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Return To Microscope Article Archive   Search the Article Archives Microscope-Related United States Patents, 1853-1915 By Allan Wissner Microscope manufacturing in America began in the 2nd quarter of the 19th century. Before that time, the few microscopes that were available in this country were imported primarily from France and England.(1, 2) As mentioned by Gage,(1) the first American microscope manufacturer of commercial significance was Charles A. Spencer (1813-1881). His first microscope was produced around 1838. His earliest stands were similar to those made by the French maker Charles Chevalier and those of the English maker Andrew Pritchard.(3) However, later in the century, the Spencer firm, along with several of the other newly established American manufacturers, began to offer instruments having a more distinct American style. Many of these newer instruments incorporated important innovations. As might be expected, some of these innovations were perceived to have commercial value and, accordingly, patents applications were filed with the United States Patent Office to protect these inventions. For collectors and historians of antique microscopes, these early U.S. patent documents are a valuable source of information. For this reason, the listing of issued U.S. patents presented herein was prepared. The majority of these patents were granted to American inventors, although a number of foreign inventorsalso filed patents in the U.S. Both kinds of patents are included. The list contains microscope-related U.S. patents that were issued between the years 1853 to 1915. These patents were identified in a search of a commercial database that indexed the full text of patents granted since 1836. Because of a fire at the U.S. patent office in 1836, patent documents created prior to that time no longer exist. However, a listing of patent titles and the names of the inventors for patents granted in the years 1790-1825 has been reconstructed from other sources.(4) A search of both this list and the commercial database showed that there were no microscope-related patents granted prior to 1853. It was decided to restrict the listing to those patents issued before 1916. The database of patents includes the inventors name, patent title, patent number, issue date, a brief description of the significance of the invention, and, where known, the firm to which the patent was assigned. The list is sorted based on the patent number and issue date. The list has been placed on the web. With the online version, for each entry, clicking on the patent number will download the patent document. The url to access the web version is: http://www.antique-microscopes.com/patents/ . You can also view the list of patents with the patent drawings at: http://www.antique-microscopes.com/patents/patent_images.html References: 1. Gage, S. H., Microscopy in America (1830-1945), Trans. Amer. Microscopical Soc., LXXXIII, No. 4, supplement, Chap IV, 27, 1964. 2. Wheatland, D. P., The Apparatus of Science at Harvard 1765-1800, Harvard University, 1969, 179-188. 3. Richards, O., Charles A. Spencer and his Microscopes. Rittenhouse, 2, 1988, 70-81. 4. List of all U.S. Patents and Patentees: 1790 - 1829 (http://www.myoutbox.net/poinvtrs.htm ) About the Author: I am a collector of antique brass microscopes and all kinds of early microscope accessories including: lenses, parts, microscope oil lamps, prepared slides, slide preparation equipment, and slide cabinets. Also needed for my collection are old microscope related books, trade catalogs, and artwork depicting antique microscopes. View my seb site at http://www.antique-microscopes.com Calculate Magnification

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