Science & Mathematics

The Museum's collections hold thousands of objects related to chemistry, biology, physics, astronomy, and other sciences. Instruments range from early American telescopes to lasers. Rare glassware and other artifacts from the laboratory of Joseph Priestley, the discoverer of oxygen, are among the scientific treasures here. A Gilbert chemistry set of about 1937 and other objects testify to the pleasures of amateur science. Artifacts also help illuminate the social and political history of biology and the roles of women and minorities in science.

The mathematics collection holds artifacts from slide rules and flash cards to code-breaking equipment. More than 1,000 models demonstrate some of the problems and principles of mathematics, and 80 abstract paintings by illustrator and cartoonist Crockett Johnson show his visual interpretations of mathematical theorems.

Brass instrument with a black japan finish. The objective lenses are about 40 mm diameter, and the optics are excellent.
Description
Brass instrument with a black japan finish. The objective lenses are about 40 mm diameter, and the optics are excellent. The “CHEVALIER * PARIS” inscription on each eyepiece refers to an optical firm that was begun by Louis Vincent Chevalier in 1765, and that was still in the business in the late 19th century. The left eye tube is marked “DAY & NIGHT / EXTRA POWER” and the right is marked “ARMY & NAVY / EXTRA POWER.” The case is black leather.
Ref: Paolo Brenni, “19th Century French Scientific Instrument Makers. II: The Chevalier Dynasty,” Bulletin of the Scientific Instrument Society 39 (1993): 11–14.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
late 19th century
maker
Chevalier
ID Number
PH.323411
catalog number
323411
accession number
251004
This half-length engraved portrait of Jean LeRond d’Alembert (1717-1783) shows this French mathematician and philosophe sitting with quill pen in one hand and dividers in the other.
Description
This half-length engraved portrait of Jean LeRond d’Alembert (1717-1783) shows this French mathematician and philosophe sitting with quill pen in one hand and dividers in the other. Papers, books, and other drawing instruments are strewn across the desk in front of him, and more books, a rolled chart, and a globe sit on the cabinet behind. The text at bottom reads: “Dessiné par M. R. Jollain, Peintre du Roi, et Gravé par B. L. Henriquez, Graveur de S. M. I. de / toutes les Russies, et de l’Academie Imperiale des Beaux Arts de St. Petersbourg.”
This image was published in Paris in 1777, along with similar portraits of Montesquieu, Voltaire, and Diderot, the other principal authors of the Encyclopédie. The prints were commissioned by Charles-Joseph Panckoucke, the Paris bookman who was then producing a Supplément to the Encyclopédie. They sold for three francs each. Nicholas-René Jollain was an artist in Paris. Benoît-Louis Henriquez was an engraver in Paris.
Ref: Thomas L. Hankins, Jean d’Alembert. Science and the Enlightenment (Oxford, 1970).
George B. Watts, “The Supplément and the Table Analytique et Rainsonée of the Encyclopédie,” The French Review 28 (1954): 4-19, on 16.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1777
ID Number
PH.329189
accession number
280072
catalog number
329189
In 1884, Charles Chamberland (1851-1908), a microbiologist working with Louis Pasteur in Paris, designed a filter that could remove bacteria from water. The inscriptions on this example read "F. Societe du Filtre Chamberland Systeme Pasteur. H. B.
Description
In 1884, Charles Chamberland (1851-1908), a microbiologist working with Louis Pasteur in Paris, designed a filter that could remove bacteria from water. The inscriptions on this example read "F. Societe du Filtre Chamberland Systeme Pasteur. H. B. & Cie / 58 Rue Notre-Dame-de-Lorette Paris Choisy-le-Roi" and "Made in France / Controle."
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1884
maker
H.B. & Cie.
Hautin, Boulenger and Company
ID Number
MG.M-02833
catalog number
M-02833
accession number
109831
Each eyecup of this small instrument is marked “LEMAIRE FABT * PARIS .” The objective lenses are 30 mm diameter and the optics are good. The frame is a gilt metal. The barrels, eyecups and center focusing wheel are covered with mother of pearl.
