Science & Mathematics

Chemical Balance

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.

Place: New York

American Manufacturing Rule Advertising O. D. Morrill Typewriters

This 6" wooden rule is divided to 1/32" and numbered by ones. It is marked: AMER. MFG. CONCERN, FALCONER, N.Y. It is also marked: 314 S. State St., (/) Ann Arbor; SINCE (/) 1908; O. D.
Description
This 6" wooden rule is divided to 1/32" and numbered by ones. It is marked: AMER. MFG. CONCERN, FALCONER, N.Y. It is also marked: 314 S. State St., (/) Ann Arbor; SINCE (/) 1908; O. D. MORRILL (/) Typewriters, Adding & Office Machines; PHONE (/) 6615; Office Supplies (/) and Equipment.
The back has two drawings of typewriters and is marked: O. D. MORRILL, 314 S. State St., Ann Arbor (/) Typewriters, Adding and Office Machines of All Makes (/) Bought – Sold – Rented – Exchanged – Cleaned – Repaired (/) Office and Student Supplies – – – – – Stationery (/) Since 1908 • Typewriting and Mimeographing • Phone 6615.
In 1888 William T. Falconer and D. E. Merrill formed a partnership in Falconer, N.Y., to produce wooden items such as rulers, washing machines, and toys. The firm incorporated as American Manufacturing Concern in 1910. Between 1930 and 1950, the company shifted its emphasis to wooden furniture. In 1978 the firm was renamed Fancher Chair Company.
Oscar David Morrill (c. 1884–1949) began selling office machines and supplies to University of Michigan students and local residents in 1908. The store was still on State Street in 1917, but by 1920, it advertised itself as on Nickels Arcade in Ann Arbor. From 1931 to at least 1958, the store again gave its address as 314 S. State Street. (The two locations are around the corner from each other.)
References: Mattatuck Museum, "Apothecaries Hall Ruler," acc. no. 98.12.4, http://www.mattatuckcollections.org/Obj494$248; Fancher Chair Company, "Our History," http://fancherchair.com/history-fancher-chair.html; Polk's Ann Arbor, Ypsilanti, and Washtenaw County Directory (Detroit: R. L. Polk & Co., 1917), 482; D. C. Millen, Ann Arbor Guide (Dewitt C. Millen, 1920), 13; University of Michigan, Michiganensian (Ann Arbor, 1931), 546.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1931–1950
maker
American Manufacturing Concern
ID Number
MA.335273
accession number
314637
catalog number
335273

Straight Edge Signed Eberhard Faber

This undivided, black hard rubber rule is beveled along both long edges. It is marked: EBERHARD FABER (/) NEW YORK. John Eberhard Faber (1822–1879) began making pencils in New York City in 1861. In 1872 his factory moved from Manhattan to Brooklyn, where it remained until 1956.
Description
This undivided, black hard rubber rule is beveled along both long edges. It is marked: EBERHARD FABER (/) NEW YORK. John Eberhard Faber (1822–1879) began making pencils in New York City in 1861. In 1872 his factory moved from Manhattan to Brooklyn, where it remained until 1956. The company also made and sold other office supplies, expanding in 1898 by forming the Eberhard Faber Rubber Company of Newark, N.J., to make erasers and rubber bands. Compare this object to MA.319738.
Reference: Donald G. Presa, "Eberhard Faber Pencil Company Historic District Designation Report," New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission, 2007, http://www.nyc.gov/html/lpc/downloads/pdf/reports/Eberhard_Faber.pdf.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
early 20th century
maker
Faber, Eberhard
ID Number
MA.327306
accession number
266152
catalog number
327306

Baby Calculator Adder

The orange, black, and tan paper box contains a black and gold-colored metal instrument, instructions on pink paper, and a metal stylus.
Description
The orange, black, and tan paper box contains a black and gold-colored metal instrument, instructions on pink paper, and a metal stylus. The device has seven columns for addition.
The Baby Calculator was a handheld adder manufactured by the Calculator Machine Company of Chicago from at least 1925 into the 1940s. The Tavella Sales Company of New York City distributed this example. According to the box, it sold for $2.50 in the United States and $3.00 in Canada and other foreign countries. It has hooks at the top of each column for carrying in addition, but none at the bottom to assist in borrowing in subtraction.
References:
Typewriter Topics (March 1925), 59:76.
Popular Mechanics (January, 1935), p. 128A; vol. 73 (March, 1940), p. 143A; vol. 83 (February, 1945), p. 192. A new design was introduced in 1945. See Popular Mechanics, April, 1945, p. 202.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1925
distributor
Tavella Sales Company
maker
Calculator Machine Company
ID Number
MA.155183.27
catalog number
155183.27
accession number
155183

