General Information

Serial #

N/A

Part Number

14

Total Parts

14

AKA

N/A

Patents

N/A

General Description

Wood exterior; brass clasps; fabric interior lining; card stock dividers

Dimensions

Note: These reflect the general size for storage and are not necessarily representative of the object's true dimensions.

Length

9.5 cm

Width

8.0 cm

Height

3.2 cm

Thickness

N/A

Weight

N/A

Diameter

N/A

Volume

N/A

Lexicon

Group

Physics

Category

Light & electromagnetic radiation

Sub-Category

N/A

Manufacturer

AKA

Cary

Country

England

State/Province

Unknown

City

London

Context

Country

Unknown

State/Province

Unknown

Period

Unknown

Canada

Mr. Gray was a teacher at Merivale School (ca. 1969-72) in Ottawa then at Woodsworth School (1972-1998) where he taught biology and chemistry and some math and music. The microscope was in the Woodsworth School where it was occasionally used in his classes. However, Mr. Gray did not know how it had come to be there. It was given to him after he left the school. Mr. Gray actually used the RCA / NRC electron microscope (1972.0614) in the early 1960s while he was taking a BA at Carleton Univ. where it had been transferred when NRC disposed of it. These Cary microscopes were most commonly used by women and children on Sunday afternoon treks. Compact and easily assembled, and with reasonable good (though not achromatic) optics, they were an educational instrument for the curious. The price was modest so within the reach of the upper middle class British families. We can only guess how this example made its way to Canada. (Taken from the worksheet)

Function

Stores, protects, and provides a base for a portable microscope.

Technical

This was a very common type of microscope in the second quarter of the 19th c and those by Cary were (and still are) very common. This form was in fact developed by Charles Gould who worked for William Cary in his factory, where all these types of microscopes were manufactured. (Taken from the worksheet)

Area Notes

Unknown

Details

Markings

None

Missing

The top of the lid is missing, as is one of the hooks (see Notes).

Finish

Dark brown finished wood exterior with a blue cloth lining.

Decoration

N/A