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Microscope Museum Collection of antique microscopes and other
scientific instruments |
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Microscope
219 (Carl
Zeiss; Stand VII; c. 1900)
In
1846, Carl Zeiss opened a workshop for precision mechanics and optical
instruments in Jena. He focused his activities more and more on microscope production.
Soon he was supplying not only the regional market but also shipping his
wares around the world. In 1866, Carl Zeiss recruited the physicist Ernst
Abbe to help him improve his microscopes. In 1877, Ernst Abbe became a
partner in the company. After the passing of Carl Zeiss in 1889, Ernst Abbe
created the Carl Zeiss Foundation, which would become the company’s sole
owner. Since the 1890s, Abbe’s findings and his style of working have also
been adopted in other fields of optics. This led to the creation of all-new
products, new business areas and rapid growth for the company. In 1893, the
first subsidiary was opened in London. Before the outbreak of WWI, sites were
established across the world, which then had to be closed when war broke out.
There were more ups and downs between then and 1945. Thereafter, the sites
outside Germany have been developing in a stable manner and today, Carl Zeiss
AG is a holding company with several subsidiaries. In addition to its sites
in Oberkochen and Jena, its main production sites
are in Wetzlar and Göttingen in Germany, Dublin and
Minneapolis in the US, and Shanghai in China. Microscope 219 is engraved on
the foot with ‘Carl Zeiss Jena’ and the serial number ‘37693’ (both barely
visible). This instrument is dated to c. 1900 and is identified as a stand
VII (also engraved on the foot) in a Carl Zeiss’s catalogue from 1902 (Figure
1).
Figure
1.
Carl Zeiss’s stand VII microscope as engraved in the company’s 1902 catalogue
n. 32. References ZEISS History (https://www.zeiss.com/corporate/int/about-zeiss/history.html), last accessed on
02.08.2020 Carl Zeiss, Jena
#9546, Stativ VII, c. 1886. Continental style
microscope (http://www.antique-microscopes.com/photos/zeiss_9546.htm), last accessed on
04.10.2021 LAST
EDITED: 04.10.2021 |
