c1897 Brass & Steel Henri Le CHATELIER METALLURGICAL Microscope Camera System

Description

CIRCA 1897 "PROTOTYPICAL" MODEL
METALLOGRAPHIC MICROSCOPE /
DRY PLATE
CAMERA COMPENDIUM
INVENTED BY FRENCH
PHYSICIST
& CHEMIST HENRI
LOUIS LE
CHATELIER
CIRCA MID-1880's - 1890's FIRST "PROTOTYPICAL" MODEL
METALLOGRAPHIC MICROSCOPE / DRY PLATE CAMERA
COMPENDIUM INVENTED BY FRENCH PHYSICIST & CHEMIST
HENRI LOUIS LE CHATELIER.
This unusual camera and microscope
compendium appears to be
the first such microscope made with a camera
as part of it's
construction and dates to circa mid-1880's to mid-1890's.
Although one recent history found of late on the internet from a dubious
Russian source (as the Russian site page clearly explains) places Chatelier
as having invented a  "metallographic microscope" in 1897. This is likely
inaccurate, because by 1897, the 1889 Eiffel Tower had already been
completed and Chatelier's name was on the plague for contributing to it -
where the technology offered by his infamous METALLOGRAPHIC
MICROSCOPE / CAMERA was first utilized for the purpose of
qualifying the makeup of the steel girders that went into its construction.
Firstly this Russian reference does not mention the use of a camera as
part of this "microscope's" design and such reference appears to be
defective also because the camera we offer here specifically takes a
1/8" THICK GLASS DRY PLATE photographic negative (or positive)
in size - which was in use as early as 1878.  The camera plate size for
this camera is 2 1/4" x 1 3/4". The camera plate holder has a door with
a CENTRALIZED PRESSURE SPRING for GLASS PLATES, and the
1/8" deep well where a 1 3/4" x 2 1/8" GLASS PLATE wood fits, would
NOT ACCOMMODATE the use of CUT FILM, as it had not been
invented when this MICROSCOPE / CAMERA system was invented
or ultimately put into general use within the rarified field of metallurgy.
This CAMERA dates to a few years before 1888, and the year 1888 is
already TEN YEARS beyond the introduction of the DRY PLATE in 1878
and 1888 is at least TWENTY (20) years before celluloid sheet or cut film
would have come into general use in cameras.  Celluloid ROLL FILM film
was essentially invented and offered first in 1888, used in the first EASTMAN
KODAK product, but it would be several decades before CUT FILM came
into general use. Celluloid roll film made way for the invention of the
motion picture camera by EDISON in 1894-1895.
At the Museum of History of the Donetsk Metallurgical Plant it can
be seen that such a Chatalier metallurgical camera microscope can
apparently not be found in their collection.
Of late, in the few years since we acquired this CAMERA / METALLURGIAL
MICROSCOPE, much older data that had been posted on the internet regarding
this microscope at that time, that revealed period 1920's photos from old Journals
of the day of the improved Chatelier camera / microscope - with lab technicians
pictured with the equipment - on the internet, has been removed and is now not
available for proper study.  But this prior internet posting actually showed later
models of this CHATELIER METALLOGRAHIC MICROSCOPE / CAMERA
we offer here, as this device was commonly used into the 1920's and
manufactured concurrently.
But the one we offer here is considered to be the first production "PROTOTYPE" -
and ACTUALLY, WHAT WE OFFER HERE IS CONSIDERED TO BE THE
VERY FIRST PRODUCTION  MODEL.  FEW EXAMPLES OF THIS MICROSCOPE
EXIST - AND OF THE HANDFUL THAT EXIST - THIS IS THE MOST COMPLETE
- AS IT COMES WITH THE BOX THAT YOU SEE HERE WITH THE THREE (3)
PLATE CAMERA ACCCESORIES - ONE WHICH EVEN ALLOWS FOR THE
ATTACHMENT OF AN AUXILIARY CAMERA OF A DIFFERENT FORMAT
VIA THAT CAMERA'S LENS.
&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
From our research, we have found
two of these in private hands,
and both were
incomplete.  ONE
in an American collection was
missing its wood camera body
completely, but had its prisms
for the lens assembly, and ONE
in a Dutch collection
had its wood
camera body, but NO ground glass,
plate holder or lens attachment
as the
one we have on offer HAS, and also
it was
MISSING IT'S CENTRAL
and integral
PRISM assembly!
Also, the one side
of one tube
lacked its light focus lens,
which ours has.
We have not found any
of these in any
museum
worldwide, so far as we
have on G o  o g le
Images.
&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
A MOVABLE PRISM ASSEMBLY IS THE AT HEART OF THE INSTRUMENT,
WHICH ALLOWS THE METALURGIST TO MOVE FROM VIEWING THE
SPECIMEN TO SWITCHING THE LIGHT TO BE DIRECTED TO THE CAMERA
/ FILM ASSEMBLY AREA TO RECORD THE SPECIFICS OF THE SPECIMEN
FOR FURTHER STUDY AND ARCHIVAL USE.
The date of this instrument may be closer to the mid-1880's because Chatelier
was involved in the determining of the quality of steel used in the construction
of the Eiffel Tower, of which was completed in 1889. and his name is on the plaque
as having been a contributor...... and use of this form of camera/ microscope was
needed to determine the weight bearing strength / metallurgy composition of the
girders and beams used in the Eiffel Tower's construction - following it's 1889
completion.  The Eiffel Tower was started up a few years previous and thus the
use of this form of camera / microscope was likely invented by Chatalier prior to or
just at the start of the construction of the Eiffel Tower by Gustave Eiffel  -
and this form of METALLOGRAPHIC MICROSCOPE / CAMERA was
possibly even designed by Chatelier specifically TO BUILD THE EIFFEL
TOWER.   More research is needed in this regard.
As the "CAMERA" on this microscope DOES NOT ACCEPT THE USE of
CELLULOID SHEET FILM, but rather GLASS DRY PLATES only, this such
indicates the mid-1880's date as being correct for the design and use of this
"STATE-OF-THE-ART"  camera / camera. In fact, the use of the faster
DRY PLATES allowed for such a camera microscope to come about.
This as well appears to be the only extant example in the world complete
with the camera body and camera accessories which includes a projection
lens mount assembly, a ground glass assembly and a DRY PLATE plate
holder assembly.  There is a BAYONETTE FORM OBJECTIVE marked
"C. ZEISS"  along with the camera accessories - all of which are stored in
a black paper covered accessory stowage box with nickeled fittings.  This
accessory case has some paper loss, predominately on one side and a little
bit in  other places.   The camera and microscope instrument itself is in very
good condition and all parts are complete and original - with no repairs.
The rack and pinion assembly which raises and lowers the specimen stage
functions perfectly - as do the optics, however the C. ZEISS marked
objective lens - which has  a
bayonet
mount and sets on top,
does
not fit snugly and
needs an adjustment if so desired .
In 1884, the French chemical engineer and teacher Henri Le Châtelier
(1850-1936) showed that in every such case, the new equilibrium state is
one that partially reduces the effect of the change that brought it about.
Henry Louis Le Châtelier (8 October 1850 – 17
September 1936) was an influential
French
chemist
of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. He is most
famous for devising
Le Châtelier's principle
, used by
chemists to predict the effect a changing condition
has on a system in
chemical equilibrium
.
EARLY LIFE
Le Châtelier was born on 8 October 1850 in Paris and was the son of French
materials engineer Louis Le Châtelier and Louise Durand. His father was an
influential figure who played important roles in the birth of the French aluminium
industry, the introduction of the Martin-Siemens processes into the iron and steel
industries, and the rise of railway transportation. Le Châtelier’s father profoundly
influenced his son's future. Henry Louis had one sister (Marie) and four brothers
(Louis (1853–1928), Alfred (1855–1929), George (1857–1935), and André (1861–1929)).
His mother raised the children by regimen, described by Henry Louis: "I was accustomed
to a very strict discipline: it was necessary to wake up on time, to prepare for your duties
and lessons, to eat everything on your plate, etc. All my life I maintained respect for
order and law. Order is one of the most perfect forms of civilization." (L. Guillet, REVUE
DE METALLURGIE, Numéro Spécial, janvier 1937).
As a child, Le Châtelier attended the Collège Rollin in Paris. At the age of 19, after
only one year of instruction in specialized engineering, he followed in his father's
footsteps by enrolling in the École polytechnique on 25 October 1869. Like all the
pupils of la polytechnique, in September 1870, Le Châtelier was named second
lieutenant and later took part in the Siege of Paris. After brilliant successes in
his technical schooling, he entered the École des Mines in Paris in 1871.
Le Châtelier married Geneviève Nicolas, a friend of the family and sister of four
fellow students of la polytechnique. They had seven children, four girls and
three boys, five of whom entered scientific fields; two were lost preceding
Le Châtelier's death.
Career
Despite training as an engineer, and even with his interests in industrial
problems, Le Châtelier chose to teach chemistry rather than pursue a
career in industry. In 1887, he was appointed head of the general chemistry
to the preparatory course of the École des Mines in Paris. He tried
unsuccessfully to get a position teaching chemistry at the École
polytechnique in 1884 and again in 1897.
