botanical compound microscope with unusual stand
Date: 1890
Inventory Number: 1026
Classification: Microscope
Subject:
Maker: Charles X. Dalton (1840 - 1912)
Maker: Boston Optical Works (fl. 1867 - 1895)
Maker: Robert B. Tolles (1823 - 1883)
Owner: Francis Harvard Peabody (1831 - 1905)
Cultural Region:
Place of Origin:
Dimensions:
microscope: 37 × 23 × 22 cm (14 9/16 × 9 1/16 × 8 11/16 in.)
blue board box: 38.1 × 31.9 × 26.7 cm (15 × 12 9/16 × 10 1/2 in.)
Accessories: One original eyepiece , probably not by Tolles, 33.8 mm O.D. ; 1 objective, "Tolles / Boston", low power, no collar, transferred by E. Gay from 1158.
DescriptionThis brass microscope as a unique stand. The side arm holds the optical assembly of the microscope and permits it to rotate from vertical to horizontal. The rectangular stage also rotates from horizontal to vertical, and can be set according to a scale. Coarse adjustment is by rack and pinion enclosed within a box on the back side of the tube.
The rectangular base sits on 4 turned legs. There is an arm at right angles to the base and has its own turned leg. This arm supports the tube when it is in its horizontal position.
The double mirror is on a swinging, movable rod. A substage ring is attached to the end of the mirror. Stage clips, painted ivory, hold a frame to the top of the stage.
The brass framework of the instrument shows absolutely perfect flat surfaces and edges even though most of its contours and cutouts must have been finished by hand rather than by machine. The workmanship is almost incredible to anyone who has done an apprenticeship in such work.
The rectangular base sits on 4 turned legs. There is an arm at right angles to the base and has its own turned leg. This arm supports the tube when it is in its horizontal position.
The double mirror is on a swinging, movable rod. A substage ring is attached to the end of the mirror. Stage clips, painted ivory, hold a frame to the top of the stage.
The brass framework of the instrument shows absolutely perfect flat surfaces and edges even though most of its contours and cutouts must have been finished by hand rather than by machine. The workmanship is almost incredible to anyone who has done an apprenticeship in such work.
In Collection(s)
Signedon base: Charles X. Dalton / Boston
on objective: Tolles, / Boston
on objective: Tolles, / Boston
FunctionDesigned especially for botanical work.
Historical AttributesThis botanical microscope was commissioned by Francis Harvard Peabody from Charles X. Dalton in 1890. Peabody was an amateur botanist who earned his living at at the head of Kidder, Peabody, and Company, the prominent Boston banking firm. Peabody was a member of the Boston Society of Natural History and the New England Botanical Club. He died in 1905 at age 74.
The file contains a letter by Charles Dalton certifying the originality of the design and has two original photos showing the instrument without its present five feet.
The microscope was presented to the Warren Museum by Frank E. Peabody.
The file contains a letter by Charles Dalton certifying the originality of the design and has two original photos showing the instrument without its present five feet.
The microscope was presented to the Warren Museum by Frank E. Peabody.
Curatorial RemarksN.B. The Tolles objective currently in the microscope was swapped in from CHSI inv. 1158.