Description
Each eyecup of this small instrument is marked “LEMAIRE FABT * PARIS .” The objective lenses are 30 mm diameter and the optics are good. The frame is a gilt metal. The barrels, eyecups and center focusing wheel are covered with mother of pearl. An image of a bee, the Lemaire logo, appears on the central brace; if there was once a number there, it is not now visible. The red leather carrying case is probably not original.
Jacques Lemaire began making opera glasses in 1847 and was soon a major manufacturer noted for using mechanization, division of labor and interchangeable parts. M.J.B. Baille joined the firm in 1871, and took charge in 1885.
Ref: Nicholas Gilman, A Dividend to Labor: A Study of Employers’ Welfare Institutions (Boston and New York, 1899), pp. 297–304.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1850-1900
maker
Lemaire
ID Number
PH.336803
catalog number
336803
accession number
1978.2216
This equatorially mounted telescope, made in Paris around 1860, has a 4-inch aperture silvered-glass primary mirror of the sort proposed by the physicist J. B. L. Foucault.
Description
This equatorially mounted telescope, made in Paris around 1860, has a 4-inch aperture silvered-glass primary mirror of the sort proposed by the physicist J. B. L. Foucault. A small printed label on the square wooden tube carries the message “Les Télescopes à mirroir de verre qui se vendent dans la maison SECRETAN portent tous la signature ci-dessous” along with Foucault’s signature. A one-page lithographed “Instruction pour les Télescopes de verre argenté” carries the stamp of Lerebours et Secretan.
Marc François Louis Secretan was a scientific instrument maker in Paris who worked in partnership with, and then succeeded, Noel-Lean Lerebours.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
after 1860
maker
Secretan
ID Number
PH.330623
accession number
1979.0889
catalog number
330623
When closed, this ingenious device appears as a simple tube covered with dark leather. When opened it is a binocular instrument. The “BTE SGDG” inscription on the focusing knob indicates that it is based on a French patent. The objective lenses are 29 mm diameter.
Description
When closed, this ingenious device appears as a simple tube covered with dark leather. When opened it is a binocular instrument. The “BTE SGDG” inscription on the focusing knob indicates that it is based on a French patent. The objective lenses are 29 mm diameter. The frame is nickel plated.
John Browning in London described an instrument of this sort as a “Portable Binocular.” McAllister in Philadelphia described it as an “Articulated Pocket Opera Glass.”
Ref: John Browning ad in Nature 20 (May 1, 1879): title page.
William Y. McAllister, Illustrated Catalogue of Spectacles, Opera Glasses, Opthalmoscopes and Meteorological Instruments (Philadelphia, 1882), p. 49.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
19th century
ID Number
PH.336785
catalog number
336785
accession number
1978.2216
One eyepiece barrel is marked “Docteur / Arthur Chevalier” and the other “Paris / 158 Palais Royal.” The objective lenses are 30 mm diameter. The frame is black metal. The barrels are covered with black leather.
Description
One eyepiece barrel is marked “Docteur / Arthur Chevalier” and the other “Paris / 158 Palais Royal.” The objective lenses are 30 mm diameter. The frame is black metal. The barrels are covered with black leather. A center wheel adjusts the focus.
Arthur Chevalier (1830-1874) began in business around 1860, taking charge of the optical firm begun by his grandfather, Charles Chevalier, and continued by his father, Louis Vincent Chevalier. M. Avizard bought the firm in 1881.
Ref: Arthur Chevalier, Catalogue Explicatif et Illustré des Instruments d’Optique et de Météorologie (Paris, 1860), pp. 16-20.
Paolo Brenni, “19th Century French Scientific Instrument Makers. II: The Chevalier Dynasty,” Bulletin of the Scientific Instrument Society 39 (1993): 11–14.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1860-1880
maker
Chevalier
ID Number
PH.336810
catalog number
336810
accession number
1978.2216
Each eyecup of this instrument is marked “BARDOU & SON * PARIS.” The objective lenses are 40 mm diameter. The frame is brass. The barrels are brass covered with black leather. A center wheel adjusts the focus.
