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The microscope is signed on the limb J. Grunow. New York, No. 950. It dates from around 1890. The Grunow brothers, Julius and William, emigrated from Germany to New York around 1849. They started in the scientific instrument business by first working for the optician Benjamin Pike of that city. By 1854, they began their own operation in New Haven CT where they concentrated on the production of microscopes. By 1864, they were back in New York. Some years later, the partnership ended. J. Grunow continued on to produce microscopes up to around 1892. The total output of the Grunows was limited in comparison to some other contemporary firms; on the basis of the observed serial numbers, they manufactured just over one thousand microscopes in total.