This is a direct-vision spectroscope with a seven-part prism. The three sections (collimator, prism train and telescope) screw together to form an instrument 18 inches long overall. The “John Browning / London” inscription refers to John Browning (ca. 1831-1925), the first important English spectroscope maker. The “Alex. R. Newman” inscription on the top of the mahogany box has not been identified. The “1173” incised on the inside of the box may be a serial number.
Browning introduced the seven prism form in 1869. A reliable text published in 1872 stated that this instrument “commends itself by the excellence of its performance, the facility of its use, the smallness of its dimension, the purity of colour, and its low price.”
Ref: John Browning, How to Work with the Spectroscope (London / New York, 1878).
H. Schellen, Spectrum Analysis in its Application to Terrestrial Substances, and the Physical Constitution of the Heavenly Bodies (London, 1872), p. 119.
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.
A refractometer measures the refractive index of stuff. Ernst Abbé built his first one in 1869 and used it in his work designing lenses for the Carl Zeiss Optical Works in Jena, Germany. Zeiss began advertising Abbé refractometers in 1881. The inscriptiion on this example reads “N˚ 148 Carl Zeiss Jena” and “Germany.” Zeiss records indicate that it was delivered to J. W. Queen & Co., an important instrument dealer in Philadelphia on July 2, 1890. Queen sold it to the Department of Chemical Engineering at the University of Michigan.
Ref: Richard A. Paselk, “The Evolution of the Abbé Refractometer,” Bulletin of the Scientific Instrument Society 62 (1999): 19-22.
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.
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.”
The objective lenses are 36 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 carrying case is black leather.
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.
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.
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.
A heliostat throws sunlight where it might be used for photography or scientific observations. This example has one glass mirror 9.5 cm in diameter, a clockwork mechanism, and a tripod base with leveling screws. The “Gambey à Paris” inscription refers to Henri-Prudence Gambey, a mathematical instrument maker who won a gold medal at the Paris exhibition of 1823 for his heliostat of new construction.
Ref: D. J. Warner, “Gambey’s American Customers,” Rittenhouse 4 (1990): 65-78
Jean Baptiste François Soleil, a leading optical instrument maker in Paris, invented the saccharimeter in 1845, described it to the Académie des Sciences, and received a gold medal from the Société d’Encouragement pour l’Industrie Nationale. This new instrument was a form of polariscope that determined the saccharine strength (or purity) of a sugar solution by measuring the extent to which that solution rotated the plane of polarization of polarized light passing through it.
The inscription on this example reads "SACCHARIMETER-SOLEIL J. Duboscq, rue de l’Odeon 35 a Paris" and "No. 133." Jules Duboscq was an instrument maker who apprenticed with Soleil, married his daughter, and assumed control of the scientific side of the business following Soleil’s retirement in 1849. The address is that of the Soleil shop where Duboscq remained until the early 1860s.
This saccharimeter used a Nicol prism to polarize the light and a pair of quartz wedges to analyze it. A linear scale developed by the French chemist Clerget (missing in this example) indicated the optical rotation of the liquid in the observation tube. The vertical cylinder in the tube held a thermometer.
Small direct vision spectroscope with a “WILLIAM J. HAMMER, CONSULTING ELECTRICAL ENGINEER, 26 CORTLANDT, NEW YORK” inscription in the case. William J. Hammer (1858-1934) worked with Thomas Edison at Menlo Park and had wide interests in electrical science and technology. By 1890 Hammer was an established consulting engineer in New York City. It is unknown how and when the spectroscope ended up in Hammer’s collection. He may have purchased it for use or it may have been given to him for evaluation.
Ref: Robert S. Harding, “Register of the William J. Hammer Collection, c. 1874-1935, 1955-1957,” 1986.
United Press Syndicate, “William J. Hammer: Consulting Electrical Engineer,” no. 1038, ca 1910.
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.
The frame of these glasses is gilt metal. The barrels and eyecups are covered with mother of pearl, as is the center wheel that adjusts the focus. The objective lenses are 39 mm diameter. The quality of the optics suggests that this is a 12 lens instrument.
