Antique E. Leitz Wetzlar Compact Brass Microscope with Wheel-of-Stops, c1885

This listing is for a beautifully presented and well engineered early example of an antique upright microscope by Ernst Leitz Wetzlar. It dates from around 1885 based on the sequential production number of 6640 which is engraved onto the brass stage - see one of the listing photos. This example is in all-original condition and has been well looked after by its former custodians. It also benefits from good optics, a solid horseshoe base, brass stage with original specimen retaining clips and a wheel-of-stops for controlling the illumination levels.

This example has got pretty good lacquered brass hardware showing few signs of age-related tarnishing and just a little spotting here and there, very much in keeping with careful usage over the last 135 years. The brass-work catches the light very well giving a nice warm golden glow, which I hope the listing photos demonstrate. This compact Leitz microscope is essentially an excellent piece of period optical engineering, based on quality materials, solid construction, clever design and attention to detail. Despite its small size and footprint only standing just over 10 inches tall, this is actually quite a sturdy little period microscope in good original condition, fully working, with few signs of wear and bags of character and period charm. It's got a great look and patina and is an interesting example of a compact brass Leitz from the 19th century.

The instrument's main coarse focus is by push-pull sliding of the main optical tube, which has a smooth action and is very intuitive to use, also holding in position as it should. Fine focus is achieved via a brass thumb-wheel at the rear of the upper frame which moves the fine focus mechanism against sprung resistance and works very well with a smooth operation. Turning to the optics, this microscope comes fitted with a nice 10x magnification period eyepiece with internal pointer. There is one conical brass objective fitted, which is unmarked and will be around 10x magnification giving the instrument around 100x magnification overall as currently configured. In the listing photos you can see I've included a photo taken through the eyepiece just by balancing an iPhone on it - this shows some of the hairs on a water beetle specimen using the vintage Flatters & Garnett slide that's also shows in some of the listing photos.

The image quality is actually even better in real life than it looks in the listing photo, because of the limitations of just balancing an iPhone on the eyepiece. The rectangular stage has original brass clips and this system is excellent for retaining slides for viewing and display.

The stage is also engraved with the maker's name and instrument number. With the sub-stage, we currently have a wheel-of-stops arrangement with five different sized apertures. Lighting is via a single-sided concave mirror on an adjustable gimbal mounting that's got a useful thumb-screw adjuster on the main upright. The mirror is in pretty good condition showing some age-related foxing but still perfectly functional.

All controls operate reasonably smoothly including coarse focus, fine-focus, wheel-of-stops and the concave mirror. The instrument has been cleaned and lubricated so all controls operate as intended.

Overall dimensions are: - height - just over 10 inches tall. Width of base - 3 inches. Length of base - 3.5 inches. Base thickness - 0.725 inches.

In summary, this is a charming visual and also a capable working example of a classic early Leitz instrument, simple in design, but well made and one which has withstood the passage of time very well. It's essentially very much in collectable condition, displaying amazingly well for a compact stand. There is no case with this example at present.

Thanks for looking - please also check out my other listings if you get a chance. Leitz Wetzlar Compact Brass Microscope with Wheel-of-Stops, c1885" is in sale since Monday, September 20, 2021. This item is in the category "Antiques\Science/Medicine\Scientific Instruments". The seller is "arcboutant" and is located in Glasgow.

This item can be shipped to United Kingdom, Antigua and barbuda, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Australia, United States, Bahrain, Canada, Japan, New Zealand, China, Israel, Hong Kong, Norway, Indonesia, Malaysia, Mexico, Singapore, South Korea, Switzerland, Taiwan, Thailand, Bangladesh, Belize, Bermuda, Bolivia, Barbados, Brunei darussalam, Cayman islands, Dominica, Ecuador, Egypt, Guernsey, Gibraltar, Guadeloupe, Grenada, French guiana, Iceland, Jersey, Jordan, Cambodia, Saint kitts and nevis, Saint lucia, Liechtenstein, Sri lanka, Macao, Monaco, Maldives, Montserrat, Martinique, Nicaragua, Oman, Pakistan, Peru, Paraguay, Reunion, Turks and caicos islands, Aruba, Saudi arabia, South africa, United arab emirates, Ukraine, Chile, Bahamas, Colombia, Costa rica, Guatemala, Honduras, Jamaica, Kuwait, Panama, Philippines, Qatar, Trinidad and tobago, Uruguay, Viet nam.

Period: 1800 to 1900
Antique: Yes
Material: Brass
Type: Microscope