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Microscope

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probably made in Edinburgh

Microscope
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This brass microscope (pictured here in its wooden case) was made between 1823 and 1829 by Alexander Adie (1775-1858), a scientific instrument maker based in Edinburgh. It is the earliest known polarising microscope.

Among the instrument's main accessories are seven objectives and three polarising devices. Most of the parts are engraved 'R.S.E.' or 'ROYAL SOCIETY OF EDINBURGH', for whom it was ordered by the secretary, David Brewster (1781-1868).

By the time the instrument was delivered to the Royal Society in 1829, the cumbersome polarising apparatus had been rendered obsolete by the convenient Nicol prism, invented by the Edinburgh geologist William Nicol (1768-1851).

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