French instrument maker Charles Chevalier developed this microscope in 1834, and described it thoroughly in his book: Des Microscopes et de leur Usage. Created primarily from a co-design while in partnership with his father, this microscope was revolutionary in both concept and execution.

The microscope is constructed entirely from brass and is supported by a large heavily weighted tripod foot connected to a thick central pillar. The coarse focus adjustment is integrated with a vertical screw that serves as a fine adjustment acting on the bracket securing the stage plate. The body tube can be oriented so that it is positioned either horizontally or vertically using a compass joint. The condenser is built on the bottom side of the stage and the entire unit is secured to a second square-cut limb that also has pinions for the concave reflector. A right-angled prism housed within the lower part of the substage condenser serves to direct light through the condenser and onto the specimen. The microscope is equipped with Huygenian eyepieces and also has four interchangeable objectives, one of which is fitted with Lieberkuhn reflectors.

BACK TO NINETEENTH CENTURY MICROSCOPES

Questions or comments? Send us an email.

© 1998-2008 by Michael W. Davidson, Mortimer Abramowitz, Olympus America Inc., and The Florida State University. All Rights Reserved. No images, graphics, scripts, or applets may be reproduced or used in any manner without permission from the copyright holders. Use of this website means you agree to all of the Legal Terms and Conditions set forth by the owners.

This website is maintained by our
Graphics & Web Programming Team
in collaboration with Optical Microscopy at the
National High Magnetic Field Laboratory.

Last modification: Friday, Aug 01, 2003 at 11:43 AM

Access Count Since April 6, 1999: 25249

For more information on microscope manufacturers,
use the buttons below to navigate to their websites: