LEEUWENHOEK’S MICROSCOPES 327 
however, is there any genuine specimen (so far as I have been 
able to ascertain), though modern facsimile reproductions are 
now in circulation in both these countries. These copies are 
accurate, and some of them may before long be passed off as 
authentic originals. More than one such exact facsimile was 
made for the late Sir Frank Crisp, who preserved one example 
in his private collection and presented another to the Royal 
Microscopical Society of London (on 21 January 1914), in 
whose rooms it can now be seen.’ Crisp’s own facsimile was 
sold at Stevens’s in London on 17 February 1925, when 
his collection was auctioned after his death.” Other similar 
reproductions are also in existence. One was recently in 
California, and a friend of mine (who saw it) states that its 
owner assured him that he could obtain similar “‘ Leeuwenhoek 
microscopes”’ at any time—for a price—from Holland. Be 
this as it may, there are certainly facsimiles (and forgeries ?) 
now on the market, and prospective purchasers should be on 
their guard. 
Most of the recent descriptions and pictures of “ Leeuwen- 
hoek’s microscope” are based on the rather poor specimen 
now preserved in the Zoological Laboratory at Utrecht. The 
best account and figures*® of this instrument are, I think, 
those of Mayall (1886): but as I am not wholly satisfied with 
his or any other description or pictures (Mayall, apparently, 
never saw the microscope which he described), I shall here 
attempt to revise his version with the help of a few drawings 
of my own. My account is based on personal examination of 
three genuine specimens, one copy, and a study of all other 
available data. I must point out, however, that my own 
figures (Plate XXXI) were not drawn from any actual 
instrument. They form a composite design—a generalized 
2 ___ aa 
all its references to L. (see Nachet, 1929). I have not seen the instrument in 
this collection; but from the description and picture it appears suspiciously 
like one of the recent copies of the Utrecht example. 
1 Of. Disney (1928), p.160. This instrument is evidently a copy of 
the original now in the Zoological Institute at Utrecht, and most of the 
other copies appear to have been made from the same example. One such 
has been figured recently by Becking (1924). 
2 See the Catalogue of this sale, Lot 1. 
* Woodcuts, made directly from photographs. These excellent figures 
have recently been reproduced (as line blocks) by Disney et al. (1928, 
Plate 1) without acknowledgement. 
