A History of Photography with the Light Microscope

London: Quekett Microscopical Club, 2010. First Edition. Boards. Near Fine. First Edition. viii, 221,[1] pages. 4to (9 5/8 x 9 3/4 inches). Publisher's blue and white printed boards. A clean, apparently unread copy. No dust jacket as issued. Boards. A standard reference in the field which has not been well distributed. This excellent review by Philip Greaves in the Quekett Journal of Microscopy, 2011, 4 1, pp 445-447 provides a fantastic summary for those interested. We can recommend it as a solid reference work.

"It would be impossible to calculate how many photomicrographs have been published to support the communication of scientific results, (truncated) or to under-estimate the importance of the technique in validating what was reported. It is therefore perhaps surprising that the history of photomicrography has not previously been documented to any full extent; [this work] corrects this and will be the definitive work on the subject for many years to come. … It is not simply an inventory of instruments but a descriptive account of developments from 1839 to the modern day.

Dr. Bracegirdle, one of (if not the) leading authorities on the history of microscopy, has, with this book, skillfully made a textbook account into a thoroughly readable book, designed to be read from cover to cover rather than merely 'dipped into' for reference. The book …offers over 500 references: it is profusely illustrated throughout with approximately 350 illustrations, in monochrome and colour, all digitized from the original sources by the author. Dr. Bracegirdle has drawn for some of these on the Science Museum's collections, the largest such in the world and the only one to preserve several examples of early photomicrographic stands. The author had unique access to these collections in his position as Chief Curator at the Museum, and personal experiences of evaluating and using these stands at the bench is evident throughout the book.

The first three chapters set the context for the history of photomicrography. Chapter 1 covers the early development of photographic processes, including Daguerreoptypes, Calotypes, collodion, albumen, and gelatine plates. Much of this information is available elsewhere in more detail, but this chapter provides a superb summary of these early developments. Chapter 2 describes the advances in illumination sources and systems which are so critical to photomicrography, and Chapter 3 covers developments in microscope optics. Chapters 4 to 7 then detail advances made from the earliest application of photographic processes in 1839 to 1980, when film techniques began to be replaced by digital image capture systems. These chapters not only detail the advances in photomicrographic equipment, the author also provides accounts of some of the scientific work being illustrated at the time by photomicrography and reviews of books and other literature on photomicrographic techniques. Chapter 8 focuses on a unique organization, The Photomicrographic Society, which was formed in 1911 and survived for 40 years; the author provides a definitive account of its demise and closure, correcting some long-standing misconceptions about its 'incorporation' into the Quekett Club (which never happened). Chapter 9 looks at another very important aspect of photomicrography, the technique of microphotography - whereby normal-sized images were optically reduced to be recorded as microscopic images; this technique was to have important application during the siege of Paris, and was later developed into the manufacture of microcircuits, for example. Chapter 10 provides an account of the development of photomacrography; this technique has a surprisingly long history with early commercial apparatus being provided by Nachet in 1863, through to the very specialist apparatus of Leitz, Zeiss, Nikon and Olympus post-WW2.

The final chapter brings development up to date from 1980 to the present day; this period has seen the most significant advances with video-microscopy and digital recording systems. Much of the material in this book is simply not available anywhere else, and it is clear that the author has had practical use of much of the apparatus described. His wide knowledge of the subject makes for entertaining reading with some surprising facts. The chapter on microphotography, for example, commences with an account of micro-writing by the ancient Assyrians and modern Galileans and J. B. Dancer's use of the eyes of freshly-killed animals to record minute photographic plates! As has been said above, the book provides full references for those who wish to take the subject further and two helpful indexes. In summary, this book is thoroughly recommended and provides both entertaining and informative reading. (Inventory #: 29563)