Notes on Modern Microscope Manufacturers

Cowley, Oxford: Quekett Microscopical Club, 1996. First Edition. Boards. Very Good. First Edition. xiii, [1], 88 pages 8vo. Publisher's blue printed boards. Boards slightly warped, otherwise a bright clean copy. No dust jacket as issued. Boards. A standard reference work on microscopes manufacturers. Bracegirdle collected information on many manufacturers over the years and published them in this format for others to enjoy. The book is particularly useful for those looking to identify dates of manufacture for some of the major manufacturers, which Bracegirdle offers from archival sources not speculation.

"With the publication of the monumental (truncated) SIMON Index [in Gloria Clifton's Directory of British Scientific Instrument Makers 1550-1851], most British makers of scientific instruments active up to about 1850 have been listed and described in some detail. I have been making my own notes on microscope makers for over thirty years, and as my interests lie in the period post-1850 and especially in the twentieth century, I hope their publication now will be seen to complement the SIMON Index. My notes include some foreign makers as well, and if a maker was in business both before and after 1850 a few comments may be added as to his earlier work. Special attention has been given to twentieth century microscopes, for these are quite neglected by most authors. The study of microscopes is bedeviled by inaccurate dating- estimates quickly pass as established. This small book is different-all dates given herein for serial numbers are derived from actual documentary evidence: no date is a mere estimate. (Inventory #: 29487)