The story of the Microscope

Since the beginning of the 20th Century, the microscope has become the single most widely-used instrument in teaching and scientific research: it has an essential role in laboratories in fields as diverse as cell biology and art conservation. But its position as an indispensable scientific instrument has not always been secure, and its use and development from the early work of Hooke and Leeuwenhoek in the 17th Century, to that of Abbe towards the end of the 19th Century, has not been a simple story of continuous growth and uninterrupted development. There have been blind alleys, weird and strange inventions, and opportunities for craftsmen to exercise their skills in making instruments which today excite our interest and admiration. This story is the subject of this book, richly illustrated with colour photographs depicting many of the instruments in the Medical Historical Museum in Copenhagen. Moreover it includes detailed descriptions showing precisely how the instruments and their accessories were intended to be used, such that readers can fully understand and appreciate the complex and fascinating Story of the Microscope.