Scottish instrument maker William Robertson constructed this beautifully crafted Culpeper-style microscope sometime around the year 1749 in Edinburgh.

The microscope, signed with the inscription of W. R. Fecit, was initially advertised in the June 22, 1749 issue of the Caldedonian Mercury, where it was referred to as a catadioptric microscope. This advanced instrument was constructed primarily from brass, deviating from common practice of the period, and its main similarity with the Culpeper-style microscopes was that the extension tube could be used to make a compound microscope. The extension tube rests on a wooden collar that is supported by a tripod foot-base assembly containing a plano-concave mirror and could be detached to allow the instrument to act as a solar microscope.

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