A microscope owned by the English scientist and naturalist Charles Darwin (1809-1882) was put up for auction in London for 250-350 thousand pounds. This was announced by TASS correspondent at the Christie’s auction house, which will offer the item to collectors on December 15 as part of the week of classical art.
The microscope, modeled on Charles Gould, was donated by Darwin to his son Leonard (1850-1943) in 1864. He remained in the family for almost 200 years.
Charles Darwin's scientific career began with his study of marine life in Firth of Fort, a bay in the North Sea off the east coast of Scotland. Darwin began work on it in 1826 and successfully completed it in the spring of 1827, when he presented his first scientific work to the Student Society of Natural Sciences at the University of Edinburgh, the auction house said. These dates coincide with the introduction of the current microscope to the market, which was developed by Charles Gould around 1825. It is known that of the six surviving microscopes associated with Charles Darwin, four were acquired later (two in 1831, one in 1847 and another around 1848), and the fifth is not intended for the study of marine invertebrates. Darwin then returned to their research during and immediately after his voyage on the Beagle.
"It is a great honor for me to present to collectors the Darwin microscope, which has been in the possession of six generations of his family," said James Hislop of Christie's.
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