Microscope

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This compound microscope was made in England in the late 17th century. It is unsigned.

The instrument has a nose piece for fine focus. All the lenses are now missing. The body is made of wood with a vellum-covered outer draw stained with orange and green mottling and gold-impressed tooled motives typical of both book-binding and optical instrumentation of the period.

Robert Hooke's Micrographia, published in 1665, greatly increased the popularity of microscopy and the demand for instruments.

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• Online ID: 000-100-103-765-C
• Image Rights Holder: National Museums Scotland
• Project: National Museums Scotland
  Project description   View all records in project
• Ref: National Museums Scotland  H.NL 36
• Date: c. 1700
  Late 17th century
  
• Material: Turned wood body; white vellum covered paste-board draw-tubes; brass tripod on wood base
  Microscope, compound
  
• Dimensions: 13.75" min H
  
• What: Microscope, compound
  
• Subject: Jewellery: clocks, watches (NMAS Classification)
  
• Who:
• Where: ENGLAND
  
• Event:
• Description: Compound microscope, tripod type, English, c. 1700
  
• References:
  • For microscopes of this period, see Nuttall, R. H., 'A Marshall Microscope in the Royal Museum of Scotland' in Microscopy 35 (1987) 
  • Turner, G. L'E., 'Decorative tooling on 17th and 18th century microscopes and telescopes' in Essays on the History of the Microscope, Oxford: 1980 
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