RARE BRASS MICROSCOPE BY E. H. & F. H. TIGHE OF DETROIT, MICHIGAN, CIRCA 1885
Item History & Price
| Reference Number: Avaluer:19402277 | Maker: E.H. & F.H. TIGHE OF DETROIT, MI |
| Original/Reproduction: Original |
RARE BRASS MICROSCOPE BY E.H. & F.H. TIGHE OF DETROIT, MICHIGAN, CIRCA 1885 I have the pleasure of offering a very rare brass microscope circa 1885, made by the Tighe Brothers of Detroit, Michigan. The horseshoe base is 8.4 cm wide and 12.5 cm long and it is signed “E. H. & F. H. Tighe. Detroit, Mich.” An 8.7 cm tall pillar is attached to the base by a flat-headed steel screw. A brass screw clamps the arm to the pillar at the inclination joint.... A fork set on the end of the swinging tailpiece holds a 3.7 cm concave mirror; the tailpiece can rotate to a position above the stage for the examination of opaque objects. The iris diaphragm is fully functional. The stage is circular, 7.3 cm in diameter, with two stage clips. The arm has a distinct C-shape, with a small radius, characteristic of Tighe’s microscopes. The arm connects at the top with a short cylinder that contains the fine focus mechanism; the screw for the fine adjustment is located in the lower part of this cylinder. Two brass side-knobs control the rack and pinion for the coarse focus. The body tube is 12.5 cm long and unsigned. The ocular also is unsigned. The nosepiece holds a divisible objective with 2/3 and 1/6 of inch focal distances. The original wooden case is 29 cm tall, 15 cm wide and 10 cm deep; it has a latch and handle. OPTICAL PERFORMANCE: The two components of the objective provide clear images working either at low or higher magnification. The field diameters are 2, 100 µm for the 2/3 and 510 µm for the combination. REFERENCES: Tighe microscopes are quite rare. 1) The Billings Collection has one (Billings Catalogue, p.87). That microscope only differs from this in having a double-objective revolving nosepiece. 2) A rather primitive looking Tighe microscope, item #192189257, was auctioned at ebay on 1999 November 08. 3) A private American collection has a Tighe microscope of older design, with button-type objective and black finish. 4) Stuart L. Warter: The Tighe brothers - Ed and Fred, those mysterious Michigan Microscope Makers. Bull. Microsc. Soc. Southern Cal., 1: 42-43. 1996. CONDITION: This microscope is in excellent condition for an instrument from the late 1800s. Except for a few, minute, flaws, the instrument retains all of its beautiful finish. The optics are clean, and the mechanical components functional. The case is solid and very well preserved. PROVENANCE: This was microscope #420 of the del Cerro Collection. The collector kept it for his cabinet when the bulk of the Collection was donated to the National Museum of Health and Medicine.
