The Virtual Museum of Antique and Vintage Microscopes (real instruments kept at Diatom Lab)
Welcome to the Virtual Museum of Antique and Vintage Microscopes kept at Diatom Lab! Although Diatom Lab uses in-house, modern, top-of-the-range microscopes and other instruments to guarantee customers the best quality and accuracy, our laboratory also houses a rich collection of vintage and antique microscopes for the following purposes:
1) to understand how test diatoms, diatoms in general, and other microscopic objects were observed throughout the history of microscopy;
2) to understand the technical evolution and optical aberrations of microscope objectives and accessories throughout the history of microscopy.
These instruments come from the 19th and 20th centuries and are in surprisingly perfect condition: in fact, over the years, it was a difficult undertaking to find microscopes and accessories from unsold stocks, or at least in perfect condition, to ensure the accuracy of our tests.
The leap into the past through vintage and antique microscopy has several highlights:
1) First, it always generates a strong emotion, especially if it is possible to observe from old but like-new instruments (as we understand what past observations were really like and can walk in the shoes of our ancestors. It is a kind of priceless, time-machine journey);
2) we realize that many scientific discoveries were made despite using instruments with far inferior performance;
3) we understand how much genius, care, and passion past scientists and opticians had in creating masterpieces despite having fewer resources than today;
4) we can directly verify how optics have made great strides over time, allowing us to appreciate modern microscopy even more.
The Diatom Lab collection of antique microscopes is very large: this page requires some time but is constantly updated with new descriptions of old equipment and interesting experiments. Consult it often!
Diatoms under Antique and Vintage Microscopes:
Section four.
Barone, S. 2023. Steindorff Microbe Hunter, an iconic microscope that is a sculpture, a work of art. New interesting facts. Its established presence (with an award) not only in design culture but also in museums. Overall optical performance evaluation by means of Diatom Lab microscope test slides. Micscape Magazine, 325 (ISSN 1365 - 070x)
Download the publication by clicking on the PDF symbol:
Section Three.
Barone, S. 2023. Diatoms: the best microscopic objects to check, set and compare optical microscopes and contrast techniques, Microscopy and Analysis, 65: 13-18 (ISSN 2049-4424).
Click on the image below to download the free article!
Section Two.
Barone, S., 2022. Diatom Lab Microscope Test Slide in commemoration of Edmund J. Spitta. Micscape Magazine, 321 (ISSN 1365 - 070x).
Download the publication by clicking on the PDF symbol:
Section One.
Barone, S., 2022. Anoptral phase contrast applied to diatoms: a study by means of test diatoms on the advantages originally described by its discoverer Alvar Wilska, over the standard (positive) phase contrast. Micscape Magazine, 311 (ISSN 1365 - 070x).
Download the publication by clicking on the PDF symbol:
Section five. Coming soon!