|
Microscope Museum Collection of antique microscopes and other
scientific instruments |
|
|
Microscope
534 (Carl
Zeiss; binocular microscope stand LgOG; c. 1940) 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 534 is a
Carl Zeiss binocular microscope stand LgOG (Figure
1), engraved in the stand with the serial number 281934. The instrument
should be dated to the c. 1940. The binocular head has the serial number
16008, and the mechanical stage has the serial number 56615. This microscope
was described as a general purpose and diagnostic microscope. Stand Lg allowed for a comfortable inclined observation and
with quick tube changing device, coarse and fine motions below stage level,
rack and pinion adjustable substage O and square mechanical stage G. The
instrument came with its original wooden box. Figure 1. Carl Zeiss
binocular microscope, stand LgOG, as featured in a
1936 catalogue of the firm. |