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Microscope Museum Collection of antique microscopes and other
scientific instruments |
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Microscope 3 (assigned
to A Franks; student microscope; late 19th century)
A. Franks Ltd was an
optician and instrument maker which traded between 1879 and 1950. Founded in
the latter part of the 19th century by Louis Aubrey Franks, they traded
originally as 'L.A. Franks' from Manchester, listed as a manufacturer of
photographic apparatus, optician and scientific
instrument maker. Following a bankruptcy in 1879, a new firm was formed soon
after, an optician trading as A. Franks. Microscope 3 is a compound
microscope of simple make used essentially for didactic exercises or simple
observations, dated from c. 1890. The holes of two screws probably indicate
that an arm with a lens (now disappeared) was originally attached to the body
of the microscope to illuminate opaque objects from above. Microscope 3 is
not signed but an identical microscope was sold in an eBay auction in
November 2019, which included a wooden box with the inscription ‘A. Franks
Manchester Opticians”. However, it is not clear if A. Franks was the
manufacturer of these microscopes or just a retailer, as an identical
microscope appears in an 1892 American catalogue and is described as a Harvard
compound microscope of French origin (Figure 1, left). Another identical
microscope was sold in an eBay auction in July 2020, including a wooden box
labelled ‘William E. Statham, Optician’, a 19th century
instrument maker and retailer from the USA. This type of microscope was still
sold during the first half of the 20th century, for example
described as Microscope Anglais Grand Modèle in the catalogue of the French company E. Vion from 1929 (Figure 1, right).
Figure 1. An advertisement published in the 1892’s The
Youth's Companion American catalogue showing a microscope identical to
microscope 3 (left), and the Microscope Anglais
Grand modèle as engraved in the catalogue of
the French company E. Vion from 1929 (right). References Le Compendium.
Microscope d'étudiant type "Harvard Compound
Microscope" (http://www.lecompendium.com/dossier_optique_198_microscope_d_etudiant/microscope_d_etudiant.htm), last accessed on 12.08.2020 Microscopio
"Harvard". C. 1890. "Harvard" Compound Microscope (https://sites.google.com/site/coleccionguillermocrovetto/home/microscopios-compuestos-sin-firma/microscopio-harvard), last accessed on 12.08.2020 |
