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The first microscopes made by Carl Zeiss [1816-1888] were simple ones ["Einsfache"] with magnifications of 15, 30, and 120x: it was not until 1857 that compound stands were supplied. Pages 1-6 of the original Zeiss delivery book covers serials 1-144, and dates from 1849-1851 - his very first microscopes, detailed on this CD.
The series of serials of his original simple instruments run beyond 144, to 879 in 1881. In 1870 he introduced a new version - neues Praparirmikriskop - more complicated in construction.
The entries in this delivery book are usually quite difficult to decipher, although this does become easier once some examples are considered:-
The first column is the serial number entry.
The second column is the name of the customer and their profession, e,g.
| Schact | stud. Phil. |
| Herzog | Dr. apotheke |
| Geissler | Dr. apotheke |
| Oberbeck | Med. apotheke |
| Force | stud. |
| Schleiden | Professor |
The third column contains the town the customer is in (for those customers above this is as follows).
| Hamburg |
| Braunschweig |
| Konisgberg |
| Cernia |
| Jena |
| Jena |
The fourth column contains some notes and in some cases what appear to be the prices. (In his 1877 price list of object glasses [in English, and reproduced on this CD - see below] he gives 1 Mark = 1 Shilling = 24 cents).
The fifth column contains the date.
This CD also contains reproductions of a full range of Zeiss price lists issued between 1849 and 1881: only with the last did Zeiss provide illustrations. In addition, pictures of the Zeiss workshops of 1847-1858, and 1858-1881 are included, together with a picture of the offices in 1881, by when the firm was clearly prospering. Portraits of Carl Zeiss in 1850 and at the age of 70 in 1886 are included, together with a portrait of Ernst Abbe [1840-1905] in 1886. It was the collaboration, from 1866, of Zeiss and Abbe which was to prove epochal in advancing microscopical theory and manufacture.
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