A rare mid 19th-Century English lacquered-brass compound monocular microscope,

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Microscopes and accessories

Details

A rare mid 19th-Century English lacquered-brass compound monocular microscope,
signed Andw..Ross Optician 33 Regent St.Piccadilly No.35, with rack and pinion focusing, micrometer fine adjustment, mechanical stage and plano-concave substage mirror, the curved limb tilting on a compass joint atop a brass pillar and circular foot, with three eyepieces, Ross 1/8 (x2), ¼, ½ and 2in. objectives in signed canisters, the ¼in. and one 1/8in. dated 1852, the other 1/8in. with lieberkuhn and sleeve, one other Ross objective without canister, and a table bull's-eye condensor, in a mahogany case with brass handle -- 43.2cm. (17in.) high; and a pine slide box containing 66 preparations by Abraham Flatters and one other in seven (of ten) trays (2)

Literature

TURNER, G. L'E., The Great Age Of The Microscope (Bath, 1989)

Special notice

No VAT will be charged on the hammer price, but VAT at 17.5% will be added to the buyer's premium, which is invoiced on a VAT inclusive basis. This lot is subject to storage and collection charges. **For Furniture and Decorative Objects, storage charges commence 7 days from sale. Please contact department for further details.**

Lot Essay

This rare early instrument by Andrew Ross can be dated to between 1841 and 1843: from 1837 until 1841 when Ross was working in partnership with J.J. Lister, he signed his microscopes Andrw Ross & Co. and did not use serial numbers, and he was working from 33 Regent Street between 1839 and 1843, in which year he introduced his characteristic Y-shaped foot. Serial no.33 is in the collection of the Royal Microscopical Society; no.73 is in the Science Museum in London; and no.41 was sold in these rooms on 30 June 2004 (Lot 209/9874).

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