Marshall-type compound microscope
Date1690-1700
Inventory Number1000
ClassificationMicroscope
Subject
Maker
John Marshall
1663 - 1725
User
James Ferguson
1710 - 1776
Cultural Region
Dimensions46 x 25 x 21 cm (18 1/8 x 9 13/16 x 8 1/4 in.)
Material
Accessoriesobjective (5); lens, glass bowl, ivory box (3) containing talc; graduated cylinder; ruler; ivory objective; tweezers; fish-plate tweezers; ivory spoon, specimen holder (3)
DescriptionThe body of this microscope is made of oak tubes, veneer-lined with cartridge paper and covered with vellum: the inner tube with green vellum, whereas the outer tube is reddish and decorated with spots of color and gold tooling. (It was partly cleaned in 1969 of later over painting.) The body tube ends of lignum vitae (eyepiece cap and dust cover missing).
A square brass pillar is fixed to the octagonal base with a ball-and-socket joint. The whole microscope slides on the pillar for coarse focus. Approximate settings are marked on the pillar. A "Hevelius screw" is added for a fine focus. The Cuff stage is riveted to forks from Marshall stage clamps and fixed to the pillar just above the ball joint. The substage mirror is mounted in the center of the base. A magnifying lens is mounted on the stage.
The octagonal base (which may well be an early replacement) is made of mahogany over oak frame. It has a lead weight at the opposite end of the ball-and-socket joint and it contains many accessories.
A square brass pillar is fixed to the octagonal base with a ball-and-socket joint. The whole microscope slides on the pillar for coarse focus. Approximate settings are marked on the pillar. A "Hevelius screw" is added for a fine focus. The Cuff stage is riveted to forks from Marshall stage clamps and fixed to the pillar just above the ball joint. The substage mirror is mounted in the center of the base. A magnifying lens is mounted on the stage.
The octagonal base (which may well be an early replacement) is made of mahogany over oak frame. It has a lead weight at the opposite end of the ball-and-socket joint and it contains many accessories.
In Collection(s)
Signedunsigned
Curatorial RemarksDating pre-1700 based on the coloration and stamping of the tube, which Marshall changed after 1700. (SJS, 7/31/14))
Gerard L'E. Turner noted on 28/09/1990: "The eye lens and field lens are present and appear to be original. Many Marshall microscopes do not have complete optics." It is also highly possible that the owner, Ferguson, modified this microscope to some extent.
FunctionWhen Thomas Hollis II sent a microscope to Harvard in 1732, he wrote that the Hollis professor should "make good use of [it], for the promoting [of] usefull knowledge and the advancement of natural and revealed religion." Microscopes revealed invisible worlds to the eye. They showed how the great chain of being reached down to creatures in the smallest droplets, thereby reinforcing the idea of plurality of worlds and divine providence.
ProvenanceJames Ferguson, c. 1744; David P. Wheatland, Topsfield, MA, June 25, 1968 via Sotheby's sale (lot number 41). Donated to CHSI prior to June 6, 1969.
Historical AttributesThis microscope was owned by James Ferguson (1710-1776), author and lecturer in natural philosophy in London in the second half of the eighteenth century.
Matthew Loft
Date: 1730-1747
Accessories: objective (5); spring slide holder; circular carrier (10 objects); stage forceps; cone diaphragm; ivory slider (2); round glass disc; brass ring; ivory box of covers; frog plate; key for case
Object number: 1181
Matthew Loft
Date: 1730-1747
Accessories: 5 Objectives:1, 2, 3, 4, 5; round specimen carrier with eight preparations plus black and white discs; fish plate; stage forceps; live box; ivory box for cover glasses; cone diaphragm; pyramidal case.
Object number: 1180
W. & S. Jones
Date: circa 1795
Accessories: rotating disc with 6 objectives: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6; objectives with Lieberkuhn reflectors (2); Lieberkuhn attachment; conical diaphragm, stage forceps with calipers; fish plate; silk ribbon; tweezers; Bonanni spring stage; prepared ivory slides (7), standing case.
