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Microscope Museum Collection of antique microscopes and other
scientific instruments |
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Microscope 545 (unassigned maker; pillar-type linen tester; late 19th
century to the early 20th century)
Microscope 545 is a pillar-type linen tester, or linen prover, and
should be dated from the late 19th century to the early 20th
century. These instruments would be used for counting threads in fabrics (the
number of threads per unit of length provides evidence of a higher quality of
cloth). This is the most basic type of linen tester; the base has a single or
more tiny pillars supporting the optics above (microscope 545 has two tiny
pillars arising from the base). The basic form had a fixed focus, but focusing
models were sold as well. Linen testers have been made and sold by many
companies since at least the early 19th century and were rarely
signed by their makers or retailers (Figure 1). Pillar-type linen testers
were eventually supplanted by the folding versions and other types of thread
counters in the early twentieth century.
Figure 1. Pillar-type linen testers engraved in the catalogues
of Palmer from 1840 (A) and Negretti & Zambra from 1859 (B) and from the 1870s (C) |
