|
Microscope Museum Collection of antique microscopes and other
scientific instruments |
|
|
Microscope
82 (Paul
Waechter; trichinoscope; 1920s) Paul Waechter (1847 - 1893) was
trained to be an optician and mechanic at the famous Zeiss Optical Workshop
in Jena, Germany. In 1872, Waechter founded his own optical workshop and his
earlier instruments were signed ‘Paul Waechter, Berlin’. Between 1872 and
1892, Waechter produced over 20,000 microscopes, mostly for the examination
of trichinae in meat. By 1890, Paul Waechter moved his workshop to Friedenau
and the microscopes produced were then signed ‘Paul Waechter, Friedenau’.
After the death of Waechter in 1893, his longtime assistant, Herr Puchler,
directed the company. Later, Puchler and another master mechanic, Paul
Prasser, formed a partnership and continued the business into the early 20th
century. At this time, the business was named ‘Optische Werkstaette Paul
Waechter’. Microscopes produced by the company often did not bear a signature
or serial number on the microscope itself, but these items were reserved for
the wood case that normally accompanied the instrument. Sometime after the
turn of the century, the firm was moved from Berlin to Potsdam in the former
German State of Prussia (now Poland). At that time, instruments were signed
‘Paul Waechter, Potsdam’. By the mid-1930s the business was taken over by the
Pridat family. Operations of the firm appear to have been suspended during
and immediately after the Second World War. In 1958, the company again
reappeared when their registered office moved to Wetzlar, Germany.
Microscopes produced in the 1960s and 1970s were signed ‘P. Waechter,
Wetzlar’. Microscope 82 is a trichinoscope signed as “Paul Waechter,
Potsdam”, and can be dated to the 1920s. Neither the instrument nor its case
bears a serial number. This microscope mounts atop its wood case and is
equipped with an extra-large rectangular stage plate that normally
accommodated a unique large dual plate glass compressorium for the
examination of pork (missing from this instrument). References Paul
Carl Friedrich Waechter, 1847 – 1893 (http://microscopist.net/Waechter.html),
last accessed on 13.08.2020 'STATIV
IV (V) OR STAND #4 (5)MICROSCOPE' (https://www.microscope-antiques.com/waechter.html),
last accessed on 13.08.2020 'STATIV
Vb MICROSCOPE' (https://www.microscope-antiques.com/vbtrichinascope.html),
last accessed on 13.08.2020 East
Carolina University – Trichinoscope (https://digital.lib.ecu.edu/22094#?c=0&m=0&s=0&cv=0&xywh=-219%2C-19%2C2320%2C3120),
last accessed on 02.01.2021 LAST EDITED: 15.08.2020 |