Among the accessories
supplied with this microscope are two objectives marked
2 and 4 that are stored in a leather covered box, two
eyepieces marked 0 and 1, an aperture stop holder with
three stops, a steel hand forceps, a brass stage
micrometer, and a diatom test slide. While the microscope itself is unsigned, the original magnification chart survived indicating that the
microscope was manufactured by the firm Franz Schmidt & Haensch, Berlin.
After completing their apprenticeships with Wilhelm Langhoff,
Herrmann Haensch and Franz Schmidt founded, in 1864, the firm Franz Schmidt & Haensch in Berlin. Schmidt was in charge of the production of saccharimeters (polarimeters) and other polarization instruments, while Haensch was responsible for microscope and spectroscope production. Microscopes by the firm are relatively uncommon compared to those produced by the other leading German firms of the period. It has been estimated that the firm produced about 2500 microscopes in total with the last one being made in 1893. To this day, the firm remains a family owned business, Schmidt & Haensch GmbH & Co., with headquarters in Berlin.