Antique Microscope Slide Cabinet complete with 992 of the very finest Specimens

Offered for sale is an exceptional Collection of Victorian Microscope slides housed in the very best R&J Beck Mahogany Cabinet. Carefully collected over a period of over 10 years, it represents the finest group of quality specimens by a range of Professional slide mounters. The contents include specimens from all areas of the natural world. From the geology that makes up our earth and all the creatures and plants that inhabit the planet, to exhibition slides that demonstrate the mounters skill, all from the heyday of this fascinating period of discovery and interest in the scientific and natural world. A Cabinet of slides of this magnitude is rarely offered for sale. The contents have been specially selected as the finest of their type, both for condition and presentation. Some slides are exceptionally rare, and many are, I consider unique. I consider this collection to be world class and is, in my experience as good as, or better than any found in an institution or most high end private collections. I cannot emphasise strongly enough how much time and effort has gone into collecting and compiling this magnificent collection. A full description follows of each drawer and details of some of the slides of special interest.

Manufactured by R & J Beck in London around 1880, this is the finest Mahogany Cabinet available at the time. With a glazed door and 29 numbered drawers, each labelled with the contents. Original door lock and hinges, brass swing handles to the sides and capacity to house 1008 standard sized slides complete with additional storage in the bottom drawer. Ebony and Ivory numbered drawer pulls and a brass makers plaque complete the picture.

The condition of this fine Mahogany cabinet is faultless. These slides represent the mounters skill in this intricate art.

Many are of little scientific interest but demonstrate the skill and ingenuity of the Victorian Mounter in a day before the luxury of electric light and modern mounting methods. The minute diamond engravings and Butterfly scale pictures are of particular interest and individually command high prices. The Lords Prayer written within a 1/2000. Diamond engraving by William Webb.

Constructed from the individual scales of the wings of Butterflies. Retailed by Watson & Son. 100 species of Diatoms, arranged.

Special Group of 81 Sponge Spicules by Richard Suter. Various groups of Butterfly eggs, Flower seeds, Star fish spines, Polycystina and Diatoms etc.

All Produced by John Norman and other members of his enterprising family. Diverse range of Specimens from Worldwide locations including semi-precious material and Fossils. Some with retailers labels attached. Fossil Wood from Lough Neigh. Paper labelled slides by Edmund Wheeler.

Specimens from Worldwide locations including specific monuments and buildings. Granite from Grinsel pass, Switzerland. Nummulitic Limestone from The Foundations of the Great Pyramid. Pre-historic Lava from Mount Somma, Naples.

Basaltiform Limestone from the Himalayas. Lava from Mount Vesuvius Eruption. An impressive display of Spiders by Various mounters including many by Frederick Enock, famed for his insect Slides. A few duplicates, but good examples of both Male and Female species of. Slides of various Human diseases.

Some of Historical importance as they were common in Victorian times or have since become eradicated in the West. Some very interesting title descriptions. A few large and impressive sections. Cirrhosis of Liver from a Gin Drinker. Section of Colliers lung showing Carbon deposits. Lung of a Sheffield Grinder. Diseased Human Lung from a Chimney sweeper. A good range of Histology slides including Fine embryo sections and a group of Corroded/Injected preparations produced by Charles Morgan Topping. A broad selection of Bones and Teeth from some uncommon species. Many produced by Smith, Beck & Beck around 1860. Always a favourite subject of the Microscope slide maker.

This a collection of the very finest. Slides include Male/ Female examples of the same species and some exotic species are included.

All are well mounted, and condition is excellent. Norman, Edmund Wheeler, Clarke & Page, Ernest Hinton and W.

Watson (who would have bought in slides from many of the previous mentioned mounters). A second impressive drawerful of Whole Insect mounts.

Norman, Frederick Enock, Richard Suter, Arthur Cole and Henry Ebbage feature. A good range of Insect histology and Dissections including a fine group of whole Insect heads by Clarke & Page, mounted in fluid filled cells. These date from around 1920.

