Purely functional

The “COPIE LEIDEN” (‘Leiden Copy’) of the Van Leeuwenhoek microscope, as shown in the image above, is very smooth – some might even say too smooth.

As early as 1711 we see the earliest examples of comments about the unrefined finish of the microscopes emerge in a travel log by a German visiting Van Leeuwenhoek. Traces of filing, blemishes, and dents - a stark contrast with the showy microscopes the norm in the 17th and 18th centuries. Van Leeuwenhoek’s microscopes were purely functional, and it seems like the only thing that mattered to the Delftsman were the results.

With later instrument makers, burdened with the task to make a replica, this unrefinedness must have inspired mixed feelings. Van Leeuwenhoek’s microscopes were really too crude and basic to show off refinery. And precisely because they were so basic, countless replicas were produced. But how far would you be willing to go as an instrument maker to approach authentic crudeness? Produce a beautiful instrument and then proceed to hit holes in it with a hammer? Or would you add some embellishments instead? The replicas that were preserved display a subtle balance between authenticity and the aesthetics one would normally strive for when carefully crafting an instrument.