Keuffel & Esser Military Protractor

This yellow xylonite (celluloid-like plastic) rectangular protractor is contained in a paper wrapper marked: MILITARY PROTRACTOR (/) MADE BY (/) KEUFFEL & ESSER CO. (/) NEW YORK.
Description
This yellow xylonite (celluloid-like plastic) rectangular protractor is contained in a paper wrapper marked: MILITARY PROTRACTOR (/) MADE BY (/) KEUFFEL & ESSER CO. (/) NEW YORK. It is divided by degree and marked by tens from 10° to 170° and from 190° to 350°, both in the clockwise direction. An arrow points to the origin point. A small hole near the 160° mark permits a weight to be suspended so that the protractor functions as a rough clinometer, to measure angles of elevation or slope.
Four slope scales appear on the bottom edge of the instrument. These allow draftsmen to read or draw topographical contours indicating slopes in landforms of 7° and 3-1/2°; 8°, 4°, 2°, and 1°; 10°, 5°, and 2-1/2°; and 12°, 6°, 3°, and 1-1/2°, respectively. The scales for each set of slope measurements are not indicated, but they presumably are standard scales for American military engineering, such as 1:63,360 and 1:25,000.
A scale of inches divided to tenths and marked by ones from 0" to 5" appears on the interior of the protractor. Below that scale are three scales for 1", 3", and 6" to the mile, respectively. Each scale is divided in 100-yard increments. The first is marked by thousands of yards from 1,000 to 8,000; the second is marked by 500 yards from 500 to 2,500; and the third is marked by 500 yards from 500 to 1,000.
Maker's and owner's marks are near the lower edge: KEUFFEL & ESSER CO.; NEW YORK; ENG. DEPT. U.S.A. 1918. The United States Engineering Department was part of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in the 19th and 20th centuries. K&E began to sell this form of military protractor between 1916 and 1921, so this object may have been in use during World War I (as the markings suggest). In 1936, the protractor cost $3.50. The design of the instrument changed again between 1936 and 1943. K&E noted in the 1943 catalog that the changed form was manufactured according to the specifications of the Corps of Engineers.
See also 1977.1141.08 and 1977.1141.09.
References: Norman J. W. Thrower and Ronald U. Cooke, "Scales for Determining Slope from Topographic Maps," The Professional Geographer 20, no. 3 (1968): 181–186; Catalogue of Keuffel & Esser, 34th ed. (New York, 1913), 172; Catalogue of Keuffel & Esser, 35th ed. (New York, 1916), 172; Catalogue of Keuffel & Esser, 36th ed. (New York, 1921), 119; Catalogue of Keuffel & Esser, 38th ed. (New York, 1936), 203; Catalogue of Keuffel & Esser, 39th ed. (New York, 1943), 110. Although the illustration is correct in the 1921 catalog, the description is of the form advertised in the 1913 and 1916 catalogs. The 1936 description matches the illustration printed in 1921 and 1936, as well as this example of the military protractor.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1918
maker
Keuffel & Esser Co.
ID Number
MA.325515
accession number
257193
catalog number
325515

