Microscopy Primer
Light and Color
Microscope Basics
Special Techniques
Digital Imaging
Confocal Microscopy
Live-Cell Imaging
Photomicrography
Microscopy Museum
Virtual Microscopy
Fluorescence
Web Resources
License Info
Image Use
Custom Photos
Partners
Site Info
Contact Us
Publications
Home

The Galleries:

Photo Gallery
Silicon Zoo
Pharmaceuticals
Chip Shots
Phytochemicals
DNA Gallery
Microscapes
Vitamins
Amino Acids
Birthstones
Religion Collection
Pesticides
BeerShots
Cocktail Collection
Screen Savers
Win Wallpaper
Mac Wallpaper
Movie Gallery

Italian Inverted Compound Microscope

This brass compound monocular microscope was made by Italian instrument maker Filippo Pacini in 1868. The model featured below was redrawn from photographs of the original microscope, which is part of the Gerard Turner catalog of microscopes from the Institute and Museum of the History of Science in Florence, Italy.

The circular stage is positioned above an inverted objective, which is housed in a heavy brass box attached to the stylish microscope base. Inside the box is a prism for directing light rays and the microscope focusing rack mechanism. Fine focus is achieved by slightly tilting the stage with a miniature screw mechanism seen on the left underside of the stage. The body tube is secured into an angled side of the brass box and has a sliding draw-tube containing a Huygenian eyepiece. The condenser is mounted onto a Y-shaped bracket supported by two tapered pillars, and contains four swing-out aperture disks. Above the condenser is a plano-concave mirror to direct light into the microscope's optical system.

BACK TO NINETEENTH CENTURY MICROSCOPES

Questions or comments? Send us an email.
© 1998-2022 by Michael W. Davidson 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, Nov 13, 2015 at 02:19 PM
Access Count Since December 30, 1999: 48975
For more information on microscope manufacturers,
use the buttons below to navigate to their websites: