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Withering-type botanical microscope, 1780

 

The “Withering-type Microscope” is named for its inventor, Dr. William Withering (1741-1799), an English physician and botanist who graduated with a degree in medicine 1766 in Edinburgh. Inspired by the taxonomical work and systematic classification of Carl Linnæus (1707-1778), Withering (1776) applied the Linnaean taxonomical system of classification to British plants in a seminal, two volume work, A Botanical arrangement of all the vegetables naturally growing in the British Isles. The earliest reference to a small botanical microscope of Withering’s design appeared in the first edition of this book. There, Withering indicated this microscope was developed for field dissections of flowers and other plant parts. While there is no surviving example of this exact design, close relatives of this type do exist, made either completely of brass or of ivory with brass pillars. Ivory models can be tentatively dated to 1776-1785, as by 1787 a newer model with a hollowed stage in an all-brass configuration already predominated. In turn, it was preceded by the brief appearance of a transitional brass model but with solid stage of ivory or horn (seen here). This version is extremely rare and must have been produced in very small numbers. By 1787 all these varieties were not recorded anymore in the literature.

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Withering-type botanical microscope, 1780

 

The “Withering-type Microscope” is named for its inventor, Dr. William Withering (1741-1799), an English physician and botanist who graduated with a degree in medicine 1766 in Edinburgh. Inspired by the taxonomical work and systematic classification of Carl Linnæus (1707-1778), Withering (1776) applied the Linnaean taxonomical system of classification to British plants in a seminal, two volume work, A Botanical arrangement of all the vegetables naturally growing in the British Isles. The earliest reference to a small botanical microscope of Withering’s design appeared in the first edition of this book. There, Withering indicated this microscope was developed for field dissections of flowers and other plant parts. While there is no surviving example of this exact design, close relatives of this type do exist, made either completely of brass or of ivory with brass pillars. Ivory models can be tentatively dated to 1776-1785, as by 1787 a newer model with a hollowed stage in an all-brass configuration already predominated. In turn, it was preceded by the brief appearance of a transitional brass model but with solid stage of ivory or horn (seen here). This version is extremely rare and must have been produced in very small numbers. By 1787 all these varieties were not recorded anymore in the literature.

References: SML: A242712; Goren 2014.

References: SML: A242712; Goren 2014.

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Yuval Goren's Collection of the History of the Microscope

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    Israel and Microscopes

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    Hebrew University 1st set
    Hebrew University 1st set

    1927

    Yosef Leschner's microscope
    Yosef Leschner's microscope

    1934

    Hebrew University's Spencer
    Hebrew University's Spencer

    1948

    Hadassah Medical 1st set
    Hadassah Medical 1st set

    1952

    Brandeis Center Zeiss copy
    Brandeis Center Zeiss copy

    1952-1968

    Alec Marcus' microscopes
    Alec Marcus' microscopes

    Various inventories

    Tel Aviv University 1st set
    Tel Aviv University 1st set

    1954

    Olympus MIC, 1970
    Olympus MIC, 1970

    1970

    Goren Microscope
    Goren Microscope

    2014

     
     

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