Keuffel & Esser 1741 Thacher Cylindrical Slide Rule

In 1881, Edwin Thacher, a "computing engineer" for the Keystone Bridge Company in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, received a patent for an improvement in slide rules. Thacher, a graduate of Rennselaer Polytechnic Institute, spent much of his career designing railway bridges.
Description
In 1881, Edwin Thacher, a "computing engineer" for the Keystone Bridge Company in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, received a patent for an improvement in slide rules. Thacher, a graduate of Rennselaer Polytechnic Institute, spent much of his career designing railway bridges. To assist in his calculations, he designed a cylindrical slide rule. Thacher's rule, though it fit on a desk, was equivalent to a conventional slide rule over 59 feet long. The rule had scales for multiplication and division and another scale, with divisions twice as large, for use in finding squares and square roots. There were no trigonometric scales.
To produce his "calculating instrument," Thacher turned to the London firm of W. F. Stanley. The company even designed a special dividing engine for preparing the scales for the instrument. These were printed on paper sheets, which were pasted to the drum and the slats. In this example, the paper is also printed in italics on the right side: Patented by Edwin Thatcher [sic], C.E. Nov. 1st 1881. Divided by W. F. Stanley, London, 1882. Made by Keuffel & Esser Co. N.Y. Wayne Feely has suggested that K&E began manufacturing (as opposed to simply distributing) Thacher cylindrical slide rules in 1887, indicating 1887 is the earliest date for this example of the instrument.
The drum is rotated with wooden handles. The cylinder of slats is held in place with a brass frame, which is affixed to a wooden base. A paper of DIRECTIONS AND RULES FOR OPERATING is glued to the front of the base. A small silver metal tag affixed to the front right of the base is engraved: KEUFFEL & ESSER CO. (/) NEW-YORK (/) 589. A metal extension on the front, screwed to both sides of the frame, bears a fixed holder and thumbscrew that once held a magnifying glass.
A paper K&E label on the inside lid of the instrument's mahogany case is marked in ink: 1741/589 (/) Thacher's (/) Calculating (/) Instr. The inside of the lid and the bottom of the base are both painted: M59. The back of the base is missing a chip 5 cm in length. The left and right sides of the case both bear labels marked in ink: INSTRUMENT (/) CALCULATING (/) THATCHER. A diagonal line is drawn through the second T in "Thatcher" on the right side.
Keuffel & Esser Company of New York sold versions of the Thacher cylindrical slide rule from at least 1883 until about 1950. There were two models, one with a magnifying glass (K&E model 1741, K&E model 4013 after 1900), and one without (K&E model 1740, later K&E 4012). This is a model 1741. In 1892, the model 1741 sold for $40.00. The Physics Department of the United States Military Academy transferred this example to the Smithsonian in 1958.
References: Edwin Thacher, "Slide-Rule" (U.S. Patent 249,117 issued November 1, 1881); Wayne E. Feely, "Thacher Cylindrical Slide Rules," The Chronicle of the Early American Industries Association 50 (1997): 125–127; Peggy Aldrich Kidwell, Amy Ackerberg-Hastings, and David Lindsay Roberts, Tools of American Mathematics Teaching, 1800–2000 (Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 2008), 113–114; Wilfred Scott Downs, ed., "Nickel, Frank F.," Who's Who in Engineering, (New York, 1931), iii:957; Catalogue of Keuffel & Esser (New York, 1892), 131. This was the first K&E catalog to list the model 1741.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1890s
maker
Stanley, William Ford
Keuffel & Esser Co.
ID Number
MA.315663
accession number
217544
catalog number
315663

Somers Bros. Rule and Paper Cutter, Advertising Horlick's Malted Milk

This yellow-coated tin combination rule and paper cutter has a 9" scale divided to eighths of an inch along one long edge. The other long edge is shaped into a tube, which may serve as a handle while cutting paper.
Description
This yellow-coated tin combination rule and paper cutter has a 9" scale divided to eighths of an inch along one long edge. The other long edge is shaped into a tube, which may serve as a handle while cutting paper. The rule is marked: Compliments (/) of HORLICK'S FOOD Co (/) RACINE, WIS. It is also marked: HORLICK'S FOOD (/) IS THE BEST DIET (/) for INFANTS (/) and INVALIDS (/) &c. Advertising text also appears around the tube, including the information that 18 ounces of the product cost 75¢. The back of the rule is marked: SOMERS BROS. BROOKLYN, N.Y. Compare to MA.293320.2814.
William Horlick (1846–1936) and his brother, James, emigrated from England in 1869 and settled in Racine, Wis. In 1872 the men moved to Chicago, where they established Horlick's Food Company before moving the firm back to Racine in 1876. They worked on dried milk powders, leading to William's patent for the first malted milk powder in 1883. This product is the one advertised on this object, for use as a baby formula and to provide easily-digestible nutrition to nursing mothers, people with stomach problems, and the like.
Joseph L. and Guy A. Somers began manufacturing tin products in Brooklyn, N.Y., in 1862. When a third brother, Daniel McLean, joined the firm in 1869, the business was renamed Somers Bros. It became known for lithographing designs onto tinware. In 1901 American Can Company took over the firm's operations. A three-acre factory building constructed in 1884 still stands. Richard S. Thain of Oak Park, Ill., patented the design for this combination ruler and paper cutter in 1885.
References: James Horlick and William Horlick, "Improvement in Concentrated Extracts for Food" (U.S. Patent 163,493 issued May 18, 1875); William Horlick, "Granulated Food for Infants and Process of Preparing the Same" (U.S. Patent 278,967 issued June 5, 1883); Wisconsin Historical Society, "'That's Meat and Drink to Me': Wisconsin's Malted Milk Story," 1996–2004, http://www.wisconsinhistory.org/museum/exhibits/horlicks/; Oak Clearing Farm and Museum, "Racine Time Line: Tid-Bits of History 1699–1899," 2000, http://www.racinehistory.com/timeline.htm; "Somers, Joseph L.," National Cyclopaedia of American Biography (New York: James T. White and Company, 1922), xviii:85; "Daniel McL. Somers Dead," New York Times, August 30, 1912.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1885–1901
advertiser
Horlick's Corporation
maker
Somers Brothers
ID Number
MA.293320.2815
accession number
293320
catalog number
293320.2815

