Lot 204
204
A rare late 17th-Century [?]North Italian compound microscope,
No VAT will be charged on the hammer price, but VA… Read more MICROSCOPES
A rare late 17th-Century [?]North Italian compound microscope,

Details
A rare late 17th-Century [?]North Italian compound microscope,
unsigned and undated, made in vellum-covered pasteboard with wooden lens mount and a brass tripod foot -- 13in. (33cm.) high when in use; the optical tube -- 2¼in. (5.6cm.) diameter, 8½in. (22cm.) long when closed; the tripod support -- 4½in. (11.4cm.) high, 2¼in. (5.6cm.) diameter at foot

The optical tube consists of an outer body-tube containing two draw-tubes. All the tubes are constructed from pasteboard, the outer covered with vellum dyed green and decorated with gold tooling in three panels. The inner two are covered with brushed paste paper coloured pink and purple. Both tubes have thick black lines to show the setting for optimum focus.

At the end of the optical tube is the nose-piece made of walnut, which is threaded to screw into a collar fixed to the inside of the body-tube. The objective lens is contained in a screw-on cell at the end of the nose-piece. It is biconvex with a diameter of about ½in. (1.3cm.). The specimen is viewed through a very small hole with a diameter of 0.06in. (0.14cm.). The first draw-tube serves to extend the length of the light path, while the second holds at the lower end a wooden cell (possibly lime wood) for the 1 3/8in. (3.6cm.) diameter; 0.4cm. thick biconvex field lens. This lens is substantially free of colour, with its edge clipped rather than ground smooth. The upper end of the innermost draw-tube has a wooden cell for the eye-lens (a replacement).

The optical tube is supported in a brass collar with a tripod base, the splayed legs made of thin brass, whose edges are cut with scrolls. Between the legs is a brass support for a wooden specimen holder that is held by a pair of metal straps. At the middle an ivory cell is fitted, which has a plano-concave glass disc to act as a wet cell. The collar is lined with fine cloth to form a grip for the optical tube.

See Colour Illustration and Detail
Literature
TURNER, G. L'E., "Three late-seventeenth century Italian Telescopes, two signed by Paolo Belletti of Bologna", Annali dell'Istituto e Museo di Storia della Scienza di Fierenze, 9, part 1 (1984) pp.41-64, xxi plates
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.

Lot Essay

It is difficult to locate a place of manufacture for this microscope. The tripod support is of a type found in some Italian microscopes of the seventeenth century. The gold tooling motifs, of which nine can be distinguished, have similarities with those found on some North Italian instruments. A comparison of the decoration may be made with three Italian telescopes, two of which are signed by Paolo Belletti of Bologna, dated 1682 and 1689. The third is not signed or dated, but is similar to the others. All three have their draw-tubes covered in brushed paper in the same style and in the same colours as the present microscope. Paper is coated with one or more applications of coloured paste made from flour, which is then worked into a design. The method is simple, quick and not expensive.

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