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Trade card and receipt, for microscope sold by Carpenter & Westley

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in London

Trade card and receipt, for microscope sold by Carpenter & Westley
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This photograph shows the trade card for the retailers of a simple microscope made by Carpenter & Westley of Regent Street in London, together with the receipt for the instrument. The receipt is dated 1865.

Optically-uncorrected microscopes continued to be popular - and they were less expensive to produce or buy - well into the 19th century, especially for botanical studies. However, by 1865 this was a very old-fashioned model indeed, resembling a design first produced during the 18th century.

Philip Carpenter had moved from Birmingham to London in 1826, and set up shop in fashionable Regent Street. After his death in 1833, the business was carried on by his sister Mary Carpenter, in partnership with the firm's foreman, William Westley. By 1865 the microscope business had tailed off, and they were deeply involved in the manufacture and supply of magic lanterns and their accessories.

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