Microscope

Bausch & Lomb introduced their Small Continental in 1891. This example is a New Continental BB of the sort introduced three years later.
Description
Bausch & Lomb introduced their Small Continental in 1891. This example is a New Continental BB of the sort introduced three years later. It is a compound monocular with coarse and fine focus, double nosepiece (one is missing), inclination joint, large rectangular stage with vulcanite top, sub-stage iris diaphragm, sub-stage two-sided mirror, and large horseshoe base. The inscription on the base reads “Bausch & Lomb Optical Co. / ROCHESTER, N.Y. & NEW YORK CITY.” The 16666 serial number, on a circular tag on the back of the base, indicates a date of 1894.
Ref: Henry Bausch, “New American Microscopes, made by Bausch & Lomb Optical Co., Rochester, N.Y.,” Proceedings of the American Society of Microscopists 13 (1891): 116-119.
“A New Continental Microscope,” Proceedings of the American Society of Microscopists 15 (Oct. 1894): 12-14.
Bausch & Lomb, Microscopes and Accessories (Rochester and New York, 1895), pp. 4-5.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1895-1898
maker
Bausch & Lomb Optical Company
ID Number
MG.M-12201
accession number
272522
catalog number
M-12201

Microscope

Bausch & Lomb introduced their Investigator microscope in 1880, telling the American Society of Microscopists that they “confidently claim to have reached a higher degree of perfection than is possessed by any one approximating it in price.” Three years later, the firm termed thi
Description
Bausch & Lomb introduced their Investigator microscope in 1880, telling the American Society of Microscopists that they “confidently claim to have reached a higher degree of perfection than is possessed by any one approximating it in price.” Three years later, the firm termed this a “moderate-priced instrument” with “features of a first-class and high-priced stand.” At that time, the instrument and case cost $40; with two objectives and camera lucida it cost $65. In the 1890s, Bausch & Lomb termed this an American Type Microscope, model H. With triple nosepiece, as here, it cost $81.50.
This example is of that sort. It is a compound monocular with coarse and fine focus, inclination joint, triple nosepiece, circular stage, sub-stage dome diaphragm and double-sided mirror attach to a bar that can be angled up and down, and trileg base. The inscription on the stage reads “Bausch & Lomb / Optical Co.” The inscription on the arm reads “PAT. OCT. 3, 1876 / PAT. OCT. 13, 1885.” There are three objectives: one by Bausch & Lomb, and two by Spencer & Smith.
Ref: “Microscopes and Objectives by the Bausch & Lomb Optical Company,” in J. Edwards Smith, How to See with the Microscope (Chicago, 1880), pp. 344-345.
Bausch & Lomb, Price List of Microscopes, Objectives and Accessories (Rochester, 1883), pp. 22-23.
Bausch & Lomb, Microscope, Microtomes, Apparatus for Photo-Micrography, and Bacteriology Laboratory Supplies (Rochester and New York, 1896), pp. 38-39.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1890
maker
Bausch & Lomb
ID Number
MG.M-12200
accession number
272522
catalog number
M-12200

Microscope

Bausch & Lomb introduced their Physician’s microscope in 1877, boasting that it was “firm and well balanced” and well adapted “to the use of physicians and students.” The stand and case cost $40; with two objectives and camera lucida it cost $65.
Description
Bausch & Lomb introduced their Physician’s microscope in 1877, boasting that it was “firm and well balanced” and well adapted “to the use of physicians and students.” The stand and case cost $40; with two objectives and camera lucida it cost $65. Ernst Gundlach, the Prussian immigrant who had become superintendent of the firm’s new microscope department in 1876, was largely responsible for the form.
This example is a compound monocular with coarse and fine focus, double nosepiece, rectangular stage, inclination joint, sub-stage aperture ring with three different diaphragms, sub-stage mirror, curvaceous base, and wooden box with extra lenses. The body and tube are nickel-plated brass; the base is black iron; the stage is heavy glass. The inscription on the tube reads “BAUSCH & LOMB OPTICAL CO. ROCHESTER, N.Y.” That on the arm reads “PAT. OCT. 3. 1876.” That on the metal slide holder reads “PAT. DEC. 25, 77.”
This microscope was used by Robert Selden (1847-1921), a physician in Catskill, New York. The 1594 serial number on the card in the box indicates a date around 1881.
Ref: Bausch & Lomb, Price List of Microscopes (Rochester, 1877), p. 6.
Ernst Gundlach, “Microscopes,” U.S. Patent 182,919 (Oct. 3, 1876).
Ernst Gundlach, “Moveable Slide Holder,” U.S. Patent 198,607 (Dec. 25, 1877).
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1881
maker
Bausch & Lomb
ID Number
MG.M-11497
accession number
262401
catalog number
M-11497
262401.01

