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.
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.
Yuval Goren's Collection of the History of the Microscope
Rathenower Optische Werke (ROW), Kleinmikroskop B
This model, named "Kleinmikroskop B", in English "small microscope B", may be considered the "Trabant" of microscopes (after a VEB East German auto maker's most ubiquitous, but mediocre car). It was produced in the 1950s in the East German town of Rathenow at the time of the Deutsche Demokratische Republik (DDR). Instruments of this type were produced until 1965, when they were replaced by another model of low-cost microscope with draw-tube, which is being produced in Rathenow today.
The city of Rathenow has a long tradition of optical manufacture. It began in the 18th century with Johann Heinrich August Duncker, who studied optics and lens grinding in Halle, Germany and started producing microscopes after his return to Rathenow, in about 1800. The prestigious company of "Busch Rathenow" produced high quality microscopes until World War II. After the war and under the Communist regime of the DDR, the company turned into a "VEB" (namely a company owned by the citizens) having the logo "ROW" (Rathenower Optische Werke). The microscope is primarily made of modern materials, Bakelite and aluminum, but the design is completely anachronistic. Many of its features were clearly inspired by various pre-war taschenmikroskopes. It has a sleeve and sliding-tube focusing typical of the 19th century, a two part combination button objective, typical of an earlier era, and the draw-tube for additional magnifications reminiscent of the Tami “family”. It stands, perhaps, as the last of the old fashioned single-pillar microscope made in the second half of the 20th century. In this spirit, the instrument and the objective have individual serial numbers, an unusual phenomenon for a school microscope. Fortunately, the optical quality is good for this category of microscope, preserving some of the lost glory of the prewar days of this firm. A dovetail wooden box, another anachronistic feature for its time, is housing this peculiar but still lovely relic of the Spartan days of the DDR.