English compound microscope

This microscope tube has a consistent diameter and inside it is another tube housing the eyepiece. The lens is at the bottom end. The front and back have a fine screw to enable fine focusing. Coarse focusing is achieved by rotating a pair of large screws on each side of the tube to move it vertically on a rack mechanism, which begins at the top of the arm. The arm is concave where the rectangular stage, which has a central hole allowing light to pass through it, is attached. The top of the stage has a mechanical system controlled by 2 screws that help to move the sample sideways, forward, and backward. On its underside is the accessory that moves between channels with various different-sized diaphragms. Under the stage is the plano-concave mirror, which is on an arm allowing it to move in all directions. The arm is supported on 2 triangular pillars with a screw that allows the microscope to tilt.

The pillar rests on a horseshoe-shaped base with a large heel bearing the inscription "M. Pillischer. 88 New Bond St. London." On its sloped side is the instrument's serial number: "No. 45." The whole microscope sits on a wooden board so it can be stored inside its original wooden box. It also still has several original lenses.

Moritz Pillischer (1819–93) was Hungarian by birth but soon moved to England, where he set up his business in London. He first worked from Oxford Street between 1851 and 1853, before later establishing himself in New Bond Street between 1854 and 1887. He became an excellent optician, renowned for the quality of his lenses.