Signed on the back of the base: L. Schrauer, Maker, New York

and on one leg of the base: W. M. Keene, B. Sc. M. D.

Continental style monocular microscope, c.1890

Signed on the back of the base: L. Schrauer, Maker, New York and on one leg of the base: W. M. Keene, B. Sc. M. D. Continental style monocular microscope, c.1890 Signed on the back of the base: L. Schrauer, Maker, New York and on one leg of the base: W. M. Keene, B. Sc. M. D. Continental style monocular microscope, c.1890
Signed on the back of the base: L. Schrauer, Maker, New York and on one leg of the base: W. M. Keene, B. Sc. M. D. Continental style monocular microscope, c.1890
Signed on the back of the base: L. Schrauer, Maker, New York and on one leg of the base: W. M. Keene, B. Sc. M. D. Continental style monocular microscope, c.1890

The mirror arm can be raised above the stage to illuminate opaque objects from above. Imbedded within the stage is wheel with 5 apertures.

 

Signed on the back of the base: L. Schrauer, Maker, New York and on one leg of the base: W. M. Keene, B. Sc. M. D. Continental style monocular microscope, c.1890
Hartnack objectives

Leopold Schrauer only made the microscope stands and never made his own objectives. He supplied his microscopes with objectives manufactured by both American and European firms. The optics supplied with this particular microscope consist of two eyepeices and two Hartnack objectives numbered 2 and 7.

Signed on the back of the base: L. Schrauer, Maker, New York and on one leg of the base: W. M. Keene, B. Sc. M. D. Continental style monocular microscope, c.1890. Signature engraved with the owner's name : W. M. Keene, B. Sc. M. D.

One leg of the base is engraved with the name of the original owner of the microscope, W. M. Keene, B. Sc. M. D. So far, I have not been able to locate any information about a medical doctor with that name. It is engraved in the same hand that engraved the Schrauer signature suggesting that the microscope was made by Schrauer specifically for Dr. Keene.

storage case microscope in the case

The microscope, with its horseshoe base and tapered pillar, resembles the continental model that was popular at the end of the 19th century. However, the microscope differs from the standard continental microscope in some important ways. In the continental model, the fine adjustment mechanism moves the entire limb along with the body-tube. With this Schrauer model however, the fine adjustment is actually a spring-loaded long lever mechanism. One end of the lever engages the screw of the adjustment knob while the other end moves the body tube along with the main focusing adjustment. The limb remains stationary. The substage of this microscope consists of an aperture wheel embedded in the stage. In addition, unlike a typical continental model, the mirror on this microscope is mounted on an adjustable swinging arm capable of being positioned above the stage for illumination of opaque objects. Leopold Schrauer first began the manufacture of microscopes in the late 1850's in Boston. By 1877, he was located in New York City. While an 1878 advertisement lists Schrauer at 50 Chatham St. NY, an 1879 advertisement lists him at 42 Nassau St. NY. Schrauer microscopes are relatively uncommon compared to those sold by some of the other contemporary American manufacturers.

A similar continental style microscope is located elsewere in this collection. It differs from the present example in the method used to focus the mirror and the use of aperture stops instead of a diaphragm wheel.

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