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MIRAND MICROSCOPE WITH LEVER STAGE MOVEMENT:

c. 1895

Signed on the arm and stage: MIRAND FILS, CONST^R Á PARIS, R GALANDE 57

Serial Number: None

Mirand Microscope

DESCRIPTION

The instrument has the name and address engraved both on the arm and the stage. Coarse focus is by rack and pinion, fine focus by fine screw on the sprung limb on the continental pattern. There is a continental horseshoe foot. There is a drawtube that can be extended. The mirror is convex and can swing under the stage, but not above it. The stage has a lever movement, but this is the simpler French variety with the left side of the stage supported by a slotted screw (slotted left to right). Although the lever can move the stage left or right, forward and backward motion is only possible in an arc. The screw holds the stage down on its support on the left side, but on the right this is accomplished by a spring around the lever. There is a wheel of stops under the stage to adjust lighting. The eyepiece, with a number '6' appears to be original. The microscope functions fairly well for an instrument over 100 years old, and the lever stage actually is quite effective. There is an unusual accessory holder in the shape of a 'T' attached to the left front of the stage; it could easily have held a bullseye condenser.

HISTORY OF THE MIRAND MICROSCOPES

The Mirand company was well known in France through most of the nineteenth century. They are noted in a report of the Paris exhibition of 1867, and the address engraved on the microscope is the one recorded in records from the 1895 Union of Instrument Makers of Paris. Mirand instruments are uncommon, but not rare. They are sometimes dated to early in the 19th century, but most examples still available are from the late 19th century or later. Portable models which fit on to their cases are well-known. A binocular model that has reportedly been sold at auction in the past, but other examples of the binocular type are not known. For unknown reasons, major collections of the world often lack microscopes by Mirand. For a comprehensive review of the history of Mirand, please see the article by Brian Stevenson on his site Microscopist.net.