A simple French brass microscope

Sold as novelty items in the 19^th century, these little French microscopes were advertised as “students microscopes for mineralogy, botany, and insectology."    The body tube is 2” in length and slightly less that an inch in diameter.  It is marked, “Made in France”, on the eyepiece.  The lid of the box has instructions in French.  A separate sheet of English instructions are inside.  The bottom part of the box is missing.  A long hat-pin needle is included for skewering specimens and placing them inside the instrument.  One lens is a high magnification Stanhope type, the other a simple magnifier.  The instrument is finished in lacquered brass with complete coverage in excellent condition.  The microscope is typical of the many instruments that were made, primarily in France, during the microscope “craze” of the 19^th century.  They filled a need of the general public to discover the new world of the microscopic.

Item 1289