How does a collection happen?

What equipment do you use? Post pictures and descriptions of your microscope(s) here!
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Phill Brown
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Joined: Mon May 24, 2021 1:19 pm
Location: Devon UK.

How does a collection happen?

#1 Post by Phill Brown » Thu May 27, 2021 9:42 am

Image
Nikon Labophot 2. Phase/BF/DF.
Euromex iscope Phase/BF/DF.
Watson stereo triple turret.
GTVision XDY?. Inverted phase.
Sat on a desk that I really like.
There are others....
I can explain, honestly.
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dtsh
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Location: Wisconsin

Re: How does a collection happen?

#2 Post by dtsh » Thu May 27, 2021 1:09 pm

I am in the proces of slimming my collection down. I have a Leica 410, AO 20, AO 110, AO Cycloptic, AO 150, 4 AO 10's, and a couple of "parts" stands for salvage. If I count the "loaners" then add 3 more.
Eventually I hope to list a couple of the AO 10 stands and get my count down to 3 or 4, again not counting loaners; then I can justify getting some more to fix up!

Phill Brown
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Location: Devon UK.

Re: How does a collection happen?

#3 Post by Phill Brown » Thu May 27, 2021 2:55 pm

Should microscopes be labelled with a warning or at least a caution?.
I did manage to evict one but it was very small.

Greg Howald
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Re: How does a collection happen?

#4 Post by Greg Howald » Thu May 27, 2021 3:07 pm

You must use dust covers. People think they keep scopes clean but they actually prevent direct physical contact with another scope. Darn things breed like rabbits. I had to thin out about a month ago. I gave three scopes to the scout program and a week later another new one moved in. You can't win.😂
Greg

dtsh
Posts: 977
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Location: Wisconsin

Re: How does a collection happen?

#5 Post by dtsh » Thu May 27, 2021 3:42 pm

Greg Howald wrote:
Thu May 27, 2021 3:07 pm
You must use dust covers. People think they keep scopes clean but they actually prevent direct physical contact with another scope. Darn things breed like rabbits. I had to thin out about a month ago. I gave three scopes to the scout program and a week later another new one moved in. You can't win.😂
Greg
One must need latex covers as mine all have covers, but it hasn't stopped them. :roll:

The breakdown of my goal is
- phase contrast
- brightfield
- darkfield
- stereo
I've got all of what I want, I just need to unload the extras. Problem for me is I enjoy fiddling and fixing them, so they take a while to get out the door.

Scarodactyl
Posts: 2775
Joined: Sat Mar 03, 2018 9:09 pm

Re: How does a collection happen?

#6 Post by Scarodactyl » Thu May 27, 2021 9:41 pm

I don't know how many I own (it's hard to add up the fractiosn anyway).

lorez2
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Re: How does a collection happen?

#7 Post by lorez2 » Thu May 27, 2021 10:49 pm

The collecting of microscopes begins innocently, often a gift from a parent or a serendipitous flea market find, and in many cases ends quietly as one's interests move on to other things,
BUT In many more cases it evolves through the stages of terminal microscope hoarding.

Here are the stages of microscope collecting/hoarding as compiled by me:
1. The gift
2. The flea market purchase ( often repeated multiple times )
3. Active solicitation of microscopes through newspaper want ads ( a long time ago )
4. Inter-state travel to estate sales and auctions
5. Creating lists of must have models
6. Creating lists of accessories for the must-have models
7. Finding donor scopes to provide hard to find parts
8. Dividing the collection into sub-sets to justify greater numbers of scopes
9. And the list goes on...

A therapist may see it as: interest, enthusiasm, hobby project, hang-up, passion, infatuation, fixation, fetish, phobia, mania, insanity.

I am at the end of the list. Where are you ?

lorez
Nikon 80i

Greg Howald
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Re: How does a collection happen?

#8 Post by Greg Howald » Fri May 28, 2021 12:42 am

I think all of the above might apply for me.
Greg

farnsy
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Joined: Mon Jun 17, 2019 9:03 pm
Location: Fort Worth, Texas

Re: How does a collection happen?

#9 Post by farnsy » Wed Jun 09, 2021 11:53 pm

My problem is that I'm just really terrible at getting rid of the extras. Buying microscopes is fun, and fixing them up is even funner. However, when you have microscopes that work but you don't use, the right thing to do is to sell or give them away. I'm terrible at that.

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Dmi3n
Posts: 121
Joined: Thu Feb 06, 2020 4:14 pm
Location: Russia, Kaliningrad

Re: How does a collection happen?

#10 Post by Dmi3n » Tue Jul 20, 2021 6:46 pm

What about cross-country travel (almost 2500 km in total) to buy long wanted microscope because seller refused to ship it? :D
Gear list:
CZJ NfPk and Polmi A w/ 45mm apo objectives, Phv, Epi Pol, trinocular
Gamma Hungary 3D-condenser
LOMO ОИ-28 Fluorescence Attachment
Set of Leitz Photar macro lens
Nikon D500 DSLR
LOMO МС-2 microtome

charlie g
Posts: 1831
Joined: Mon Oct 20, 2014 7:54 pm

Re: How does a collection happen?

#11 Post by charlie g » Tue Jul 20, 2021 10:26 pm

As an 'old timer' my start of microscopeitis was a newspaper ad in 'the classifieds'...With $100 USD...a grade school bud and I ( thank you Joey Shields for riding shotgun with me on dangerous Brnx/NYC trains''' )rode the NYC trains to a Bronx/NYC dentist ...it was an all black enamel quadruple nose piece monocular stand..I used my saved paper-route delivery boy monies for that $100 USD purchase.

At age ten I was first introduced, by my older sister (thank you LindaMarie) to a Japan toy trinoc nose-piece monocular in a cheap wood box...so I guess I started with a 'hand me down toy scope.'..wow it was sweet, especially on summer holiday to a rural part of NY.

With my spouse at flea markets, odd rural settings of bricks and mortar 'antiques shops'..I grabbed circa 1930's rural doctorsB&L/Buffalo stands...well kept microscopes..in mohogany cases with wonderful accessory compartments full of occulars, bronse objectives in bronse containers...I was addicted like a mocking birds filling up it's bower. Bricks and mortar vintage microscopes often had labelled fixed slides..tissue marker attachments..this amped up my 'microscopeitis'. I had...no control of it.

With inter-net online markets...I amped up again my collecting addiction..but it is fun to make time for microscopy at the bench even to today.

An August 1963 book: "Hunting with the Microscope", Johnson and Bleifeld..High School educators from my home in Queens,NYC..the very first sentence of this excellent book states:" Right at the beginning I want to exercise the authors priviledge of giving unasked advice. It's a warning. Here it is: If you think you "can't afford a microscope", don.t start playing with a pocket lens!

Before you know it , you'll catch '"microscopeitis", and there is no cure, except the possesion of a really goodcompound microscope.".

safe summer'21 charlie guevara

Phill Brown
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Location: Devon UK.

Re: How does a collection happen?

#12 Post by Phill Brown » Wed Jul 21, 2021 12:38 pm

You will all be proud and know how hard it can be.
I have (plenty/more than I need/lots) microscopes, but none Zeiss.
A trinocular Zeiss standard 14 with phase came up saying buy me now.
Someone else's need would be greater than mine,It would most likely have been one too many and not put to the use it deserves.
Sure it has gone to a good home.

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