E. T. A. Hoffmann - Mastro Pulce

Hooke's compound microscope and its illuminating system, 1665-1675. Full-size
reconstruction of Robert Hooke's (1635-1703) compound microscope copied from the engraving
and description in his book 'Micrographia' (1665), the first important work on microscopy. The
microscope was focused by moving and turning the microscope on a screw thread, rather than
moving the specimen, which was mounted on a spike. The eyepiece lens was at the top of the
microscope and an objective lens next to the specimen. Hooke inserted a field lens between
these in order to increase the field of view. He used his pioneering compound microscope, with
its two lens systems, to examine a flea, a piece of cork and many other specimens. The
illumination system used a liquid-filled globe to project the flame of an oil lamp onto the
specimen.