General Information

Serial #

15658

Part Number

1

Total Parts

25

AKA

N/A

Patents

N/A

General Description

Brass body with some ferrous metal parts and a glass mirror.

Dimensions

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

Length

18.0 cm

Width

13.6 cm

Height

32.2 cm

Thickness

N/A

Weight

N/A

Diameter

N/A

Volume

N/A

Lexicon

Group

Medical Technology

Category

Research

Sub-Category

N/A

Manufacturer

AKA

Beck

Country

England

State/Province

Unknown

City

London

Context

Country

Canada

State/Province

Ontario

Period

Unknown

Canada

Microscope was owned by Dr. Helen Morton, OC. Helen grew up in Liverpool, came to Canada as a war guest in her teens, returned to Liverpool to complete her BSc,. She returned to Canada in 1947 and went to work at Connaught Labs in Toronto, where she worked on the project that developed the medium that Dr Salk used to create his famous vaccine. She wrote and published several tracts on the topic of tissue culture. She earned an MSc at UofT. She then came to Ottawa, and worked at NRC while continuing to work with Dr. Joseph Morgan. She then, as a single mother, returned to university, this time Ottawa U, to complete her PhD. Unfortunately, soon after that accomplishment, she developed macular degeneration, and had to give up her microscope (and a lot else). By now legally blind, she went on to work for Treasury Board on various topics involving the disabled community, and went on to be named an Officer of the Order of Canada for this work.

Function

Used to magnify specimens for microscopic study.

Technical

This microscope was made by a well-known British firm, and was used by an experienced researcher at Connaught Laboratories during a time when it was involved in the research and production of vaccines, such as the Polio vaccine.

Area Notes

Unknown

Details

Markings

On the proper back section of the base: "R & J. BECK/ LONDON/ 15658"

Missing

Appears complete

Finish

Predominantly brass-coloured metal covered with a lacqured finish, black focus rack, clip, and underside, and silver-coloured mirrors set into a brass-coloured metal hoop.

Decoration

N/A