Description
Each eyecup of this instrument is marked “BARDOU & SON * PARIS.” The objective lenses are 40 mm diameter. The frame is brass. The barrels are brass covered with black leather. A center wheel adjusts the focus. The carrying case is black leather with a red silk lining.
The Bardou firm was established in 1818, and trading as Bardou & Son by 1876.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
late 19th century
maker
Bardou
ID Number
PH.336808
catalog number
336808
accession number
1978.2216
Small compound monocular microscope with coarse and fine focus, square stage, inclination joint, condenser on an arm, sub-stage mirror, and solid base.
Description
Small compound monocular microscope with coarse and fine focus, square stage, inclination joint, condenser on an arm, sub-stage mirror, and solid base. The “NACHET ET FILS / rue Serpente, 16, Paris” inscription refers to an important French optical firm that was begun by Camille Sebastien Nachet in 1839, that became Nachet et Fils around mid-century, and that moved from this address around 1862.
Ref: Nachet et Fils, Catalogue Descriptive des Instruments de Micrographie (Paris, 1863), p. 12.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1856-1862
maker
Nachet et Fils
ID Number
1991.0682.01
catalog number
1991.0682.01
accession number
1991.0682
This is a refracting telescope on a pillar-and-tripod stand. The achromatic objective has an aperture of slightly more than 2 inches. The tube is 29 inches long and, with eyepieces, extends to 32½ inches.
Description
This is a refracting telescope on a pillar-and-tripod stand. The achromatic objective has an aperture of slightly more than 2 inches. The tube is 29 inches long and, with eyepieces, extends to 32½ inches. The “Ed LUTZ / Paris” inscription on the eyepiece is that of Édouard Lutz, an optical instrument maker who showed his wares at the international exhibitions held in Paris in 1878 and 1889.
The federal Bureau of Education was formed in 1867 and charged with providing educational information to the states and territories. To this end it collected apparatus and text-books from around the world, and recommended that funds be provided for the organization of an educational museum and the exchange of educational “appliances.” It mounted an extensive display at the World’s Industrial and Cotton Centennial Exposition in New Orleans in 1885, but folded soon thereafter. This telescope was among its instruments. It came to the Smithsonian in 1910, a transfer from the U.S. Department of the Interior.
Ref: “Catalogue of the Educational Museum. U.S. Bureau of Education. Sketch of the Origin, Growth, and Objects of the Museum,” in accession file, NMAH.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
late 19th century
maker
Lutz, Edouard
ID Number
PH.261258
catalog number
261258
accession number
51116
The words “12 Verres” on the crosspiece probably indicate that this instrument was made in France.
Description
The words “12 Verres” on the crosspiece probably indicate that this instrument was made in France. They also indicate that each eye lens and each objective lens is a triple achromat, a design that was developed by Joseph Petzval, a professor of mathematics at the University of Vienna, and introduced to practice by Voightländer & Sohn in the early 1840s. Because of this design, the optics are exceedingly good. The objectives lenses are 44 mm diameter. The frame is gilt metal. The barrels and eyecups are covered with mother of pearl, as is the center wheel that adjusts the focus. The case is dark leather lined with magenta silk.
Ref: Charles Chevalier, Catalogue Explicatif et Illustré des Instruments d’Optique et de Météorologie (Paris, 1860), p. 17.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
mid 19th century
ID Number
PH.336796
catalog number
336796
accession number
1978.2216
This is a brass instrument with ivory focusing screw, handle, and covering over the cylindrical barrels. The objective lenses are 24 mm diameter. “LUNETTE PAR INVENTION ET PERFECTIONEMENT*” appears around each eyepiece.
Description
This is a brass instrument with ivory focusing screw, handle, and covering over the cylindrical barrels. The objective lenses are 24 mm diameter. “LUNETTE PAR INVENTION ET PERFECTIONEMENT*” appears around each eyepiece. The case is made of black cellulose nitrate.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
mid 19th century
ID Number
PH.336789
catalog number
336789
accession number
1978.2216
This is a brass instrument with tortoise-shell covering the barrels. The objective lenses are about 4 cm diameter. The inside of the case is marked “BENJ. PIKE JR.
