PILLISCHER 1850 Model

DESCRIPTION:


This Lister-limb microscope is based on a large Y-shaped foot with twin curved uprights typical of the Pillischer microscopes, but also used by Field & son and Watson on their Society of Arts models. It is signed in fancy old English: J. Martin, and below that in embellished capital print South Shields, and numbered below that 13.

Coarse focus is by rack and pinion with the older-style horizontal gear teeth. Fine focus is via a short lever acting on the nosepiece, moved via a knob on a fixed fine-threaded screw, acting against the sprung resistance of the nosepiece. The fine focus knob is divided into 10 divisions, with a zero label on one of the divisions.

The main tube accepts standard RMS threaded English objectives designed for a 10 inch (254 mm) tube length. There is no draw tube. Given the the large scale of the instrument, this is surprising, even though one is not required optically. The Instrument is supplied with a single top-hat brass eyepiece, which works well giveing nice bright images of about 6X magnification.

There is a Turrell type mechanical stage which uses concentric controls on the right for rack and pinion movement in the Y axis, and a constant lead and cylindrical follower design for the X-axis. On the left of the mechanical stage is a single knob that controls only the Y-axis. The X and Y ranges of travel are both 1 inch (25.4 mm). This type of stage was provided by Powell & Lealand on most of their stands and later by other makers, especially the Baker company where Curties, who had previously made these stages for Powell & Lealand, was foreman. The top plate of the stage has a sliding bar to hold the specimen slide or other equipment. The plate it slides onto can rotate manually.

Turning to the sub-stage, there is a removable narrow brass plate which fits into a dove-tail mount. The plate has a condenser lens that can be pushed in or pulled out. It’s also possible to use the instrument without the condensing lens in situ with lower power objectives. Lighting is via a 3 inch(76 mm) diameter plano-concave mirror in a brass gimbal mount with height and rotation adjustment.

The nicely finished dovetailed hardwood case has a drawer with a ring-pull to the right with no fittings inside, and another with ring-pull with fittings for objective cans on the left. There is a heavy brass handle on top of the case which shows substantial loss of lacquer. There is a crack on the rear of the left side of the case with wood bulging out. The hinges may not be original, and have replaced screws. There is a new brass catch on the left side of the case to hold it closed. The lock is present but there is no key.

DIMENSIONS:
The foot dimensions are shown in the illustration to the right. The outside spread of the two toes at the front of the foot measures 7.5 inches(190 mm), and the distance from the rear toe to a line drawn across the tips of the front toes is 8 inches(203 mm). The main optical tube measures 1 1/2 inches (38.2 mm) in outside diameter. The overall height of the microscope from the table with the main tube vertical and racked all the way down is about 16 1/2 inches (420 mm). The center of the inclination joint measures about 4 3/8 inches(111 mm) from the table. The maximum travel of the mechanical stage is one inch(25.4 mm) in each direction. The latter is the range quoted in the Pillischer catalog for a No 2 stand. The external dimensions of the case are 19 1/2 inches high, 9 1/2 inches wide and 11 inches front to back.

ACCESSORIES:
Accessories now with the microscope include the slide-in substage plate holding an optical condenser which works very well and three objectives as follows:

- 5/8 inch Pillischer No 4

-
-1/12 Pilischer Water Immersion objective in original can.

- 1/4 inch – 25x magnification – Unmarked, possibly by Pillischer
Note that the two signed Pillischer objectives were added by the current owner.

The owner has also added three Pillischer slides to the set.

CONDITION:
This microscope is in overall excellent optical, mechanical and cosmetic condition, with minor lacquer losses and scuffs that are not disturbing. The surfaces of the mirrors are a bit dulled but still reflect light well. The case, which overall looks quite nice, has some cracks; a piece of cracked wood is bulging on the left side and another similarly on the right side, both near the rear. There is a small piece of wood missing from the left side near the bottom front. Inside the case the fitting for the foot on the right side of the case is missing, but the rear and left side fittings are present and intact. Some screws for the hinges are replacements, and the hinges themselves may not be original. The lock is present, but the key is missing and a small piece of wood near the lock is missing. I cannot assess whether the lock would work with the correct key. On the left side of the case a modern brass catch has been added to keep the door closed.

