Microscope used for examining astronomical photographic plates.

Steel with brass fittings. Extra large stage for examining photographic plates. Mirror with brass rim. Tube for viewing, brass and steel. Extending eyepiece. Cardboard box with spare parts including a spirit level. Engraved inscriptions on barrel of tube and stand of instrument.

Though normally associated with Natural History, this microscope is an example of one designed for use in astronomy. By this stage, photography was playing an increasingly important role in astronomy. Before photography, an astronomer would need to draw what he or she saw through the telescope leading to accusations of subjectivity. A photograph of the same view was regarded as more objective. It also had the additional advantage that the photograph itself could then be studied, and by more than one person. With a large stage suitable for glass plates, this type of microscope provided one way in which these photographs of astronomical observations could be studied in detail.