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Microscope slides

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used in Edinburgh

Microscope slides
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These glass slides and mineral specimens were used in Edinburgh around 1835. The microscopical investigation of minerals was hampered by the nature of the specimens, but during the 1820s it was discovered that if mineral sections were ground into thin slices of less than a millimetre's thickness, they became translucent and could be glued to glass slides and viewed through a microscope. This technique was apparently first used in Edinburgh and discussed in a volume about the microscopic structure of fossil plants, written by Henry Witham (1779-1844), and dedicated to his friend William Nicol (c. 1771-1851).

The upper two slides in the photograph were bought from William Nicol in 1836 and described by him as 'Fossil Wood on glass from Newcastle'. The lower three came from the collection of J.D. Forbes, professor of natural philosophy at the University of Edinburgh. They are slides prepared for the microscope of parts of the fossil tree discovered at Craigleith Quarry outside Edinburgh in 1829, and dated 1831 and 1833.

The Craigleith fossil tree, parts of which can still be seen at the Royal Botanic garden, Edinburgh, was investigated by William Nicol, a lecturer in the natural sciences who had retired to Edinburgh. His findings were published in 1830 by his friend and patron, Henry Witham. The friends subsequently disputed the priority of this invention with some acrimony, Nicol claiming that he had improved a technique used by an Edinburgh lapidary named George Sanderson.

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