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HOUSEHOLD MICROSCOPE

c. 1879-1885

SIGNED: 'R. & J. Beck' on the 'R' and 'Philadelphia' on the 'B.'

SERIAL NUMBER: none

MODEL: HOUSEHOLD

DESCRIPTION HISTORY

Beck Household Microscope

Beck Household Microscope Beck Household Microscope
Beck Household Microscope McAllister Household Microscope Signatures

 

DESCRIPTION:

Beck Household Scope Signature The microscope is a small Lister Limb instrument, which has as its distinctive feature, its foot. The foot takes the form of the firm's letters, R, J, and B. The R is reversed on the left side of the RJB, obviously to make the foot symmetrical. It is signed 'R. & J. Beck on the 'R' and 'Philadelphia' on the 'B.' The gimbaled single-sided mirror is on a fixed tailpiece and is of the flat form. Focusing is by sliding the tube in its sleeve.



HISTORY

Beck Household microscopes engravings The Beck version of the 'Household' microscope was made by the same French firm that made many other 'Household' microscopes. Except for the shape of the foot, the scope is otherwise identical to the Walmsley, Queen and W.Y. McAllister instruments. Just like the Queen model, options included rack and pinion focusing and an achromatic objective. The optical tube, including the objective and eyepiece, is identical not only to the Walmsley instrument, but also the W.Y. McAllister version and the Queen versions. The history of the origin of the 'Household' microscope is shown in a separate page on this site.