English instrument maker John Cuthbert built this reflecting microscope in 1826 in an attempt to improve image resolution by reducing chromatic and spherical aberration.

The microscope is constructed primarily from brass and uses a plano-concave mirror to concentrate the illumination into a substage condenser. These components, along with a mechanical stage, are all mounted onto a small pillar that is attached to the body tube of the microscope. A central pillar provides support for the body tube through a hinged mount, and the entire assembly is supported by a tripod base. Magnification is achieved with four interchangeable concave mirror-style objectives, assisted by three Lieberkuhn reflectors of different sizes and two Huygenian eyepieces.

BACK TO NINETEENTH CENTURY MICROSCOPES

Questions or comments? Send us an email.

© 1998-2008 by Michael W. Davidson, Mortimer Abramowitz, Olympus America Inc., and The Florida State University. All Rights Reserved. No images, graphics, scripts, or applets may be reproduced or used in any manner without permission from the copyright holders. Use of this website means you agree to all of the Legal Terms and Conditions set forth by the owners.

This website is maintained by our
Graphics & Web Programming Team
in collaboration with Optical Microscopy at the
National High Magnetic Field Laboratory.

Last modification: Friday, Aug 01, 2003 at 11:43 AM

Access Count Since April 6, 1999: 14656

For more information on microscope manufacturers,
use the buttons below to navigate to their websites: