On the thumbnail at the left for AO's view of of it's own history. These scopes are still 'out there' working. This 15 page piece provides an excellent overview of not only Spencer Lens,ĪO Spencer, and American Optical contributions to microscopy, but other

Richards - has been contributed by Dave Jackson and is hosted on This continued right on through theĪrticle - 'One Hundred Years of Microscopy in the United States',īy Oscar W. Parfocal**, as they were before this time, but now were corrected for an infinite tube-length (American Optical, with the advent of the Series 10 and 20 scopes, jumped to infinity correction on all it's With an important exception - Metallurgical objectives, in contrast, were (source: )Īnd AO (American Optical) scopes and their objectives were corrected for a 160mm tube-length. Spencer Lens Company in 1935 and by 1945 it was known as the Instrumentĭivision of American Optical Company. The company operated by the name of Spencer & Smith, but in 1895 itīecame the Spencer Lens Company. Later, in 1865, heīegan operating as C.A. Of microscopes, publishing his first catalog in 1838. Spencer, but you can date your B&L (Bausch & Lomb) microscope here too.Ĭharles Spencer was the first American maker keep this quiet, as B&L was a fierce competitor to AO At the join between the arm and the double pillar or pedestal there is a joint system for tilting the microscope.To find (interpolate might be more accurate) the date of manufacture of your AO 232 797.' The arm is supported on a double triangular pillar, which itself rests on a base that consists of 2 straight legs and a heel. The top of the arm reveals the microscope's manufacturer and serial number: 'REICHERT. Below are a condenser and an iris-style diaphragm that control light intensity. The arm holds a square stage, which has a mobile upper platform with side screws to move the slide. The tube is held by the top of the concave arm with a rack mechanism, which is controlled by 2 screws for coarse focusing and another 2 scaled screws for fine focusing. 1.5 x.' The bottom of the tube houses a revolver with holes for 4 lenses, which can be easily rotated. The front of the eyepiece bears the instrument's inscription: 'Reichert Wien.

The eyepieces can be moved sideways to adjust to the user's focal distance, using a scaled screw located in between them. At the top there is a perpendicular head, which holds 2 tubes and both eyepieces. This microscope has a tube with a consistent diameter.

Reichert Microscope Serial Numbers