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Microscope Museum Collection of antique microscopes and other
scientific instruments |
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Microscope
91 (assigned
to A Franks; student microscope; late 19th century)
A. Franks Ltd was an
optician and instrument maker which traded between 1879 and 1950. Founded in
the latter part of the 19th century by Louis Aubrey Franks, they
traded originally as 'L.A. Franks' from Manchester, listed as a manufacturer
of photographic apparatus, optician and scientific instrument maker.
Following a bankruptcy in 1879, a new firm was formed soon after, an optician
trading as A. Franks. Microscope 91 is a compound microscope of
simple make used essentially for didactic exercises or simple observations,
dated from c. 1890. The holes of two screws probably indicate that an arm
with a lens (now disappeared) was originally attached to the body of the
microscope to illuminate opaque objects from above. Microscope 91 is not
signed but the eyepiece contains the inscription “A. Franks, Manchester”. An
identical microscope was sold in an eBay auction in November 2019, which
included a wooden box with the inscription ‘A. Franks Manchester Opticians”.
However, it is not clear if A. Franks was the manufacturer of these
microscopes or just a retailer, as an identical microscope appears in an 1892
American catalogue and is described as a Harvard compound microscope
of French origin (Figure 1). Another identical microscope was sold in an eBay
auction in July 2020, including a wooden box labelled ‘William E. Statham,
Optician’, a 19th century instrument maker and retailer from
the USA. This type of microscope was still sold during the first half of the
20th century, for example described as Microscope Anglais Grand
Modèle in the catalogue of the French company E. Vion from 1929 (Figure
1, right).
Figure 1. An advertisement published in the 1892’s The
Youth's Companion American catalogue showing a microscope identical to
microscope 91 (left), and the Microscope Anglais Grand Modèle as
engraved in the catalogue of the French company E. Vion from 1929 (right). References Le Compendium.
Microscope d'étudiant type "Harvard Compound Microscope" (http://www.lecompendium.com/dossier_optique_198_microscope_d_etudiant/microscope_d_etudiant.htm), last accessed on 12.08.2020 Microscopio "Harvard". C. 1890.
"Harvard" Compound Microscope (https://sites.google.com/site/coleccionguillermocrovetto/home/microscopios-compuestos-sin-firma/microscopio-harvard),
last accessed on 12.08.2020 |
