Withering-type botanical microscope, 1780
The “Withering-type Microscope” is named for its inventor, Dr. William Withering (1741-1799), an English physician and botanist who graduated with a degree in medicine 1766 in Edinburgh. Inspired by the taxonomical work and systematic classification of Carl Linnæus (1707-1778), Withering (1776) applied the Linnaean taxonomical system of classification to British plants in a seminal, two volume work, A Botanical arrangement of all the vegetables naturally growing in the British Isles. The earliest reference to a small botanical microscope of Withering’s design appeared in the first edition of this book. There, Withering indicated this microscope was developed for field dissections of flowers and other plant parts. While there is no surviving example of this exact design, close relatives of this type do exist, made either completely of brass or of ivory with brass pillars. Ivory models can be tentatively dated to 1776-1785, as by 1787 a newer model with a hollowed stage in an all-brass configuration already predominated. In turn, it was preceded by the brief appearance of a transitional brass model but with solid stage of ivory or horn (seen here). This version is extremely rare and must have been produced in very small numbers. By 1787 all these varieties were not recorded anymore in the literature.
Withering-type botanical microscope, 1780
The “Withering-type Microscope” is named for its inventor, Dr. William Withering (1741-1799), an English physician and botanist who graduated with a degree in medicine 1766 in Edinburgh. Inspired by the taxonomical work and systematic classification of Carl Linnæus (1707-1778), Withering (1776) applied the Linnaean taxonomical system of classification to British plants in a seminal, two volume work, A Botanical arrangement of all the vegetables naturally growing in the British Isles. The earliest reference to a small botanical microscope of Withering’s design appeared in the first edition of this book. There, Withering indicated this microscope was developed for field dissections of flowers and other plant parts. While there is no surviving example of this exact design, close relatives of this type do exist, made either completely of brass or of ivory with brass pillars. Ivory models can be tentatively dated to 1776-1785, as by 1787 a newer model with a hollowed stage in an all-brass configuration already predominated. In turn, it was preceded by the brief appearance of a transitional brass model but with solid stage of ivory or horn (seen here). This version is extremely rare and must have been produced in very small numbers. By 1787 all these varieties were not recorded anymore in the literature.
References: SML: A242712; Goren 2014.
References: SML: A242712; Goren 2014.
Prof. Yuval Goren's Collection of the History of the Microscope
Improved Pocket Simple & Compound Microscope, ca. 1835
This is the small version of a class of toy microscopes said to be designed by Gould and made by Cary. William Cary was a very popular London microscope maker in the late 18th century. By 1821, Cary was established at 181 Strand, London; his two nephews were now also working out of this shop, ultimately taking control of the business after he died in 1825. One of his employees, Charles Gould, eventually designed this type of "pocket microscope." The microscopes are compact and fold into their small mahogany cases, which also serve as the base for the opened instrument. These microscopes were very popular, as evidenced by their abundance today.
Though interesting in their concept and design, the Gould-type microscopes were utterly unimportant regarding the advance of science and field microscopy, being too delicate for professional use, having low magnifications and suffering from severe spherical and chromatic aberrations. But due to their relatively low prices, they had their role in advancing the awareness of the ability to take a compound microscope out to the open.
From the accompanying booklet: "This microscope... has been found, upon comparison, by several scientific gentlemen, superior in power to, and more distinct, than many of the larger and more expensive instruments of the kind. It shuts up in a case, three inches by three and a half, and may be carried in the pocket without the slightest inconvenience."
References: SML: 1912-209, 1951-278, A56437, A49490, A200765, A601198, A601076, A601068; MHS: 43305; Golub: 47; NMS: 000-100-104-264-C; Turner 1989: pp. 75–85; Nuttall 1979: 6; Whipple: 1801, 946, 944, 161; Harvard: , 1188; Turner 1981: 65; Sobel.; Wissner; Molecular Expressions; Bononiae