Step 4 of 8

Drilling error

Detail on real microscope - [V07017](https://boerhaave.adlibhosting.com/Details/collect/17260)

Detail on real microscope - V07017

“COPIE LEIDEN” is nice and smooth here. The original in our collection certainly isn’t: mistakes were so common, there is no doubt it happened to Van Leeuwenhoek as well.

Van Leeuwenhoek drilled through the lens plates of his microscopes to secure them and place the lens. But this partially drilled-through hole probably wasn’t part of the plan. Or at least, that’s what we suspect. Copies usually didn’t contain these types of silly mistakes. And neither does our “COPIE LEIDEN”