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Saturday, October 16, 2010

Letter of the Day: October 16

Curatorial Records: Numbered Correspondence 971


Lawrence, Mass.,


Oct. 16, 1895


To the official in charge of the Army and Navy Medical Museum.


Dear Sir-


In the October “Current Literature” is an article taken from Cassier’s Magazine under the name of Dr. Henry Morton stating that there is in the medical museum a piece of glass containing the Lord’s Prayer engraved on a space of the 1/441 by the 1/294 of an inch.


If you will kindly inform me if this is correct I shall be much obliged.


Yours truly,
R.P. Iddings

4 comments:

annajcook said...

But Laura! I want to know if you actually DO hold the glass with the Lord's Prayer now ... don't leave me in suspense, women!

Laura Cutter said...

Hello Anna! Thanks for the comment..here is your answer via Alan Hawk, the Historical Collections Manager:

"The item referenced is a microscopic glass glide made by John B Dancer. We have it in our collection although one end of the slide is broken off, the image is intact. Although the technique was a novelty at the time, it is the precursor to microfiche used in libraries and microdots used in espionage.

[You] might be interested in the websites; http://www.manchestermicroscopical.org.uk/danchom.html and http://www.microscopy-uk.org.uk/amateurs/qmc/hero1.html as well as the book; James B. McCormick and Brian Bracegirdle, The microscopic photographs of J.B. Dancer (Science Heritage, 1993)."

Alan

annajcook said...

Thanks Laura and Alan for the answer to my remote reference query :).

annajcook said...
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