Microscope Museum

Collection of antique microscopes and other scientific instruments

 

Camera lucida Beale type (c. 1900)

 

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Camera lucida Beale-type dated from c. 1900. The camera lucida is an optical device which allows one to see both an object, and a drawing surface located on the table in front of the observer, superimposed in one field of view. Although originally described by Kepler in 1611, it was apparently not actually constructed until the beginning of the 19th century (and was later adapted for microscopy). The simplest form, and one of the most popular, was the Beale type (named after the English microscopist Lionel Beale), which uses a simple piece of tinted glass at a 45 degrees angle to reflect the image, allowing a simple superimposed view. This type of camera lucida was commonly supplied with English microscopes. The Beale model requires the use of the microscope in the horizontal position and the image is reversed right to left. Both these problems can be solved by adding a second reflecting surface further away from the optical axis, such as a mirror, or by using different kinds of prism arrangements. Many different variations of the camera lucida were devised.