HISTORY OF JOHN MARTIN:
John Martin was a member of the Microscopical Society of Newcastle-on-Tyne formed in about 1858¹. At the Newcastle-upon-Tyne Mechanics Institution Fine Arts' Exhibition, as reported in the Tranactions of the Microscopical Society of London (also called the J of the Royal Microscopical Society), of 1867², J Martin is noted as a working mechnician, having turned his attention to microscopes, stands alone in the district as an amateur manufacturer of microscopes.... According to the Newcastle upon Tyne quote, he was noted to make instruments of high quality. The question then arises as to whether he actually made this microscope or any others and what does this mean? It was not rare for retailers to purchase unsigned microscopes from Smith & Beck, Ross, Watson, and others. Furthermore, in some cases the retailers may have assembled microscopes from parts supplied to them from the brass works that might have supplied known makers.

Although all three of these actions are possible, the author considers construction from scratch rather unlikely, but construction from parts most probable. Construction from scratch would seem highly unlikely because so many of the fine decorative details of this instrument are exactly in the style of Pillischer. In fact, this microscope is apparently identical to Pillischer's first best stand according to Quekett, with the exception of an updated condenser and being made to accept RMS thread objectives. The engraving for the serial number is not in the style of Pillischer who always used the No. notation before the number.

Paul Ferraglio has suggested that if Martin was indeed a skilled machinist, it is also possible he had a circa 1852 Pillischer that he used as a model for his 1860's production. This might explain a newer model with styling identical to Pillischer's.

In addition there are bar-limb microscopes signed by Martin in existance that are very similar, to those made by other makers. A large fine bar-limb binocular bar-limb microscope signed by Martin and numbered 40 was sold by Bonhams in 2018. As can be seen in the illustration to the left, accompanying that microscope was a large cylindrical pedestal with bell jar. At least two other microscopes signed by Martin have come to light. Number 26 was identical to number 40 in all respects, including the fancy wooden pedestal and bell-jar cover. Number 16 is identical to a Smith and Beck Large Best model lister limb, serial number 1873, circa 1862. as seen on this site. Although Martin may have constructed the Bar-Limbs, as evidenced by several subtle differences in construction compared to other makers like Ross, it is very clear he purchased ready-made instruments like the Smith & Beck and that he signed and numbered them as if they were of his own make.

HISTORY OF PILLISCHER MICROSCOPES:

Moritz Pillischer emigrated from Hungary to London, England in 1845. By 1848 or 1849 he was selling microscopes and other scientific instruments. His supposedly earliest microscope was pictured in Quekkett's 1852 Practical Treatise on the Use of the Microscope and, as can be seen in the image to the left, it is identical to the microscope featured at the top of this page except that my microscope has an optical condenser in place, and the threading of the nosepiece is for RMS threads rather than French objectives as on the older model. At first glance it resembles the Pillischer Improved Medical model but, as shown here to the right next to the Improved Medical microscope (serial number 1218), it is substantially larger; in fact its foot and overall dimensions are much closer to Pillicher's Improved No 1 than to any other known model of Pillischer microscope. Even so, Martin's No 13, apparently has a thicker limb in the front-back dimension than even the later Improved No 1. It is therefore this author's belief that this is a slightly updated version of the original Pillischer model as first shown in Quekett in 1852, and referred to there as the First and Most Complete Pillischer microscope. Further confirmation can be seen in the image at the bottom of this page which shows Pillischer No 27 which must date to his earliest production, and the microscope featured at the top of this page-differences here are very minimal.

Moritz’s nephew, Jacob (later James), joined the firm about 1860, taking over in 1887. The company was later inherited by Jacob’s children, and the business was liquidated in 1947 after about 100 years of business.

