Optical Instruments: Microscopes, Binoculars, Sextans, Theodolits, Hand Scopes

Measurement of the meridian arcs

France and Finland issued stamps depicting the french scientific expeditions in 18th century, to measure the flattening of the Earth globe. La Condamine, that appears on the french stamp, was sent to Peru, while Maupertuis gone to the Artic circle. Maupertuis appears in both stamps as also the Picard Quadrans, a geodetical instrument devoted to measure distances in the Earth, through the angles of a star in the sky at different geographic latitudes.





Maupertuis 'Picard Quadrans'

Romania
Industrial Development
August 15, 1978
Set of six, one stamp depicts an optical microscope for research work.

Brazil

1982

100 years of discovery of Koch bacillus

se-tenant

The left stamp shows an illustration of a microscope, the bacillus and one lung

Here is the 30 (pf) value (Mi #548) from Germany/BRD's January 12, 1968 Progress in Science and Technology set of three. This stamp commemorates the centenary of construction of the scientific microscope, and it shows a schematic diagram of beam guidance through a modern microscope.

images of theodolite and level on the stamps of the USSR

Brazil

1980

National Health Day

Campaign against the Chagas disease - 1v

The stamp shows a stylized microscope, houses, and at botton right the bug insect that carries the parasite Trypanosoma cruzi.

R.A.S.D. - Sahara Occidental

In 1992 Sahara Occ. issued a set of 5 stamps remembering 350 years of the death of Galileo Galilei. One stamp is illustrated with iconic images related to his scientific researches, including a microscope (occhiolino).

The microscope depicted in the stamp , perhaps designed by Galileo (1564-1642), is attributed to Giuseppe Campani (1635-1715), in which case it would have been made after Galileo's death. (from 'Lens on Leeuwenhoek')

here Galileo with a more familiar optical instrument - a telescope

On November 3, 2005 Germany issued this 1.44 euros stamp (Mi #2496) to commemorate the centenary of bacteriologist Robert Koch's (1843-1910) award of the Nobel Prize.

Optical instruments help us to know better our nature, enlarging the size of the Earth things, researching, surveilling or spying other persons. The human eyes, his own scrutiny and the lens instrument - only! - observing and metering our own planet and helping the society. Microscopes, binoculars, sextans, theodolits, hand and maritime scopes.

There is a thread yet for telescopes/observatories.

Optical Instrumens Stamps Posted - Statistic

Microscopes (monocular/binocular/eletronic-visual) 34 stamps
Sextans (quadrants/similars) 18 stamps
Theodolits 13 stamps
Binoculars - 8 stamps
Hand scopes (maritime/terrestrial) 7 stamps
Medical/Technoindustrial Optic instruments - 4 stamps
Periscopes - 2 stamps
Magnifying glasses - 2 stamps

Here is Germany's October 7, 2010, 85c stamp (Mi #2825) commemorating the centenary of the Friedrich Loeffler Institute. Stamp depicts Dr. Loeffler (1852-1915, physician and bacteriologist), a virus, and a microscope.

Vatican
Angelo Secchi
June 25, 1979
Set of three, one stamp depicts a spectroscope of the Roman College used by Angelo Secchi (1818-1878) for his work.

Macao

1994

Nautical navigation instruments - 3v

The stamps shows nautical instruments stilized. An astrolabe, a quadrant and a sextans.

Cuba

1974

Stamp day - 4v

The four stamps shows the magnifying glass and envelopes with the name of cuban's cities. The magnifying glass is the most simple and popular optical instrument to enlarge the size of the things.

Italy

2002

Telethon - 1v