Oil Flask for Carrel-Lindbergh Perfusion Pump

This oil flask, designed by Charles Lindbergh, was used in conjunction with the Lindbergh-Carrel perfusion pump (see record MG*M-09361) in experiments at Rockefeller Institute to keep small animal organs alive outside of the body.
Description (Brief)
This oil flask, designed by Charles Lindbergh, was used in conjunction with the Lindbergh-Carrel perfusion pump (see record MG*M-09361) in experiments at Rockefeller Institute to keep small animal organs alive outside of the body. The organ was kept sterile within the inner chambers of the perfusion pump while a nutrient-rich fluid was pumped into the organ’s artery. The oil flask provided the pulsating power for the system. When connected to the pump, the flask operated like an oil piston to drive the nutrient solution through the animal organ. The flask, like the perfusion pump, was made from Pyrex glass by master glassblower Otto Hopf, who worked at Rockefeller Institute at the time Alexis Carrel (1873–1944) was carrying out his investigations in tissue and organ culture.
The oil flask consists of two chambers and seven openings. When in operation it was partially filled with oil and connected through rubber tubing to a gas cylinder, an air tank, and several perfusion pumps. Pulses of air entered the outer chamber of the flask at the lower valve, driving oil up through the inner chamber and compressing the control gas, which entered the upper chamber at one of the top valves. This compressed gas transmitted pulses of pressure to the perfusion pumps, which drove the perfusion fluid through the pump and to the animal organ resting in the upper chamber. The oil flask was designed to operate three perfusion pumps, a configuration that was utilized by Lindbergh and Carrel in their experiments. Lindbergh describes in detail the perfusion pump, oil flask, and the apparatus assembly in his 1935 article “An Apparatus for the Culture of Whole Organs” and in the 1938 book The Culture of Organs.
Sources:
Carrel, Alexis, and Charles A. Lindbergh. The Culture of Organs. New York: P.B. Hoeber, Inc., 1938.
Lindbergh, C. A. “An Apparatus for the Culture of Whole Organs.” The Journal of Experimental Medicine 62.3 (1935): 409–31. PMC. Web. 14 July 2015. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2133279/
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1935
designer
Lindbergh, Charles A.
ID Number
MG.M-09362
catalog number
M-09362
accession number
224610
catalog number
224610.14

Microscope

Bausch & Lomb introduced their Large Continental in 1891, noting that “no efforts have been spared to make the stand the most complete and fitted with all modern improvements and appliances.” This example is a compound monocular with coarse and fine focus, triple nosepiece (but o
Description
Bausch & Lomb introduced their Large Continental in 1891, noting that “no efforts have been spared to make the stand the most complete and fitted with all modern improvements and appliances.” This example is a compound monocular with coarse and fine focus, triple nosepiece (but only one objective), inclination joint with clamp (the handle is made of celluloid), large circular stage, sub-stage Abbe condenser and iris diaphragm, and support for sub-stage mirror (the mirror is missing). The instrument is brass, the draw tube is nickel plated, and the stage is covered with vulcanized rubber. The inscription on the horseshoe base reads “Bausch & Lomb Optical Co. / ROCHESTER, N.Y. & NEW YORK CITY / 14317.” The serial number indicates a date around 1894.
Ref: Henry Bausch, “New American Microscopes, Made by Bausch & Lomb Optical Co., Rochester, N.Y.,” Proceedings of the American Society of Microscopists 13 (1891): 116-119.
Bausch & Lomb, Microscopes and Accessories (Rochester and New York, 1895), pp. 8-10.
Henri Van Heurck, The Microscope (London, 1893), pp. 141-142.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1894
maker
Bausch & Lomb Optical Company
ID Number
MG.M-12198
accession number
272522
catalog number
M-12198