There were a number of different models produced by Pillisher over the active period, including the following:

-The Lenticular microscope – an early handheld portable instrument made famous in various editions, starting in the mid-1850s, of Golding Bird's book Urinary Deposits: Their Diagnosis, Pathology, and Therapeutic Implications. Although Bird first recommended the Lenticular microscope in his 4th edition of about 1855*, Pillischer's advertisements quoted his recommendations as early as 1853³.

*Bird did not report this microscope in his first few editions, instead referring to larger French Microscopes and also to the use of a large handheld demonstration microscope for this purpose.

-The First and Most Complete Pillischer model described by Quekett in 1852. The model featured at the top of this webpage is felt to be a slightly later version of this model, which later became the No 2.

-The large No 1 Pillischer with a Lister Limb stiffened by angular buttresses, was produced from about 1850 and shown in the 1851 Illustrated London News. It featured a rack and pinion adjusted draw tube and a small perforated cylindrical fitting on the limb to accept accessories like a limb-mounted bullseye condenser or a limb-mounted stage forceps. The mechanical stage had a traverse of 1 1/4(32 mm) in 1862 increasing to 1 1/2 inches (38 mm)by 1873. It had centering for the substage. This is a rather uncommon model today. This example has the serial number of 293. Another example, given as a presentation gift to the Royal Yacht Squadron in 1861, is number 853.

-The number 2 Pillischer, slightly smaller than the No 1, was listed but not illustrated in the 1862 catalog. Here is the image from about 10 years later. Like the No.1, this instrument had centering for the substage but the range of travel of the of the mechanical stage was reduced to 1 inch(25.4 mm). Without centering for the substage, this microscope would be quite similar to the one featured at the top of this page.

– The New Student model, made from about 1854, featured a type of lever stage later used on some French microscopes. This lever stage was no longer shown on the student microscopes in the 1862 catalog.

- The £5 Prize Medal Microscope- was a relatively inexpensive basic bar-limb microscope with A-Frame triangular uprights. It was made from about 1860 onward.

- By 1862 there were three student models available(left). These included one with a plain stage(right), another with a mechanical stage, and the £5 Prize Medal Microscope. The latter differed primarily from the other plain stage microscope in having the skeletonized uprights. The model with mechanical stage was listed as having 3/4 inch(19 mm) travel in each direction.

-The Improved Medical microscope is a much smaller version of the microscope featured at the top of this page. The Improved Medical had a mechanical stage with range of motions of 3/4 inch(19 mm) in each direction.

- The St Thomas Hospital Model was another Student model, first reported in the Lancet in March of 1872. It appears to be identical to the plain stage student model discussed above that was available as early as 1862. Also in 1872, Pillisher offered his New Collateral Stage, which is a hand-driven glide-stage, for an additional fee. The presence of this collateral stage might be the only way to tell these two apart.

- The International microscope – a basic bar-limb design, was introduced about 1876. It was sidely advertised and apparently became quite popular as many examples still exist. Early models had a bulls-eye condenser attached to the main tube, but this was later deleted. Over the years improvements included the change from horizontal rack teeth to diagonal teeth acted on by a spiral pinion. This type of coarse focusing was first introduced for use on microscopes by Swift in 1881. This is the type found on my example of the International presented on this web site. My example also features an usual form of fine focus. This focus passes through the bar or arm, and acts upon the coarse focus rack bar rather than the nosepiece, as is found in most other bar-limb microscopes. This type of fine focus seems to be unique to the Pillischer International Model.

- The The Kosmos microscope. A basic form of this Lister-limb model was first mentioned in the JRMS in 1887. By 1905 a much more sophisticated model was available. To my knowledge, this is the only model that the firm produced with a rack and pinion substage. The author is grateful to Allan Wissner for permission to use his image and link to his site.

FOR MORE INFORMATION ON THE HISTORY OF THE PILLISCHER FIRM PLEASE SEE BRIAN STEVENSON'S THOROUGH DISCUSSION ON HIS EXCELLENT WEB SITE.