Description

Well used but NOT abused, this fully functional polarising binocular microscope was one of only a handful of binocular microscopes made by Browning over his 50 year career. Ross pattern claw foot tripod design, square mechanical and fully rotateable stage with substage parabolic condenser, every aspect of this microscope works smoothly and clearly.

Standing 16 inches tall (over 20 inches fully racked up), the original lacquer is spotty  and worn on working surfaces (I suspect it was stored in a damp location). The double sided 2 inch mirror is spidered but has 90% reflectivity. It is signed John Browning , London, 254 in flowing script, on the foot. Browning made less than a thousand microscopes in his career as he was more interested in spectroscopy than ordinary optics. Most of the surviving microscopes are either monocular or folding field models, making this one a rarity.

Inside the case is the original bullseye condenser on round base (flawless) and a separate mahogany case with 5 eyepieces (matching high and low power pairs and a single high power eyepiece for monocular use when the prism is extracted. Also included are 3 beautifully engraved objectives in their original canisters. They include a 1/4 inch. 1/2 inch covered/uncovered with correction collar, a 1 inch and a 2 inch (see last 6 photos). In addition, a nosepiece polariser in canister, a camera lucida in canister and a signed Sorby- Browning microspectrometer for the monocular tube (found inside the case-6 inches in length).

The mahogany case measures 18 x 11 x 10 inches with robust folding brass handle to the top. Original lock intact (working on a key among 100 spares). Most of the trim from the case is absent, confirming my opinion about storage abuse over the centuries but the case is solid with no shrinkage cracks or structural faults.

John Browning’s career spanned 50 years from 1851-1900 making this microscope one of his earlier exploits into microscopy. It must have been a special order item, judging by the accessories. Somebody (or group) with an interest in spectroscopy, polarisation, gemmology, crystalography, etc. would have employed his forte for this type of instrument.