Microscope

This Continental model BB is a compound monocular with coarse and fine focus, triple nosepiece, inclination joint, square stage covered with vulcanite, sub-stage apparatus with condenser and iris diaphragm, adjustable bar for sub-stage mirror (mirror is missing), and “Bausch & Lo
Description
This Continental model BB is a compound monocular with coarse and fine focus, triple nosepiece, inclination joint, square stage covered with vulcanite, sub-stage apparatus with condenser and iris diaphragm, adjustable bar for sub-stage mirror (mirror is missing), and “Bausch & Lomb Optical Co. / NEW YORK ROCHESTER, N.Y. CHICAGO” inscription on the horseshoe base. Bausch & Lomb boasted in 1900 that “Fully one-half of all microscopes sold by us are BB’s” and the “very best laboratories are equipped with them.” The 33851 serial number here indicates a date of 1901.
Ref: Bausch & Lomb, Microscopes and Accessories (Rochester, N.Y., 1900), pp. 34-35.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1901
maker
Bausch & Lomb
ID Number
MG.M-12206
accession number
272522
catalog number
M-12206

Microscope

This low-power binocular microscope is a Spencer Model 56 with coarse and fine focus, rotating triple nosepiece (only one objective survives), large rectangular stage, and wooden box.
Description
This low-power binocular microscope is a Spencer Model 56 with coarse and fine focus, rotating triple nosepiece (only one objective survives), large rectangular stage, and wooden box. The inscription reads “SPENCER / BUFFALO / USA / 121744.” The serial number indicates a date of 1933. A S.I. tag on the arm reads 31968.
The Spencer Lens Co., in 1929, described their New Universal Binocular Microscopes No. 55 and No. 56 as “exceptionally large instruments” that met “in a most satisfactory way the demand for a large stage.” Each was equipped with Spencer’s new “Multiple Revolving Nosepiece” in which was dust-proof, and so arranged that the objectives could be easily removed and replaced with others.
Ref: Spencer Lens Co., Catalog of the More Popular Spencer Microscopes, Microtomes and Accessories (Buffalo, N.Y., 1929), pp. 30-31.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1933
maker
Spencer Lens Company
ID Number
MG.M-11419
accession number
260035
catalog number
M-11419

Microscope

This Bausch & Lomb Petrographical Microscope Model LCH is a compound monocular with coarse and fine focus, handle arm, inclination joint, revolvable circular stage, polarizers and analyzers, adjustable mirror bar, and modified horseshoe base.
Description
This Bausch & Lomb Petrographical Microscope Model LCH is a compound monocular with coarse and fine focus, handle arm, inclination joint, revolvable circular stage, polarizers and analyzers, adjustable mirror bar, and modified horseshoe base. The form is based on the design of Frederick Eugene Wright, a geologist with the Carnegie Institution of Washington. The inscriptions on the objective read “Bausch & Lomb Optical Co. / Rochester, N.Y.” and “SERIES 1 / ⅔ 0.25 N.A. / TUBE LENGTH 160.0 M.M.”
Ref: Bausch & Lomb, Microscopes and Accessories (Rochester, N.Y., 1919), pp. 66-67.
F. E. Wright, “A New Petrographic Microscope,” American Journal of Science 29 (1910): 407-414.
Albert Johannsen, Manual of Petrographic Methods (New York, 1918), pp. 211-212.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1915
maker
Bausch & Lomb
ID Number
MG.M-12210
accession number
272522
catalog number
M-12210

Microscope

This is a Continental model AB of the sort that Bausch & Lomb introduced in the 1890s. It is a compound monocular with micrometer screw for fine focus, square stage, and sub-stage mirror. The inscription on the black horseshoe base reads “BAUSCH & LOMB OPTICAL Co.
Description
This is a Continental model AB of the sort that Bausch & Lomb introduced in the 1890s. It is a compound monocular with micrometer screw for fine focus, square stage, and sub-stage mirror. The inscription on the black horseshoe base reads “BAUSCH & LOMB OPTICAL Co. / ROCHESTER, N.Y. NEW YORK CITY.” The objective is missing. The 37718 serial number indicates a date of 1902.
Ref: Bausch & Lomb, Microscopes and Accessories (Rochester, N.Y., 1900), pp. 26-27.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1902
maker
Bausch & Lomb
ID Number
MG.M-12203
accession number
272522
catalog number
M-12203
272522.18

