Made by an unknown artisan around 1760, this simple flat brass microscope has a monocular eye lens. The model featured below was redrawn from photographs of the original microscope, which is part of the Billings microscope collection at Walter Reed Army Hospital in Washington DC.

The rectangular flat brass pillar is supported by a circular wooden base. Attached at the lower portion of the pillar is a gimbal that holds a 1.5-inch flat mirror. At the top of the pillar is a small circular stage with a spring clip that secures the specimen into place. The top of the plate is bent to form a one-inch arm for the lens holder. The microscope is equipped with three accessory lenses, a wooden pyramidal case (not illustrated), and three wooden sliders. This microscope is very similar to one housed in the Utrecht University Museum in Holland.

BACK TO EIGHTEENTH 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 01:19 PM

Access Count Since October 1, 2000: 42287

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