One of ONLY 68 copies produced

Giordano, Raymond V.; Turner, Anthony (introduction)

The Discoverers' [Discoverer's] Lens : a Photographic History of the Simple Microscope 1680-1880 - SIGNED

Spartan Giordano (photography). Tallmadge, Ohio: Classical Science Press 2012. First Edition. xxxv, [1], 299 pages. Folio. 13 x 9 inches. Original green cloth with leather spine label. SIGNED "Magnify" with his signature underneath by author Raymond Giordano on the front flyleaf. Includes 185 pages of illustrations of 127 simple microscopes manufactured from 1680 to 1880 in a large format book with large multiple color photographs, many with sharp close-ups showing details. The text (in English and French), includes an introduction by Anthony Turner, and presents a description of each instrument and its historical significance. Fine. Cloth. [28839]


Raymond Giordano built this simple microscope collection over 30 years. The collection was exhibited at the MIT Museum, and the Linda Hall Library in Kansas City. A smaller format catalog, "Singular Beauty" was created for those exhibitions, and is itself a useful reference, albeit English only and with much smaller images of the instruments. The majority of the collection was purchased by, and now resides in, the collections of the Confluence Museum in Lyon, France.

The Discoverers' Lens is a more ambitious catalog of the collection with significantly larger photographs of the instruments. Selected instruments are given multiple page treatments. With the collection now in the Confluence Museum in France, this catalog includes both English and French descriptions. A new introduction by the French curator and addendum by Giordano add to the vision of the collection, and it's future uses. Finally, a helpful index is provided.

"a delight to the eye as well as an important scientific contribution." (Prof. Joseph G. Gall, Dept. of Embryology, Carnegie Institution, Baltimore) "

Essential reference for any single lens microscope collector or institution interested in early microscopy.

Out-of-print, these are the last new copies of an edition of only 68 (they were produced on demand and the publisher died) and they are signed by the author.

Price: $375.00