Microscope

Compound monocular microscope with a push-pull focus, square stage, sub-stage mirror, circular base, and a “GUNDLACH MANHATTAN OPTICAL CO.” inscription.
Description
Compound monocular microscope with a push-pull focus, square stage, sub-stage mirror, circular base, and a “GUNDLACH MANHATTAN OPTICAL CO.” inscription. That firm was formed in 1902 when the Gundlach Optical Company of Rochester, N.Y., acquired the Manhattan Optical Company of Cresskill, N.J., and it remained in business as such until 1926.
Ernst Gundlach (1834-1908) was a German optician and mechanic who arrived in the United States in 1872, became superintendent of the newly established microscope department of Bausch & Lomb in 1876, established the Gundlach Optical Company in 1878, and returned to Germany in 1900.
Ref: D. J. Warner, “Ernst W. Gundlach. German-American Optician,” Rittenhouse 10 (1995): 1-18.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1902-1926
maker
Gundlach, Ernst
ID Number
MG.317925.05
catalog number
317925.05
accession number
317925

Microscope

This Continental microscope is a heavy compound monocular with coarse and fine focus, triple nosepiece, trunnion, circular mechanical stage, and Lister limb with elaborate sub-stage condenser and sub-stage mirror.
Description
This Continental microscope is a heavy compound monocular with coarse and fine focus, triple nosepiece, trunnion, circular mechanical stage, and Lister limb with elaborate sub-stage condenser and sub-stage mirror. The inscriptions on the horseshoe base read “Bausch & Lomb Optical Co. / NEW YORK ROCHESTER CHICAGO” and “25908.”
The florid inscription on the tube reads “G. V. BLACK / Presented / by the CLASS OF ’99 / and / The Alumni Association of the Northwestern University / DENTAL SOCIETY / March 1899.” Greene Vardiman Black (1836-1915) was the second dean of the Northwestern University Dental School.
Ref: Bausch & Lomb, Microscopes, Microtomes, and Apparatus for Photo-Micrography (Rochester, N.Y., 1896), pp. 26-27.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1899
maker
Bausch & Lomb
ID Number
MG.M-11505
catalog number
M-11505
accession number
263971
catalog number
263971.01

Microscope

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1937
maker
Spencer Lens Company
ID Number
MG.315328.02.01
catalog number
315328.02
accession number
315328

Microscope

This compound monocular is a Spencer Model 44 with coarse and fine focus, curved arm, double nosepiece, square stage, inclination joint, sub-stage condenser and diaphragm, sub-stage mirror (this is missing), horseshoe base, and wooden box.
Description
This compound monocular is a Spencer Model 44 with coarse and fine focus, curved arm, double nosepiece, square stage, inclination joint, sub-stage condenser and diaphragm, sub-stage mirror (this is missing), horseshoe base, and wooden box. The inscription reads “SPENCER / BUFFALO / USA / 47339.” The serial number indicates a date of 1918.
The Spencer Lens Co. boasted in 1920 that the No. 44 was “the most popular of all Spencer Microscopes. Thousands are now in daily use in medical and general laboratories, also by physicians.” In 1930, it claimed that the No. 44 was “the most popular of all Spencer microscopes for routine work in the laboratory of the hospital, medical school, or general practitioner.” It was “simple in design and durable in construction,” and “fully meets all standard requirements.”
Ref: Spencer Lens Co., Catalog of Spencer Microscopes, Microtomes and Accessories (Buffalo, 1920), pp. 32-33.
Spencer Lens Co., Catalogue (Buffalo, N.Y., 1930), p. 17.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1918
maker
Spencer Lens Company
ID Number
MG.M-11515
accession number
260035
catalog number
M-11515

Microscope

Wide field binocular dissecting instrument with very short tubes incorporating Porro prisms, rack-and-pinion focus, triple drum nosepiece, square stage, and wooden box. Bausch & Lomb introduced the basic form in 1925, and various modifications in subsequent years.
Description
Wide field binocular dissecting instrument with very short tubes incorporating Porro prisms, rack-and-pinion focus, triple drum nosepiece, square stage, and wooden box. Bausch & Lomb introduced the basic form in 1925, and various modifications in subsequent years. This example was used at the Rockefeller Institute for Medical Research in New York. The inscription reads “B. & L. O. CO.” The 229585 serial number indicates a date around 1930.
Ref: Bausch & Lomb ad in Transactions of the American Microscopical Society 44 (April 1925): iii.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1930
maker
Bausch & Lomb
ID Number
MG.M-09355
accession number
224610
catalog number
M-09355
serial number
229585

