Thomas H. Court was a collector/dealer and amateur historian of microscopic equipment. He acted as agent for private persons and institutions and together with R.C. Clay, contributed to the Science Museum, South Kensington, London (now the Victoria and Albert museum) collection.

Highlights of the collection include original botanical and instrument watercolors and drawings by Cornelius Varley.Botanical drawings of Charas Vulgaris are produced while using his vial microscope. Published in Microscopic Society, January 1849, Volume 2, page 93. There is an autobiographical manuscript by C. Varley written in 1859 that details his exposure to science through his uncle and describes new instruments of the late 18th and early 19th centuries. It includes detailed information about when he began his artistic career drawing from nature and the formation of the Water Colour Society, his invention of the graphic telescope and portable graphic table, improvements to microscopes, and invention of the vial microscope. The manuscript includes a listing of his publications in the Society of Arts Transactions:Volumes 33,43,47-51, 53, 55. Includes information about the formation of the Microscopic Society in 1839.

Finding aid is divided into three series, Correspondence, Deeds, Graphic Material. It is a diverse collection, collected by T.H. Court.

Physical description

4 linear ft.

Provenance

Purchased from Wreden ($2,255.90) and accessioned, 12/04/1969 (1969 1779ms).

Early American History Note

This manuscript collection falls outside the geographic scope of the Early American guide (British North America and the United States before 1840). It may be of interest to scholars interested in global history, international relations, imperialism, or the U.S. in the world.

• Account books.
• Autobiographies.
• Broadsides.
• Deeds.
• Microfilm Collection
• Photoprints.
• Sketches.

• Astronomy.
• Medicine -- History.
• Microscopy -- History.
• Scientific apparatus and instruments -- History.