Microscope Museum

Collection of antique microscopes and other scientific instruments

 

    

Microscope 480 (The Science Accessories Co; Midgard pocket microscope; c. 1920)

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Microscope 480 is a simple pocket microscope from c. 1920. This microscope has a single simple lens with a magnification of 50x and a recess into which a slide could be fitted for examination. The two protruding bars attach to a spring within the instrument that hold the slide in place once it is inserted. The eyepiece of the microscope could then be moved in and out to focus the image of the object of interest. The original box of the microscope contains an instructions label, in which the instrument is identified as “Midgard Pocket Microscope”. The retailer is also identified as “The Science Accessories Co., 47 Devonshire Road, Palmers Green, London” (Figure 1). Microscopes like this example became popular in the late 19th and early 20th centuries and were manufactured mainly in France and Germany.

 

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Figure 1. Advert of the Midgard pocket microscope, by The Science Accessories Co., published in “The Bulletin” in 1922.