Developed sometime during the middle of the 1600s, this early version of a simple single-lens microscope was developed and subsequently set the basic design used in other simple microscopes for several centuries.

Design principles and construction of this microscope are elementary and similar to the Leeuwenhoek concept, except that the object being examined is brought into focus by moving a sliding rod that holds the specimen.

Because this microscope had a rather large lens with a long focal point, it was limited to low-power magnification. Positioning of the specimen on the pointed end of the sliding rod was comparatively tricky and did not yield the stability of later microscope stages.

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