Items

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  Excelsior Telescope and Microscope

  The telescope/microscope consists of papier-mâché and brass. The draw tubes are made from papier-mâché while the ocular and objective lenses as well as the cap are made of brass. To function as a telescope, draw all the tubes out to the marks on the tubes which produces the normal focus. The focus can then be adjusted via the smallest slide. If the telescope is used with the largest side as an ocular lens, the telescope can then function as a microscope. The telescope/microscope was on the market for $1 and the design was patterned in 1906. The case is original to the instrument but damage from age and use due to the fragility of the cardboard material. The text on the top is still visible to read and is in good condition for its age.
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  Sentry-Box Type Microscope

  The "Sentry-Box" type of compound microscope is one of several types of instruments, all made of wood and decorated cardboard, manufactured in the toy district of Bavaria, Germany (near Nuremberg.) The main styles included a Culpeper-type, Sentry box-type, Solar, and Side Pillar-type. These monocular microscopes were all made in the same style with only minor variations in the decorations for nearly half a century. This microscope is signed by "JFF" within a heart, one of a few known signatures often appearing on these instruments.