microscope: 12.4 cm x 7.5 cm x 8.7 cm; 4 7/8 in x 2 15/16 in x 3 7/16 in
case: 17 cm x 12.6 cm x 11.8 cm; 6 11/16 in x 4 15/16 in x 4 5/8 in
Object Name:
microscope
Place Made:
Germany: Thuringia, Jena
Date made:
ca 1875
Description:
Nickel-plated dissecting microscope with a sub-stage mirror, heavy black base, removable hand rests, wooden box, and a “CARL ZEISS / JENA” inscription. The Zeiss firm began in 1846 and produced their 1000th microscope in 1866. The “8947” serial number on this example suggests a date of around 1875.
This microscope belonged to Eugene Amandus Schwarz (1844-1928), a German entomologist who arrived in the United States in 1876, worked for the U.S. Department of Agriculture and served as honorary curator at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History.
Ref: Carl Zeiss, <i>Microscopes and Microscopical Accessories</i> (Jena, 1891), pp. 100-103.
