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History of Science Museum

Webster Condenser with Screw, by J. Swift, London, after 1865

Inventory Number 96266


Subject
Microscopy
Item type
Object
Provenance
Lent by the Royal Microscopical Society in 1970
Primary inscriptions
.1: "J. SWIFT / 15 Kingsland Rd / Collins Graduating Diaphagm [sic] & Webster Cindenser" on copper alloy disc. "R. M. S. No78" on diaphragm disc
Object type
Microscope accessory
Inventory No
96266
Accession Number
1970-101/part

Description

Webster's sub stage condenser with Collins' graduating diaphragm, as made by James Swift, has a four-bladed iris diaphragm worked by a side lever and a disc with two central stops and oblique stops. With a mill-edged screw with a cog fitting.

?

The design is that of J Webster, published in 'Science Gossip' (1 April 1865). Charles Collins devised the graduating diaphragm and describes it in his 'Guide to the Purchas of Microscopes' (1879).