traveling case for microscope
Datecirca 1898
Inventory Number2006-1-0114d
ClassificationMicroscope Case
Subject
Maker
Carl Zeiss, Optische Werkstätte, Jena
1846 - 1904
Maker
Carl Zeiss (company timeline)
founded 1846
Owner
Lydia Rabinowitsch-Kempner
1871 - 1935
Cultural Region
Place of Origin
Place of Use
Dimensionstraveling case: 41 x 23.5 x 24.5 cm (16 1/8 x 9 1/4 x 9 5/8 in.)
Material
Description2006-1-0114d is a traveling case made of leather with reinforced nickel-plated corners. The top is secured to the bottom by means of a leather strap with a buckle. It is lined in red wool cloth.
The Zeiss workshop name is stamped in silver letters on the edge of the bottom half.
The Zeiss workshop name is stamped in silver letters on the edge of the bottom half.
SignedStamped in silver : CARL ZEISS IN JENA / OPTISCHE WERKSTÄTTE.
FunctionThe traveling case is designed to protect the microscope in its cabinet.
ProvenanceLydia Rabinowitsch-Kempner, Berlin, circa 1898-1935; Robert Kempner, Berlin, 1935-1949; Walter Kempner, Durham, NC, 1949-1997; gift to CHSI, 2006.
Historical AttributesThis microscope was original owned by Lydia Rabinowitsch-Kempner, an eminent bacteriologist and a research associate of Robert Koch in Berlin at his Institute for Infectious Diseases. In 1895 she went to the Women's Medical College of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, where she was appointed the first director of the Bacteriological Laboratory. She married Dr. Walter Kempner in Berlin in 1898 while working again with Koch. She collaborated with Koch until his death in 1910. Rabinowitsch-Kempner was the first woman ever to hold the title of professor in Prussia. Her specialization was the bacteriology of tuberculosis.
When she died, the microscope stayed in her house in Germany until 1949. Her son, Robert Kempner (who was a prosecutor at the Nuremberg Trials) sent the microscope to his brother, Walter Kempner, who lived in the US in Durham, NC (he was professor of medicine at Duke University). When the latter died in 1997, the microscope was passed to an heir. It was given to CHSI in 2006.
Carl Zeiss, Optische Werkstätte, Jena
Date: circa 1898
Accessories: oculars (4): 2, 4, and compensating oculars 6, 8; objectives: AA, DD, a2, and apochromat HI 2.0 mm; triple nosepiece; swing-out condenser with iris-cylinder diaphragm; disk diaphragm and central stop diaphragm; filter; eyepiece micrometer, brush, spare stage clips; large mechanical stage (2006-1-0114b); centering glass (2006-1-0114c) with instructions; magnification tables (2); standing case; key; leather traveling case (2006-1-0114d).
Object number: 2006-1-0114a
Carl Zeiss, Optische Werkstätte, Jena
Date: 1898-1905
Accessories: oculars (5): 2, 2, 4, 8 compens, 12 compens; objectives (4) in canisters (5): a2, B, C [missing], E, F; rotary stage; lenses on handles (2); small posterior lens; eyepiece micrometers (2); brush; spare stage clips; pointer; key; dual nosepiece; standing case; leather traveling case.
Object number: 1997-1-1931a
Carl Zeiss, Optische Werkstätte, Jena
Date: circa 1885
Accessories: objectives (4): A, C, F, and DD; 1 ocular: 5; small-parts box with ocular micrometer case; key; Abbe drawing camera in separate box (1125c); box to hold objectives; standing case.
Object number: 1125
Carl Zeiss, Optische Werkstätte, Jena
Date: circa 1898
Object number: 2006-1-0114b
Carl Zeiss, Optische Werkstätte, Jena
Date: 1896
Accessories: instruction sheet; case
Object number: 2006-1-0114c
Carl Zeiss, Optische Werkstätte, Jena
Date: circa 1899
Accessories: case
Object number: 1997-1-1873
Carl Zeiss, Optische Werkstätte, Jena
Date: 1881-1891
Accessories: box
Object number: 1990-2-0008
Carl Zeiss, Optische Werkstätte, Jena
Date: circa 1902
Accessories: oculars (5); objectives (5); microplanar objectives (2); iris diaphragm; abbe condenser; collars and sleeves for photography; parts box; Leitz object micrometer (1308b); cardioid condenser (1308d); immersion oil bottle (1308c) ; Leitz erecting prism (1308e); standing case with key
Object number: 1308a
Carl Zeiss, Optische Werkstätte, Jena
Date: circa 1886
Accessories: oculars (2): Leitz 4xB, Winkel Zeiss kl 2; objectives (4): Leitz 7, 1/7a oil immersion, Zeiss B, HI 90 iris, B&L 8mm, 1/5, Grunow 1/6; B&L double nosepiece; parabolic reflector for stage; Abbe condensor with iris-cylinder diaphragm; articulated substage mirror; frame for cup diaphragms; cup diaphragms (2); Zeiss-B&L polarizing analyzer A6; Zeiss-B&L vertical illuminator; flat case; key.
Object number: 1044
Carl Zeiss, Optische Werkstätte, Jena
Date: circa 1900
Accessories: case
Object number: 1997-1-2008
Carl Zeiss, Optische Werkstätte, Jena
Date: 1885-1900
Accessories: smoked glass; case
Object number: 1997-1-2012
Carl Zeiss, Optische Werkstätte, Jena
Date: circa 1900
Accessories: case
Object number: 1997-1-2009
