This style of microscope was first
made by the optician Louis Joseph Deleuil (1795-1862)
in Paris. It was based on a design by the chemist
François-Vincent Raspail
(1794-1878), considered the Father of Histochemistry,
Also, see this article.
The microscope is
supplied with a full set of four objectives, a glass
stage insert, and a group of dissection tools. While
Deleuil was the first optician to make one of these
simple microscopes, the design became very popular
and was copied by several of the other French manufacturers.
This form of microscope has what is known
as an “aquatic motion”. The use of the word “aquatic” to describe
these types of microscopes is due to the fact that the stage can accommodate a
large glass insert for preparations in water and that the horizontal arm holding the objective can be
moved forward and back using the knob located at the back the
arm. The arm can also swivel in an arc making it ideal for the
observation of live aquatic organisms. Basically, this microscope
is a updated version of the one popularized by John Ellis in
the 18th century. In this case, Raspail adapted a microscope with an “aquatic motion” for his histochemical studies.