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Microscope Museum Collection of antique microscopes and other
scientific instruments |
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Microscope
408 (Ernst Leitz;
stereoscopic binocular microscope; late 1930s)
In 1849, Karl Kellner founded the
Optical Institute in Wetzlar, Germany, which in a few years had microscopes
as the main product. The company hired an engineer named Ernst Leitz in 1865,
who soon became a partner. Leitz took over the company in 1869 and renamed it
Optical Institute of Ernst Leitz. Ernst Leitz died in 1920, and his son Ernst
Leitz II became the sole owner of the business. During the 1970s, competition
increased from several companies in Japan, especially Olympus and Nikon,
which were producing modern microscope designs of excellent quality at
relatively low prices. Several venerable microscope companies closed, merged,
or were bought out in Europe and the USA. Wild Heerbrugg bought the majority
ownership of the Leitz Wetzlar company in 1974, but Leitz continued to
develop their new lines of compound microscopes. The last member of the Leitz
family retired from the board of directors in 1986. At the beginning of 1987,
Ernst Leitz Wetzlar GmbH and Wild Heerbrugg AG merged to form the Wild Leitz
Group. The Wild Leitz Group was broken into smaller companies in 1988, and
Leica Camera was split off. The merger of Wild Leitz Holding AG with the
Cambridge Instrument Company in 1990 created the new Leica Holding B.V.
group. The Leica name is now used for all microscopes and other scientific optical
instruments. Microscope 408 is a stereoscopic binocular microscope in which
the head is labelled with “E. LEITZ, WETZLAR” and the magnifications a5 =
10x, a10 = 20x and a50 =30x. The binocular head is also engraved with the
inscription “M.I.F 666-29” (but barely visible). The same code can be read on
the foot, rack and pinion mechanism, and long arm of the instrument. The
serial number is 331881 and the instrument should be dated to the late 1930s. Note: this instrument was kindly
donated by Dave Levell (Pembrokeshire, Wales) in May 2023. |