Antique E. Leitz Wetzlar Brass Dissecting Microscope – c.1900 Scientific Instru For Sale

A superb antique brass dissecting microscope by E. Leitz of Wetzlar, Germany, dating to around the turn of the 20th century. The maker’s name can be seen engraved around the lens mount, and the construction corresponds closely with documented Leitz simple dissecting microscopes produced during the late 19th and very early 20th centuries. Museum collections date closely related examples to approximately 1871–1900 and 1890–1910.Unlike a conventional compound microscope, this type was designed for the examination and dissection of botanical, zoological and other specimens at relatively low magnification. The large rectangular glass stage gives plenty of working space, while the articulated magnifying lens can be swung into position above the specimen. Beneath the stage is an adjustable circular mirror used to direct light through the glass, with further articulated controls allowing the instrument to be carefully positioned.It is an especially attractive piece of early scientific equipment, with a heavy horseshoe-form metal base, cylindrical brass pillar, finely engineered articulated arms and beautifully simple mechanical construction. The muted aged brass finish is particularly good and has been left unpolished, retaining the patina developed through many decades of use.These Leitz dissecting microscopes were precision laboratory instruments rather than novelty microscopes. A surviving Leitz catalogue description and museum examples show closely related instruments being used for botanical and zoological specimen preparation, with interchangeable magnifying lenses and transmitted illumination from the mirror below.The instrument appears substantially complete as shown, including the glass stage, magnifying lens and articulated mirror. There is general surface wear, oxidation and age-related patination consistent with an instrument well over a century old, but it remains a particularly handsome and mechanically interesting object.Measures approximately 17 cm high × 10 cm wide × 15 cm deep / 6.7 × 3.9 × 5.9 inches.