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An Edmund Culpeper Compound Monocular Microscope, English, circa 1730, image 1
An Edmund Culpeper Compound Monocular Microscope, English, circa 1730, image 2
An Edmund Culpeper Compound Monocular Microscope, English, circa 1730, image 3
An Edmund Culpeper Compound Monocular Microscope, English, circa 1730, image 4
The Dr. Murray MacKinnon Collection of Microscopes
Lot 148Ф,Y

An Edmund Culpeper Compound Monocular Microscope,
English, circa 1730,

15 September 2021, 14:00 BST
London, Knightsbridge

Sold for £19,000 inc. premium

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An Edmund Culpeper Compound Monocular Microscope, English, circa 1730,

with ebonised and turned wood ocular support, green leather draw tube tooled with gilt lining, grey ray-skin outer tube, support on three columns above a circular stage and concave mirror, in original oak pillar case with Culpeper's crossed dagger trade label applied to the back, with drawer in the base fitted with objective, sprung stage, stage condenser, cone, talc box and glass fishplate scratch-engraved Culpeper Fecit,
the microscope 14 1/2 (37cm) high

Footnotes

Provenance:
From the collection of Dr MacKinnon.

Edmund Culpeper (d.1737) established himself as a dominant figure in the instrument making profession in the early 18th century, although it remains uncertain whether he was the original inventor of the compound tripod microscope. He advertised an unparalleled variety of microscopes in 1710, and was located in Moorfields and later Cornhill. Culpeper's prominence in the early 18th century led to him becoming synonymous with the tripod model, or 'Culpeper-type' microscope. Despite taking over his master's shop in circa 1700, Culpeper did not become a freeman or take an apprentice until 1714. Following his death in 1737, the business was continued by his son.

Additional information

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