Brass spectroscope with six glass prisms, and an “A. Hilger London” inscription. Adam Hilger (1839-1897) was a precision instrument maker from Darmstadt who moved to London around 1870, and who established his own shop around 1875. The “J.B. Stearns 1875” inscription probably refers to Joseph Barker Stearns (1831-1895), inventor of the duplex system of telegraphy, and probably the man who gave this instrument to Smith College. Located in Northampton, Mass. and opened in 1875, Smith College promised women students lectures and laboratories equal to those offered elsewhere to men.