Ingr. Chevallier Ingéneur Microscope, 1810
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A Chevallier microscope in original box with accessoires. Pierre Marcel Augustin Chevallier, 1797 – 1841, (A. Chevallier) and the box has a label with: “Ingr. Chevallier Ingéneur ” etc, 1810.
The instrument has the mirror, stage and objective limb mounted to a square support pillar. The mirror is attached via a peg attached to the gimbal mount. The stage is attached to a square sleeve that moves up or down on the pillar to focus the sample. The objective limb is screwed into the top of the pillar. There are three objectives that can be used individually, or ganged together for higher magnification. The box contain three individual (bone) sample slides, stage forceps and pin with handle. The slides are held in place by a thin metal ring attached to the bottom of the stage by two pegs. The stage has an extension with a hole to accommodate a stage forceps. The microscope comes with several accessoires: a bone-handle dissection needle, two different brass forceps together in a leather carrying case.
Nineteenth century Paris was home to two important families of optical workers that had very similar surnames, Chevallier and Chevalier. Many published histories mix the two families together, incorrectly assuming that they were close relatives or, even, the same people. The family Chevallier, spelled with two “LL”, was made famous by Jean Gabriel Augustin Chevallier( 1778-1848), who was Optician to the King, and often signed his products “L’Ingéneur Chevallier”. The family Chevalier, spelled with one “L”, consisted of the father-son-grandson trio of Vincent Chevalier (1770-1841), Charles Chevalier 1804-1859), and Arthur Chevalier (1830-1872).
