Antique BAUSCH & LOMB Pat. Jan 5.1915 Vintage BRASS MODEL MICROSCOPE

I will include about a dozen glass slides.    

This microscope has been in my medical office for about 25 years, used as a decorative item.  It is very heavy and I am including about a dozen glass slides.  One of the glass slide supports is missing, however does not take away from the functionality of the microscope.  The glass mirrow works fine as do all the adjustable functions.  I am not sure you could use this microscope in practical settings, but it is possible.  You can see items just fine, with that said, not sure it is medically acceptable due to the age.  There are some scrapes, paint missing and normal antique dings.    

According to this article I found on the internet, this series falls around year 1915 date of shipment (not necessarily date of manufacture): "One of the first things a collector wants to know about his newly acquired prize is how old it is. Without the actual bill of sale or other reliable documentation it may be a difficult question to answer. There are many clues to age including configuration, materials of construction, provenance, signature and a serial number. Then there is the matter of the difference between when it was made and when it was sold. Serial numbers, when there are supporting records are a pretty good, albeit far less than perfect, indication of age. This article will be concerned with serial numbers found on stands of two American makers, Spencer and Bausch and Lomb, for which some reasonably authoritative documentation has been found.

Michael Benz of Benz Microscope Optics Center in Ann Arbor, MI is a third generation microscope dealer. He also happens to have a fine collection of microscopes and an overwhelming collection of microscopical literature. His family has represented Spencer and many other makers in their various incarnations over many years. Michael has been kind enough to share the following tabular material with us.

The Spencer Lens Company was acquired by American Optical in 1935. In 1962 AO formed a partnership with Reichert Scientific Instruments. Early in 1986 Reichert launched a sales promotion to find the earliest ìSpencerî microscope. The grand prize was a weekend trip to Paris on the Concorde with dinner at Maxim's. I don't know what microscope was the winner or who ate the goose livers but Michael does have a copy of the documentation that was used to determine the winner.

Reichert published two tables of serial numbers. The first table showed the serial number range and date range associated with nine different models. It has been published in Dr. Brian Bracegirdle's 1996, Notes on Modern Microscope Manufacturers, page 70. What I believe to be of more interest is the second table which is shown below.

On a B & L factory visit a number of years ago, Michael had the opportunity of going through their files and finding a copy of serial numbers and their date of manufacture. There is a note on the list indicating that these are approximate dates of manufacture and not necessarily dates of sale.

I will package and pack this microscope with care.