Dr. William Withering was the author of a 1776 book entitled A Botanical Arrangement of all the Vegetables Naturally Growing in Great Britain, which included the design of an elementary microscope useful in the observation of plant material. The model featured below was redrawn from a photograph of the original microscope, which is featured in Gerard Turner's excellent book: Collecting Microscopes, published by Christie's International.

This simple instrument consists of a single lens mounted in a brass disc and capable of magnifying the specimen from three to five times. The brass lens holder is mounted on a narrow rod, which also is used to attach the specimen stage that is designed to support a leaf or stem from a plant. Focus is achieved by sliding the lens up and down on the support rod. The entire instrument can be packed away for storage into the wooden box illustrated in the drawing.

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