At the Collège de France, Le Châtelier succeeded Schützenberger
as chair of inorganic chemistry. Later he taught at the Sorbonne
university, where he replaced Henri Moissan.
At the Collège de France, Le Châtelier taught:
Phenomena of combustion (1898)
Theory of the balances chemical, high temperature
measurements and phenomena of dissociation (1898-1899)
Properties of metal alloys (1899-1900)
Iron alloys (1900-1901)
General methods of analytical chemistry (1901-1902)
General laws of analytical chemistry (1901-1902)
General laws of chemical mechanics (1903)
Silica and its compounds (1905-1906)
Some practical applications of the fundamental principles
of chemistry (1906-1907)
Properties of metals and some alloys (1907)
After four unsuccessful campaigns (1884, 1897, 1898 and 1900),
Le Châtelier was elected to the Académie des sciences (Academy of
Science) in 1907. He was also elected to the Royal Swedish
Academy of Sciences in 1907.
SCIENTIFIC WORK
In chemistry, Le Châtelier is best known for his work on his principle of
chemical equilibrium, Le Châtelier's principle and on varying solubility of
salts in an ideal solution. He published no fewer than thirty papers on these
topics between 1884 and 1914. His results on chemical equilibrium were
presented in 1885 at the Académie des sciences in Paris.
Le Châtelier also carried out extensive research on metallurgy and was
one of the founders of the technical newspaper "La revue de métallurgie."
Part of Le Châtelier's work was devoted to industry. For example, he
was a consulting engineer for a cement company, the Société des
chaux et ciments Pavin de Lafarge, today known as Lafarge Cement.
His 1887 doctoral thesis was dedicated to the subject of mortars:
Recherches expérimentales sur la constitution des mortiers
hydrauliques (Experimental Research on the Composition of
Hydraulic Mortars).
In 1881–82 he and the French chemist F. E. Mallard proposed a
unique method of determining the specific heats of gases at high
temperatures. In 1884 he formulated a general law for the disturbance
of chemical equilibrium by external factors (Le Châtelier’s principle).
Between 1886 and 1889 he devised a thermoelectric pyrometer for
measuring high temperatures.
He confirmed the experimental analogy between solutions and
melts, as suggested by Russian scientist Chernov in 1868.
In 1897, Le Châtelier constructed a metallographic microscope.
A rare find.
ASK ALL QUESTIONS.
LOOK OVER ALL PHOTOS.
YOU GET WHAT YOU SEE.
We are showing this
"as-found."
AS SHOWN ABOVE AND BELOW.
All in very
good
condition over-all
as shown.
SOLD "AS-IS."
Signed in fancy script on the main tube "MICROSCOPE DE M. LE
CHATELIER - PH PELLIN - PARIS."
PELLIN of PARIS was
the maker.
On a sturdy and highly modernistic tripod base with adjustable feet.
Stands over all 11" TALL (in closed position) and is 14" LONG along
from the arc light entrance tube to
the end of the camera body and
measures 12" WIDE from the end of the observation eyepiece to the
end of the main prism body encasement and rack and pinion assembly.
The wood carry case with blue
velvet lining measures
8 1/2" DEEP x 10 1/2" WIDE x 4 7/8" TALL.
*******************************************************************************
Le Chatelier in 1901 attempted the direct combination of the two gases nitrogen
and hydrogen at a pressure of 200 atm and 600
⁰
C in presence of metallic iron.
The mixture of gases was forced by an air compressor into a steel Berthelot
bomb, where they and the reduced iron catalyst were heated by a platinum spiral
[from 4. "Henri Le Chatelier: His Publications," Ceram. Abs., 16, (Oct., 1937)].
A terrific explosion occurred which nearly killed an assistant. Sometime later Le
Chatelier found that the explosion was due to the presence of air in the apparatus
used. And’ thus it was left for Haber to succeed where a number of noted French
chemists, including Thenard, Sainte Claire Deville and even Berthelot had failed.
In less than five years later, Haber and Claude were successful in producing
ammonia on a commercial scale, acknowledging that the account of Le
Chatelier's failed attempt had accelerated their research. Near the end of his
life, Le Chatelier wrote, "I let the discovery of the ammonia synthesis slip
through my hands. It was the greatest blunder of my scientific career”
[from the last book by Henry Le Chatelier “De la Methode dans les Sciences
Expkimentales," published in 1936, pp. 73–76
*******************************************
SOLD "AS - IS
."
SOLD AS SHOWN ABO
VE AND BELOW.
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