Description
This is a brass instrument with tortoise-shell covering the barrels. The objective lenses are about 4 cm diameter. The inside of the case is marked “BENJ. PIKE JR. / 294 Broadway / New York.”
Benjamin Pike, Jr., the leading purveyor of scientific instruments in New York in the middle years of the 19th century, sold some things made in the United States, and some imported from Europe. This probably came from France.
Ref: Benjamin Pike, Jr., Illustrated Descriptive Catalogue of Optical, Mathematical, and Philosophical Instruments (New York, 1856), vol. 2, pp. 174-175.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1850
retailer
Pike, Jr., Benjamin
ID Number
PH.334875
catalog number
334875
accession number
312744
Each eyecup of this instrument is marked “LEMAIRE FABT * PARIS *.” The objective lenses are 35 mm diameter. The frame and barrels are textured aluminum. A center wheel adjusts the focus.
Description
Each eyecup of this instrument is marked “LEMAIRE FABT * PARIS *.” The objective lenses are 35 mm diameter. The frame and barrels are textured aluminum. A center wheel adjusts the focus. The carrying case is black leather with a blue silk lining.
Jacques Lemaire began making opera glasses in 1847 and was soon a major manufacturer noted for using mechanization, division of labor and interchangeable parts. M.J.B. Baille joined the firm in 1871 and took charge in 1885.
Ref: Nicholas Gilman, A Dividend to Labor: A Study of Employers’ Welfare Institutions (Boston and New York, 1899), pp. 297–304.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1850-1900
maker
Lemaire
ID Number
PH.336807
catalog number
336807
accession number
1978.2216
Each eyecup of this small instrument is marked “LEMAIRE FABT * PARIS*.” The objective lenses are 30 mm diameter and the optics are good. The frame is a gilt metal. The barrels, eyecups and center focusing wheel are covered with mother of pearl.
Description
Each eyecup of this small instrument is marked “LEMAIRE FABT * PARIS*.” The objective lenses are 30 mm diameter and the optics are good. The frame is a gilt metal. The barrels, eyecups and center focusing wheel are covered with mother of pearl. The number “61” appears on the central brace as does the Lemaire logo, an image of a bee. The carrying case is black leather with a reddish-brown silk lining.
Jacques Lemaire began making opera glasses in 1847 and was soon a major manufacturer noted for using mechanization, division of labor, and interchangeable parts. M.J.B. Baille joined the firm in 1871, and took charge in 1885.
Ref: Nicholas Gilman, A Dividend to Labor: A Study of Employers’ Welfare Institutions (Boston and New York, 1899), pp. 297–304.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1850-1900
maker
Lemaire
ID Number
PH.336801
catalog number
336801
accession number
1978.2216
Each eyecup is marked “COLMONT FABT * PARIS.” The objective lenses are 30 mm diameter. The frame is black metal. The barrels are covered with black leather. A center wheel adjusts the focus.
Description
Each eyecup is marked “COLMONT FABT * PARIS.” The objective lenses are 30 mm diameter. The frame is black metal. The barrels are covered with black leather. A center wheel adjusts the focus. The carrying case is black leather.
Colmont was in business in Paris by the 1880s and still there in the 1950s. Americans could buy Colmont instruments from Sears, Roebuck & Co. and other major firms.
Location
Currently not on view
maker
Colmont
ID Number
PH.336809
catalog number
336809
accession number
1978.2216
Each eyecup of this small instrument is marked “LEMAIRE FABT * PARIS .” The objective lenses are 35 mm diameter and the optics are good. The frame is metal. The barrels are covered with black leather. A center wheel adjusts the focus.
