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Microscope Museum Collection of antique microscopes and other
scientific instruments |
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Microscope
438 (Carl Zeiss; Greenough’s
binocular microscope, stand X; late 1930s) In 1846, Carl Zeiss opened a workshop
for precision mechanics and optical instruments in Jena. He focused his
activities more and more on microscope production. Soon he was supplying not
only the regional market but also shipping his wares around the world. In
1866, Carl Zeiss recruited the physicist Ernst Abbe to help him improve his
microscopes. In 1877, Ernst Abbe became a partner in the company. After the
passing of Carl Zeiss in 1889, Ernst Abbe created the Carl Zeiss Foundation,
which would become the company’s sole owner. Since the 1890s, Abbe’s findings
and his style of working have also been adopted in other fields of optics.
This led to the creation of all-new products, new business areas and rapid
growth for the company. In 1893, the first subsidiary was opened in London.
Before the outbreak of WWI, sites were established across the world, which
then had to be closed when war broke out. There were more ups and downs
between then and 1945. Thereafter, the sites outside Germany have been
developing in a stable manner and today, Carl Zeiss AG is a holding company
with several subsidiaries. In addition to its sites in Oberkochen
and Jena, its main production sites are in Wetzlar
and Göttingen in Germany, Dublin and Minneapolis in the US, and Shanghai in
China. Microscope 438 is a Greenough’s binocular microscope, stand X (Figure
1), engraved with “Carl Zeiss, Jena” and the serial number 131276. The
instrument should be dated to the late 1930s and has its original wooden box. Note: this instrument was kindly
donated by Dave Levell (Pembrokeshire, Wales) in May 2023. Figure 1. Carl Zeiss’s Greenough’s binocular microscope,
stand X, as engraved in a 1902 catalogue of the firm. On the left, the
binocular head and stage are identical to the ones of microscope 438 but
mounted on a different type of foot. On the upper right, the same binocular
head mounted on the vulcanite fork when used as a dermatoscope. |