Microscope Museum

Collection of antique microscopes and other scientific instruments

Microscope 118 (F Davidson & Co; ‘Davon’ micro-telescope; late 1910s)

F Davidson & Co were manufacturing opticians that traded from 29 Great Portland Street, London, from c. 1890 until 1922, and then from 143 Great Portland Street from 1923 until c. 1938. Microscope 118 is engraved ‘F. DAVIDSON & Co, 29 GT Portland St, London W, PATENT’ and also with ‘THE DAVON (REGº) MICRO-TELESCOPE’. This instrument was patented and produced by that company from 1914. The firm developed an attachment that may be inserted in the Abbé rim of a microscope and an image of a distant object is projected in air on the plane of the stage, and one which will further stand the magnifying power of the microscope. The whole microscope becomes the eye piece of the telescope. Depending of the configuration, the microscope can be converted to a terrestrial and an astronomical telescope (Figure 1).

Figure 1. The F Davidson & Co’s Davon micro-telescope configured as terrestrial (left) and astronomical telescope (right), as engraved in the company’s literature ‘The Davon micro-telescope and super-microscope” from the mid 1910s.

References

Davon micro-telescope (https://collection.maas.museum/object/259369), last accessed on 28.08.2020

Davidson microscoop (https://antiqueoptics.eu/home/landen/verenigd-koninkrijk/davidson-microscoop/), last accessed on 02.01.2021

LAST EDITED: 28.08.2020