Description
Each eyecup of this small instrument is marked “LEMAIRE FABT * PARIS .” The objective lenses are 35 mm diameter and the optics are good. The frame is metal. The barrels are covered with black leather. A center wheel adjusts the focus. The words “MADE IN / FRANCE” appear on the central brace, as does the trade mark image of a bee. The number “327412” appears on the eye end brace. The carrying case is black leather with a reddish-brown silk lining.
Jacques Lemaire began making opera glasses in 1847 and was soon a major manufacturer noted for using mechanization, division of labor and interchangeable parts. M.J.B. Baille joined the firm in 1871 and took charge in 1885.
Ref: Nicholas Gilman, A Dividend to Labor: A Study of Employers’ Welfare Institutions (Boston and New York, 1899), pp. 297–304.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1850-1900
maker
Lemaire
ID Number
PH.336805
catalog number
336805
accession number
1978.2216
This engraving depicts a large room containing an assortment of mathematical, optical, philosophical, and musical instruments. In one corner of the room, a group of men sit at and stand around a table, deep in discussion.While the title reads "Cabinet Geometrique de Mr.
Description
This engraving depicts a large room containing an assortment of mathematical, optical, philosophical, and musical instruments. In one corner of the room, a group of men sit at and stand around a table, deep in discussion.While the title reads "Cabinet Geometrique de Mr. le Clerc," the image represents the cabinet of the Académie des Sciences, which moved to the Louvre in 1699. The image was created in Paris in 1711-1712 by Sebastien le Clerc (1637-1714), an engraver, engineer, and professor of perspective. The text at bottom of this example—“A Paris chez J. Chereau rue St Jacques au desous de la Fontaine St Severin aux 2 Colonnes No 267”—refers to Jacques Chereau, an engraver and print seller in Paris who sold the engraving later in the century.
Ref: Charles Antoine Jombert, Catalogue Raisonée de l’Œuvre de Sebastien le Clerc (Paris, 1774), vol. 2, pp. 266-267.
E. C. Watson, “The Early Days of the Académie des Sciences,” Osiris 7 (1939): 556-587.
Location
Currently not on view
ID Number
PH.318288
catalog number
318288
accession number
233574
Brass instrument with ivory focusing screw, handle, and covering over the barrels. The objective lenses are 24 mm diameter. The words “LUNETTE D’INVENTION ET DE PERFECTION” appear around each eyecup.Currently not on view
Description
Brass instrument with ivory focusing screw, handle, and covering over the barrels. The objective lenses are 24 mm diameter. The words “LUNETTE D’INVENTION ET DE PERFECTION” appear around each eyecup.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
mid 19th century
ID Number
PH.325419
catalog number
325419
accession number
256202
This is a gold-plated brass instrument with black bakelite handle. The barrels are in part filigreed, and in part covered with simulated tortoise shell. The objective lenses are 24 mm diameter.
Description
This is a gold-plated brass instrument with black bakelite handle. The barrels are in part filigreed, and in part covered with simulated tortoise shell. The objective lenses are 24 mm diameter. The words “PAR BREVETE D’INVENTION ET DE PERFECMENT *” appear around each eyepiece--but what patent this refers to is not known. The case is red cardboard lined with silk.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
late 19th century
ID Number
PH.336790
catalog number
336790
accession number
1978.2216
Instruments of this sort, which projected the image of objects placed on them, came into use in the second half of the nineteenth century. The “J. Duboscq / à Paris / No.
Description
Instruments of this sort, which projected the image of objects placed on them, came into use in the second half of the nineteenth century. The “J. Duboscq / à Paris / No. 54” inscription on this example refers to Jules Duboscq, an important scientific instrument maker in Paris.
This form came to be known, in the twentieth century, as a viewgraph or an overhead projector.
Ref: J. Duboscq, “Appareil pour la projection des corps placés horizontalement,” Journal de Physique Theorique et Appliquee 5 (1876): 216-218.
Debbie Griggs, “Projection Apparatus for Science in Late Nineteenth Century America,” Rittenhouse 7 (1992): 9-15.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
after 1876
1834-1844
1870s
maker
Duboscq, Jules
ID Number
PH.315416
catalog number
315416
accession number
217544
The inscriptions on the eye end of this small optical instrument read “443” and “J. G. Hofmann / rue de Buci 3 / Paris.” That on the objective end reads “J. G.
