Description

Offered for sale is a collectable example of an antique monocular brass microscope by quality makers Moritz Pillischer Opticians of London.   The instrument is numbered 295, so is a fairly early example and will date to around sometime in the 1860s.  It’s a usable instrument, although in view of some condition issues mentioned in full in the listing particulars its forte is probably as a display piece in a suitable setting, with occasional light use – please read full listing.

Background to M Pillischer Opticians

Moritz Pillischer emigrated from Hungary to London in 1845, where he began producing microscopes and other scientific and mathematical instruments from about 1849 onwards.  Moritz’s nephew James moved to London around 1860 to work for his uncle and later became Moritz’s son-in-law, after marrying one of his daughters. Pillischer did not make his own lenses until 1854, initially providing French-made objectives with his instruments. There were a number of different models produced by Pillisher over the active period, including the following:

– The Lenticular microscope – an early c1850s portable instrument
– The Kosmos microscope – a well-specified Lister-limb model normally in monocular configuration
– The International microscope – a bar-limb design often supplied with attached bulls-eye condenser
– The Improved Medical microscope – this model
– The Student model – forerunner of the Improved Medical model

Moritz Pillischer was elected as a Fellow of the Royal Microscopical Society in 1855 and joined the Quekett Microscopical Club in 1869. By 1881, Moritz had moved to Hove, Sussex, although he retained ownership of the Pillischer optical business. He handed over ownership of the business to his son-in-law in 1887 and passed away at his Sussex home in 1893. James joined the Quekett Microscopical in 1895, and the Royal Microscopical Society in 1898. After James’ death in 1930, the company was inherited by his three children, Edward, Leopold, and Bertha and the business was eventually liquidated in 1947.

This example of a Pillischer monocular instrument is known as the Improved Medical Microscope and will probably date to the early 1860s – there’s an extract from Antique Microscopes showing this model’s 1873 catalogue entry in the listing photos.  In view of its design for the medical profession it may appeal to collectors of medical instruments or indeed those currently in or retired from medical and allied professions.  It’s in decent cosmetic condition and presents really well with some gleaming brass-work details and lovely age-appropriate patination along with some evidence here and there of historic polishing by fastidious former custodians.  It’s survived pretty well over the last 160 years or so and the brass-work still glints when its catches the light and I hope that the listing photos do the instrument justice. 

The instrument’s look and feel is of a quality not found in modern microscopes in that’s it’s fashioned from solid brass, giving it a weighty feel and quite an imposing presence when extended for use with draw-tube and coarse focus racked out.

Technical details – the construction is a Y-shaped foot with twin uprights supporting a pivot and an elegant elongated Lister-type upper limb, the design of which is reminiscent of Watson’s Jackson model microscope from the late Victorian era.  The coarse focus is by rack and pinion with the older-style horizontal cut, which has quite a smooth action and holds in position as it should through its working range.  Fine focus is via a small brass thumb-wheel located on the front of the main tube, being a vernier screw acting against sprung resistance on the nose-piece only.  The mechanism works with adequate springiness in the nose-piece, however the adjustment thumb-wheel is a little worn and the resulting range of fine focus adjustment is quite small.

In terms of its optics, this microscope has a graduated eyepiece draw-tube with smooth action that holds in position on adjustment and it’s supplied with an original vintage approx 5x top-hat brass eyepiece which works well.  It’s currently just got a single Pillischer objective lens which screws directly into the optical tube – this is unmarked and appears to be a low-power objective of about about 1 inch focal length, so it will be around 6x magnification.

The magnification range currently available with its current optics is therefore is around 30x with the draw-tube set at standard length, plus this will increase as you extend the draw-tube – you also have to re-focus on your specimen.  I’ve tested the optics with various antique slides of insect specimens and the images are perfectly acceptable when using good illumination.

The instrument tilts for inclined viewing and holds in position through its working range as it should and it can be tightened as required.  The all-brass specimen stage is fully mechanical with x/y axis controls on opposite sides of the stage, which work as they should and along with rotational adjustment, give smooth control of specimen position.  It’s worth noting that the second brass thumb-wheel usually fitted to the concentric controls on the right hand side of the stage looks to me like it’s been removed and attached to the fine focus mechanism in order to get that function re-built and operational, which is an interesting solution and the first time I’ve observed that modification.  There’s a sliding top-plate with rest for holding slides steady which works quite well.  The top-plate can also rotate through a full 360 degrees and also slide off the dovetails completely for cleaning.

Turning to the sub-stage, we currently have a brass friction-fit mount on a dovetail slider that’s got an internal diameter of 32mm.  It’s currently fitted with a twist-action iris for stopping down the illumination and whilst this works, it only moves through about a quarter of its range, restricting the available illumination adjustment.  However, in view of the low-power objective supplied it’s perfectly possible to use the instrument without the iris fitted.  There’s also a slot for adding filters, although the brass receiver is somewhat bent out of shape.  Lighting is via a plano-concave mirror in a brass gimbal mount with height and rotation adjustment, with period silvering showing some foxing to both sides and a bit of silvering loss with reflectivity that’s perfectly adequate.  There’s also some play in the mirror support sleeve, which appears to be a minor issue, but worth mentioning.

There’s also a desk-top bull’s eye condenser with this instrument, which is in part brass and will be a later addition – as shown in the listing photos.  Bull’s eye condensers are useful accessories for illuminating opaque specimens for viewing via reflected light techniques.

The instrument has been sensitively cleaned and also lightly lubricated with non-hardening grease, so that the controls operate smoothly.  This example displays really well having quite a presence, with some lovely brass-work details.  The instrument is also endowed pretty well all over with age and use-related patination including evidence of historic polishing.  Overall, this example of a Pillischer Improved Medical Microscope should make a great display piece, perhaps in a library or home office type of setting, especially when set up with an appropriate antique slide. 

There’s no storage case with this instrument at the present time.

Owing to the weight and delicacy of this antique microscope, it will be partially dismantled, carefully wrapped for shipping and dispatched by insured courier upon receipt of cleared funds.