This is a typical small
model drum type microscope dating from the mid-19th
century. It was made by Camille
Sébastien Nachet (1799-1881), one of the foremost
French manufacturers of microscope during the period.
The microscope is supplied with three eyepieces and
three objectives which are stored in a small mahogany
box. The microscope also is supplied with a stage
condenser for illuminating opaque specimens. A drum
microscope, such as the one shown here, having a column
with a square cross section does not appear in the 1856
or later Nachet catalogs suggesting that this
microscope dates prior to 1856.