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Microscope Museum Collection of antique microscopes and other
scientific instruments |
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Microscope
513 (Carl
Zeiss; Stand IVa; c. 1905) 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 513 is a Carl Zeiss microscope with the serial number
37255. This instrument is dated to c. 1905. This instrument is identified as
stand IVa in a Carl Zeiss’s catalogue from 1902
(Figure 1). At some point of its history, this microscope was retailed by the
firm Wallace Heaton Ltd, as suggested by a label glued on the body tube.
Wallace Heaton Ltd was a photographic retailer based at 119 Bond Street,
London, that traded independently from about 1919 until 1972 when it was
bought by Dixons. The company was originally set up by Wallace Heaton, a pharmacist
who over time moved his business from pharmacy to photography and
photographic supplies. Figure 1. Carl Zeiss’s stand IVa microscope as engraved in the company’s 1902 catalogue. |