Heath, Laban. HEATH’S IMPROVED ADJUSTABLE COMPOUND MICROSCOPE. FOR EXAMINING BANK NOTES, MINERALS, FLOWERS, SEEDS, LINEN, ETC.Boston: Manufactured by Laban Heath & Co., Patented, Dec. 25, 1877. Two tilting glass lenses housed in a folding nickel-plated brass frame with decorative scrollwork. The microscope when folded open is 12.5 by 5.5 cm wide at the base and 6 cm in height. The lens has a diameter of 4.25 cm. The patent date is stamped on the inside of one of the legs [diagnostic for Sullivan Type B]. One lens is somewhat scratched in the center; minor overall signs of wear. <p>The original device, as depicted in some later editions of Heaths Counterfeit Detector. An ingenious contraption, still quite useful. Heath touted it as a "valuable improvement in Pocket Microscopes... As an aid for detecting counterfeit money it has no equal..." Also known in a variant without the patent date stamped on the leg (Sullivan Type A). This is an attractive and eye-catching device that makes for a fabulous accompaniment to a collection of Heaths Counterfeit Detectors.Ex Heather Hardin-Hudson Collection.