Microscope

Bausch & Lomb explained that their Model LA was “especially constructed for petrographical and mineralogical work to supply the demand for a thoroughly reliable instrument having all essential features at a very moderate cost.” This example is a compound monocular with coarse and
Description
Bausch & Lomb explained that their Model LA was “especially constructed for petrographical and mineralogical work to supply the demand for a thoroughly reliable instrument having all essential features at a very moderate cost.” This example is a compound monocular with coarse and fine focus, inclination joint, triple nosepiece, circular revolving circular stage, substage dome diaphragm, sub-stage mirror. A double chambered box in the tube holds the analyzing prism; the polarizer is mounted below the stage. The inscription on the black horseshoe base reads “Bausch & Lomb Optical Co. / ROCHESTER N.Y. & NEW YORK CITY.” The 52778 serial number indicates a date around 1905.
Ref: Bausch & Lomb, < i>Microscopes and Accessory Apparatus (Rochester, 1904), pp. 40-41.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1905
maker
Bausch & Lomb Optical Company
ID Number
MG.M-12208
accession number
272522
catalog number
M-12208

Microscope

Spencer Model 18 compound monocular with coarse and fine focus, triple nosepiece, large square stage, inclination joint, sub-stage diaphragm, sub-stage mirror, and horseshoe base. The microscope is brass; the arm and base are black.
Description
Spencer Model 18 compound monocular with coarse and fine focus, triple nosepiece, large square stage, inclination joint, sub-stage diaphragm, sub-stage mirror, and horseshoe base. The microscope is brass; the arm and base are black. The inscription on the base reads “Spencer Microscope / ALOE CO. Sales Agents / No. 91092.” The serial number indicates a date of 1925.
Spencer introduced the Model 18 in 1917, describing it as “a very high-grade instrument” that was “specially recommended for research work and for those with wish the very best equipment, but with a plain, rectangular stage.” In 1924, the firm noted that “its exceptional symmetry of design and beauty of finish adapt it especially for the physician’s office where dignified appearance as well as utility are matters of prime importance.”
This belonged to Elmer Patton Bostwick (1893-1958), a bacteriologist who spent many years working to ensure the consistency and quality of processed foods.
Ref: Spencer Lens Co., Catalogue of Spencer Products (Buffalo, N.Y., 1917), p. 22.
Spencer Lens Co., Catalogue of Spencer Products (Buffalo, N.Y., 1924), p. 22.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1925
maker
Spencer Lens Company
ID Number
MG.302435.01
catalog number
302435.01
accession number
302435

Microscope

Antoni Van Leeuwenhoek (1635-1723) was a Dutch tradesman who became interested in microscopy while on a visit to London in 1666.
Description
Antoni Van Leeuwenhoek (1635-1723) was a Dutch tradesman who became interested in microscopy while on a visit to London in 1666. Returning home, he began making simple microscopes of the sort that Robert Hooke had described in his Micrographia, and using them to discover objects invisible to the naked eye.
In 1886, John Mayall, a prominent English microscopist, made drawings of an original Leeuwenhoek microscope that belonged to the Zoological Laboratories at the University of Utrecht, and that a Dutch professor had brought to London. Replicas followed soon thereafter.The inscription on this example reads “REPLICA OF MICROSCOPE / BY ANTONY VAN LEEUWENHOEK / ABOUT A.D. 1665 / MADE IN 1957 BY / BAUSCH & LOMB CO. / ROCHESTER, N.Y.”
Ref: J. Mayall, “Leeuwenhoek’s Microscopes,” Journal of the Royal Microscopical Society 6 (1886): 1047-1049.
J. van Zuylen, “The Microscopes of Antoni van Leeuwenhoek,” Journal of Microscopy 121 (1981): 309-328.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1957
maker
Bausch and Lomb Optical Company
ID Number
MG.M-12187
accession number
272522
catalog number
M-12187
272522.02

Carrel-Lindbergh Perfusion Pump

This perfusion pump was invented by aviator Charles Lindbergh and Dr.
Description
This perfusion pump was invented by aviator Charles Lindbergh and Dr. Alexis Carrel, recipient of the 1912 Nobel Prize for Physiology and Medicine for his work in vascular surgery.
The glass pump was used to preserve animal organs outside the body, by pushing "artificial blood" through the pump and into the organ by way of a tube connected to the organ's artery keeping the organ alive for weeks. The Lindbergh-Carrel perfusion pump led to the development of the heart-lung machine and the feasibility of stopping the heart for open-heart surgery.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1935
inventor
Lindbergh, Charles A.
maker
Hopf, Otto
ID Number
MG.M-12299
catalog number
M-12299
accession number
279576

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