Antique Early 18th Century European Box Microscope

Item

Title

Antique Early 18th Century European Box Microscope

Description

This is a rare early 18th century box-top microscope of the type that was in use mainly in France but also in lesser numbers in Italy. Towards the second half of the century, this class of microscope was in use also in the German Lands, where it was made mainly by the Augsburg instrument maker G.F. Brander.

The microscope offered here is unsigned, like most of these instruments. The box is made of dark wood. It was probably treated and lacquered again in the more recent past. The tube is made of pasteboard coated with green shagreen that has lost part of its color over the years. The draw tube is coated with green-painted vellum. The ocular and objective housings are possibly made of rosewood and the only objective is probably housed in ebony. The magnification ranges between an estimated 50X to 100X when the draw tube is pulled or pushed.
The stage contains brass rails holding a structure to house the wet cell (stored in the drawer at the bottom of the box), two stage clips to hold sliders (such as the bone material empty slider that can contain opaque samples) or the glass slide. A stage forceps (now missing the forceps head) and a bull's eye condenser are located in front of the rails. The mirror is pivoted and can be tilted by a handle located at the right side of the box. The mirror can be used with the box sliding cover in place, where a brass carousel circle with three stops is found, or with the cover removed and the mirror fully exposed.

Condition:

Cosmetically: The brass, mainly of the stage unit, is corroded but seems to be stable. The green color of the shagreen on the tube is faded and dull but has a nice patina. The draw tube has lost part of its color, especially of the dark ring that was on its top. The mirror's frame has been glued some time in the past.
Optically: The microscope is functioning and the optical quality is quite good.
Mechanically: The microscope is functional.

Subject

Microscopes

Creator

Unsigned

Publisher

UNC Charlotte

Date

c. 1740

Contributor

Sidney Skerlak

Rights

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

Type

Three-dimensional Object

Identifier

200913

Tags

18th Century
Bullseye Condenser
Green
Microscope
Shagreen
Wood
box microscope