Others are Victorian in date. Eggs of Insects, Butterflies and Moths, and of Parasites of named species. All prepared by John Norman and/or members of his family. Many are mounted In situ, attached to the feathers of their hosts.

A rare group of oversized slides by Karl Thiersch. Karl Thiersch was an early pioneering German slide maker. Thiersch supplied Smith & Beck with their early slides for sale in the UK. Reference - Quekett Journal of Microscopy Issue 41. Winter 2012 for a comprehensive biography. Uncommon and very collectable early slides. A drawerful of slides by Frederick Enock. Generally acknowledged as the finest mounter of insects. Famous for his Fairy Fly preparations. There are 2 examples included here.

Parasite of the Indian Flying Fox. Mostly double and triple sections by the Norman family and a handful by Edmund Wheeler.

Triple Sections are typically Horizontal, Transverse and Radial. Several exotic species are represented. Including some oversized sections by James Lomax and Norman.

Spencer of Halifax, James How, Edmund Wheeler and Charles Topping. Some fine thin sections of Fossil plants and stems.

A mixture of single species, small groups and strews. All examples by William Firth. A single species and small groups and larger arrangements and circles from Worldwide locations. 36 Microphotographs by 3 different mounters. (The inventor of this genre).

A good mix of subject matter. Real photographs and engravings of artworks. A good and varied collection, selected for their excellent and dramatic viewing under polarised light. Various mounters including 12 uncommon examples by J. Mounted by Clarke & Page. These fine examples are all nearly exclusively fluid Mounts of the highest quality and condition.

Some unusual species and hosts, including. Parasite of Red Thighed Harrier.

Slides of significant historical importance. Mapping the depth of the oceans in a systematic fashion for the very first time. Many named and unnamed examples from the H. Challenger expedition and many other specimens, detailing the location and depth, probably from the same expedition.

Also examples from the ships S. Atlantic and Greek Cable dredgings, Atlantic Cable dated 1865 etc. Various mounters with specimens from Worldwide locations.

Selected for their quality and condition. Many exotic species as well as specimens native to the UK and Europe. Predominately Gold Nuggets and Gold dust.

Large spread of Worldwide locations. Varied collection of Leaves, Stems, Petals, Roots, Ovaries and Pollen etc. Selected for their fine condition and variety. 12 slides by Andrew Pritchard c.

Set of 12 slides by Arthur Cole. Snake histology Transverse sections (from head to tail, including stomach contents).

12 slides by Watson & Sons. Sand grains from Worldwide locations. Set of 12 slides by Watson & Sons. Various exotic species from Worldwide locations. Linen Mummy Cloth from Ancient Thebes.

Feathers of Humming Bird (arrangement). Final drawer of superb slides.

Many mounters are represented here and many fine and uncommon slides. Parasite of Passenger Pigeon (famously extinct). Multi Blood discs examples (Bird, Man, Fish, Snake, Frog). Fairy Slippers (mouth bones of Star Fish).

Volcanic Dust from 1902 eruption. This final drawer contains the necessary equipment for slide preparation. Brass and Mahogany ringing table by Flatters & Garnett. Ross of London Improved reversible Slide compressorium. Box of Flatters & Garnett spring Clips. Various boxes of Cover slip glasses. There are a total of 992 fine and exceptional slides housed in this magnificent cabinet together with various slide preparation accessories. The item "Antique Microscope Slide Cabinet complete with 992 of the very finest Specimens" is in sale since Thursday, December 6, 2018.

This item is in the category "Collectables\Scientific Collectables\Scientific Instruments\Microscopes". The seller is "richieathome" and is located in Bristol. This item can be shipped worldwide.

Period: 1800 to 1900
Modified Item: No
Material: Glass
Type: Scientific Instruments
Sub-Type: Microscopes
Country/Region of Manufacture: United Kingdom