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Microscope Museum Collection of antique microscopes and other
scientific instruments |
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Microscope
530 (Hartnack
& Prazmowski; microscope stand No. II; c. 1877) The origins of Hartnack
& Prazmowski were in the Parisian optical business founded by Georg
Oberhaeuser, who popularised Martin’s drum microscope pattern and developed
the horseshoe-footed continental stand. Oberhaeuser began his business in c.
1830 (his shop was located at 19 Place Dauphine in 1832). In 1854, he formed
a partnership with his assistant Hartnack (who started working with
Oberhaeuser in 1847) and retired shortly afterwards in 1854. The business
operated as “Oberhaeuser and Hartnack” until 1859, when Hartnack became the
sole owner and the firm became simply “Hartnack”.
Hartnack left France in 1870, at the outbreak of the Franco-Prussian War, and
went to establish a business in Potsdam, near Berlin, known as Hartnack. The
Paris business continued as “Hartnack et Cie” and, later, in 1873, Hartnack
and Prazmowski (moving to 1 Rue Bonaparte). Prazmowski took sole ownership of
the Paris business in 1878, and later, in 1883, passed it on to his employees
Bézu and Hausser. The firm became “Bézu, Hausser et Cie”, although they continued
to use Prazmowski’s name until his death in 1885. They sold the business to
Alfred Nachet in 1896. Hartnack’s Potsdam business continued after his death
until well into the 1900s. Microscope 530 was made by Hartnack &
Prazmowski and can be dated to c. 1877. The draw tube of the microscope is
engraved with ‘E. Hartnack & A. Prazmowski, Rue Bonaparte1, Paris’.
The original box of the instrument is engraved with the serial number 16650.
An identical microscope was featured in the 1880 Heinrich Frey’s book ‘The
microscope and microscopical technology’ (Figure 1), where it was described
as small microscope of Hartnack. The same microscope was also featured
on the 1902 E. Hartnack’s catalogue (Figure 1), where it was named as stand
No. II. Figure
1. Microscope as featured on the 1880 Heinrich Frey’s book
‘The microscope and microscopical technology’ (left), and the same microscope
as featured on the 1902 E. Hartnack’s catalogue (right), where it was called
stand No. II |