Object number: 1041
English
Date: circa 1830
Accessories: 4 objectives; 1 ocular; live box with glass; ivory black / white disk; stage forceps; dissecting needle; brass tweezers; watch glass; 3 ivory slides; glass slide; specimen list; box with key.
Object number: 1003
Edmund Culpeper
Date: circa 1730
Accessories: 6 objectives for screw-barrel microscope; 3 objectives for compound body; 1 lieberkuhn; 1 opaque attachment; brass box; 2 ivory slides, 1 brass wet-cell slide; tweezer; ivory handle; glass specimen fish tube; storage box; instruction booklet by Culpeper (stored in instrument file).
Object number: 1173
Robert Bancks
Date: 1805-1811
Accessories: 6 objectives 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 8; two high power/ short focal length lenses in round brass boxes: A, B; 2 lenses in black rings in cylindrical boxes for aquatic use: 30, 40; 3 Lieberkühns with lenses; cone diaphragm; polarizer set; brass live box; 2 stage forceps; frog plate; 2 oculars; tweezers; brush; brass wet cell preparation slide; 10 ivory slides; ivory box with slide covers and rings; spring stage mount; watch glass and bracket; bull's eye on stand; case.
Object number: 1185
English
Date: 1735-1745
Accessories: 5 objectives; 3 ivory slides; 1 brass slide; 2 rough pieces of glass; 2 stage forceps and pins; black / white disk in ebony with ivory inset; spring stage; live box.
Object number: 2002-1-0054
Gilkerson & McAll
Date: 1826-1830
Accessories: wheel with 6 objectives; substage condensing lens; substage mirror; Lieberkühn for objectives; Lieberkühn carrier; magnifier lens with Lieberkühn; tilting magnifier lens; tweezers; stage forceps; watch glass; ivory disk; 10 slides (ivory, wood, ebonite); mahogany case.
Object number: 1009
Alexander Mackenzie
Date: circa 1820
Accessories: 2 stage forceps; tweezers; live box; substage mirror; convertible objective of three lenses; 3 ivory slides; magnifier lens; cardboard box for covers; instruction sheet; flat case.
Object number: 1261
Matthew Loft
Date: 1730-1747
Accessories: ocular (1); objectives (6); fish plate; substage cone diaphragm; round spring slide holder; stage forceps; bull's eye condenser; wet specimen glass cup; rotating slide speciment holder with black and white disks; small black and white disks as bead on cord; brass spring; spare collar from an ocular; pyramidal box.
Object number: 1242
Benjamin Wood
Date: 1820
Accessories: 10 objectives, numbered 1-10 (caps on 1 and 2); 4 objectives with lieberkuhns (one lens missing); 2 oculars; 3 simple lenses in eye cups; diaphragm cone; live box; spring stage; three-wing stage; double-convex lens on rod; simple-lens carrier on an arm; ivory black/white disk; 1 ivory disk with cork; 3 flat glass disks of differing sizes; 1 large glass disk in threaded brass rim; 1 watch glass; 3 large glass, magnifying lenses, one tinted green; 2 small magnifying glasses; stage condensor; fish plate; 2 stage forceps; 1 stage 3-pronged gripper; tweezers; 3 ivory handled knives for preparations; 10 small and 3 medium ivory slides of transparent specimens; 3 ivory slides of opaque specimens; 3 boxwood slides of transparent specimens; 1 brass wet-cell slide with 4 apertures for preparations; 2 cylindrical ivory boxes with mica cover slips and snap rings; wrench; chamois; flat case with sockets for the above; key.
Object number: 1002
English
Date: circa 1750
Accessories: 5 objectives; fish plate; hand magnifier; diffusor; cone; stage forceps; 4 ivory slides; 1 glass slide; ivory box with mica covers and wire rings; spring stage for slides; pyramidal box.
Object number: 1049