscope. The "coffin-style" mahogany case has compartments for the microscope, slides and accessories. There was a small, decorative plaque on the top of the lid, however, it is no longer attached to the case. The case is secured via a lock and key; however, the key is not present with the microscope.
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  Stanhope Pocket Microscope

  The pocket microscope is set in a bone frame. Invented by the third Earl of Stanhope, the Stanhope lens is moderately powerful and was used to inspect specimens or read small prints. This type of lens was used in "Stanhopes," small objects with micro-photographs inside to be viewed through the lens. These instruments were used mainly as novelty items.
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  Coddington Microscope

  The Coddington lens was invented in 1829 by Henry Coddington. This microscope is made from brass and wood and contains a single lens with two curved sides and a groove cut around the middle of the lens which acts as a lens stop. The microscope offers a clear image from 1 inch away from the front objective lens. This microscope was used in the field by botanists and naturalists due to its small size, good magnification and portability.
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  Coddington Microscope

  Invented in 1829 by Henry Coddington, this brass and wooden microscope is made up of a single lens with two curved sides and a groove cut around the middle of the lens which acts as a lens stop. The microscope offers an image from 1" of the front objective. This microscope was used in the field by botanists and naturalists due to its small size and good magnification.
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  Simple Field Microscope

  This Georgian miniature brass field microscope has a turned ivory handle, specimen pin, and a pair of lenses that screws into the top. The lens arm and handle are hinged to the slotted bar so that the instrument can be folded and fitted into a small case. Popular during the nineteenth century, this microscope is similar to a model produced by W & S Jones, a successful British optician, and manufacturer of scientific instruments. The finish on the microscope is lacquered brass. The microscope has a fitted papier-mâché case that is painted black.
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  Transitional Compound Microscope

  The microscope follows an early Victorian design which is similar to those built by Pritchard and Horne & Thornthwaite around 1840. The microscope has a pre-RMS (Royal Microscopical Society) thread and optics probably manufactured in France although the overall construction of the instrument is British. The microscope itself stands on a heavy lacquered brass lead filled base with a supporting pillar screwed into the center. At the top of the pillar is a compass type joint on which the limb pivots. An unusual feature of the construction of this particular instrument is the way that the focusing pinion is held tight between two separate parts of the limb. A gimbaled mirror with a white plaster reflective back is located at the end of the limb; above this is the simple stage with filigree patterning and a slide clip. The body tube is supported on a stepped piece of brass at the top of the triangular bar. The French mahogany cabinet with campaign type recessed handle on the top with lock and key missing. Also has fitted drawer for accessories.