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Microscope Museum Collection of antique microscopes and other
scientific instruments |
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Microscope
33 (Paul
Waechter; trichinoscope; c. 1960) Paul Waechter (1847 - 1893) was trained to be an optician
and mechanic at the famous Zeiss Optical Workshop in Jena, Germany. In 1872,
Waechter founded his own optical workshop and his
earlier instruments were signed ‘Paul Waechter, Berlin’. Between 1872 and
1892, Waechter produced over 20,000 microscopes, mostly for the examination
of trichinae in meat. By 1890, Paul Waechter moved his workshop to Friedenau and the microscopes produced were then signed ‘Paul
Waechter, Friedenau’. After the death of Waechter in 1893, his longtime
assistant, Herr Puchler, directed the company. Later, Puchler and another
master mechanic, Paul Prasser, formed a partnership and continued the
business into the early 20th century. At this time, the business
was named ‘Optische Werkstaette Paul Waechter’. Microscopes produced by the
company often did not bear a signature or serial number on the microscope
itself, but these items were reserved for the wood case that normally accompanied
the instrument. Sometime after the turn of the century, the firm was moved
from Berlin to Potsdam in the former German State of Prussia (now Poland). At
that time, instruments were signed ‘Paul Waechter, Potsdam’. By the mid-1930s
the business was taken over by the Pridat family. Operations of the firm
appear to have been suspended during and immediately after the Second World
War. In 1958, the company again reappeared when their registered office moved
to Wetzlar, Germany. Microscopes produced in the 1960s and 1970s were signed
‘P. Waechter, Wetzlar’. Microscope 33 is a trichinoscope signed as “Paul
Waechter, Wetzlar”, and can be dated to c. 1960. Neither the instrument nor
its case bears a serial number. This microscope mounts atop its wood case and
is equipped with an extra-large rectangular stage plate that normally
accommodated a unique large dual plate glass compressorium for the
examination of pork. During the meat inspection process, thinly cut samples
of pork dissected from meat samples being inspected would be placed between
the glass plates and compressed resulting in transparent specimens that could
be examined microscopically for the presence of Trichinella cysts
using this instrument. References Paul
Carl Friedrich Waechter, 1847 – 1893 (http://microscopist.net/Waechter.html),
last accessed on 13.08.2020 'STATIV
IV (V) OR STAND #4 (5)MICROSCOPE' (https://www.microscope-antiques.com/waechter.html),
last accessed on 13.08.2020 'STATIV
Vb MICROSCOPE' (https://www.microscope-antiques.com/vbtrichinascope.html),
last accessed on 13.08.2020 LAST EDITED: 15.08.2020 |