Four ways to see the invisible

Microscopes took astonishingly different forms, from polished laboratory stands to pocket-sized field companions.

FORMS AND FUNCTIONS

Study the silhouette

Different forms served different people and different sciences.

Tall brass tubes, mirrors, mechanical stages, and architectural bases

Small instruments made for travel, botany, and portability

Compact cylindrical designs with a long collecting history

Tiny historical specimen collections, often beautiful in their own right