Description
The inscriptions on the eye end of this small optical instrument read “443” and “J. G. Hofmann / rue de Buci 3 / Paris.” That on the objective end reads “J. G. HOFMANN / PARIS.” Inside is a prism assembly that shortened the length of the instrument but maintained its longer focal length. Both prisms are marked, in pencil, “J.G.H.” The objective lens is marked, in pencil, “J.G. Hofmann à Paris 1862.”
Ignazio Porro (1801-1875) was an Italian engineer who moved to Paris in 1842. In 1847 he established an Institut Technomatique et Optique that manufactured optical instruments for surveying work. He designed the prism assembly, as found in this monocular and in later binoculars, around 1850. He returned to Italy around 1861.
Jean Georges Hofmann was a German optician who worked with Porro in Paris. He would later design and make such instruments as spectroscopes and saccharimeters.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1862
maker
Hofmann, Jean Georges
ID Number
1986.0465.2
accession number
1986.0465
catalog number
1986.0465.2
The mother of pearl eyecups are marked “LEMAIRE FABT * PARIS *.” The objective lenses are 30 mm diameter and the optics are good. The frame is aluminum. The barrels are covered with dark brown leather. The center wheel that adjusts the focus is black metal.
Description
The mother of pearl eyecups are marked “LEMAIRE FABT * PARIS *.” The objective lenses are 30 mm diameter and the optics are good. The frame is aluminum. The barrels are covered with dark brown leather. The center wheel that adjusts the focus is black metal. A small image of a bee, the Lemaire logo, appears on the central brace. The number “609829” appears on the eye end brace. The carrying case is black leather with a red silk lining; the gold lettering in the cap reads, in part, “24 Palais Royal, PARIS.”
If this was made for the American market, the words “MADE IN / FRANCE” on the central brace indicate a date after the McKinley Tariff went into effect on March 1, 1891. If it was made for the British market, the words indicate a date after the British Merchandise Marks Act of 1887.
Jacques Lemaire began making opera glasses in 1847 and was soon a major manufacturer noted for using mechanization, division of labor and interchangeable parts. M.J.B. Baille joined the firm in 1871 and took charge in 1885.
Ref: William Y. McAllister, Illustrated Catalogue of Spectacles, Opera Glasses, Opthalmoscopes and Meteorological Instruments (Philadelphia, 1882), p. 51.
Nicholas Gilman, A Dividend to Labor: A Study of Employers’ Welfare Institutions (Boston and New York, 1899), pp. 297–304.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1900
maker
Lemaire
ID Number
PH.336804
catalog number
336804
accession number
1978.2216
The objective lenses are 16 mm diameter. The frame is aluminum. The barrels are covered with mother of pearl, as is the lorgnette handle and the central focusing knob. The letters “RT” appear in a diamond shape on the mid crossbar.
Description
The objective lenses are 16 mm diameter. The frame is aluminum. The barrels are covered with mother of pearl, as is the lorgnette handle and the central focusing knob. The letters “RT” appear in a diamond shape on the mid crossbar. The words “MADE IN FRANCE” appear on the inner crossbar. The case is simulated reptile skin.
If these glasses were intended for the British market, the “MADE IN FRANCE” designation indicates that they were made after Parliament passed the British Merchandise Marks Act of 1887. If they were intended for the American market, the designation indicates they were made after the McKinley Tariff went into effect on March 1, 1891. One provision of the McKinley Tariff stated that “all articles of foreign manufacture” shall “be plainly marked, stamped, branded, or labeled in legible English words, so as to indicate the country of their origin; and unless so marked, stamped, branded, or labeled, they shall not be admitted to entry.” In the words of a somewhat disingenuous Treasury Department Circular, this provision would protect Americans “from the imposition of inferior goods.”
Location
Currently not on view
date made
early 20th century
ID Number
PH.336793
catalog number
336793
accession number
1978.2216

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