Microscope Museum

Collection of antique microscopes and other scientific instruments

 

      

Microscope 599 (T. Underhill; Drum-like microscope; mid-19th century)

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Microscope 599 is a drum-like microscope containing a rack and pinion focusing and wheel of apertures and should be dated to the mid-19th century. The wooden box of the instrument contains a label with the inscription “T. UNDERHILL, OPTICIAN, 2 CORPORATION ST, MANCHESTER. Thomas Underhill was an optician who, according to Clifton’s Directory of British Scientific Instrument Makers, 1550–1851 (1995), worked at the following addresses in Manchester: 40 Water St (1834–1838), 70 Bridge St, Deansgate (1841), 4 Old Millgate (1848), 2 Corporation St (1858–1864), 4 Corporation St (1868), and 53 Princess St (1873–1881). It is likely that T. Underhill was not the manufacturer of these microscopes, which appear to be of French origin. This instrument is identical to microscope model no. 4 described in the 1844 catalogue of the Parisian firm Buron (Figure 1). The same microscope (and image) also appeared in the catalogues of McAllister & Brothers (1855) and Negretti and Zambra (1859) (Figure 2).

Figure 1. Illustrations of drum-style microscopes from Buron’s 1844 catalogue, including a version with rack and pinion focusing and wheel of apertures named as microscope model No 4 (right).

 

 

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Figure 2. Drum-style microscope with rack and pinion focusing and wheel of apertures engraved in the catalogues of McAllister & Brothers (1855) (A) and Negretti and Zambra (1859) (B)