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Scientific Instruments

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Scientific Instruments For Sale
German Art Deco Desk Top Barometer and Weather Station
Located in Hamilton, Ontario
German Art Deco desk top barometer and weather station. German desktop barometer, thermometer and hydrometer. This station is unsigned and made...
Category

20th Century German Art Deco Scientific Instruments

Didactic Flower Model German Manufacture of 1860 circa Made of Painted Plaster
Located in Milan, IT
Didactic flower, German manufacture of 1860 circa, depicting Marchantia Polymorpha L., made of painted plaster on a wooden base; the seed is removab...
Category

1860s German Antique Scientific Instruments

Materials

Plaster

Machine Age Art Deco Doctors or Bathroom Floor Model Scale Weigh Master by Hanso
Located in New York, NY
Great Machine Age, American Art Deco floor scale, Weigh Master by Hanson. The scale is fully functional, it shows cosmetic wear to the paint finish, and th...
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1930s American Art Deco Vintage Scientific Instruments

Materials

Metal

Antique Scientific Didactic Model of the Yew Seed, Germany made in the Twenties
Located in Milan, IT
Taxus baccata, enlarged and removable didactic model of the yew seed, tree very used as hedge, belonging to the order of the conifers. German manufacture of the twenties made of papi...
Category

1920s German Vintage Scientific Instruments

Materials

Wood

Vintage Wood Geloso Television GT1014, 1950s, Italy
Located in Rome, IT
This GTV1014 was one of the first 21-inch b / w televisions produced by Geloso. It uses the intercarrier system as an audio-video medium frequency. The chassis is mounted inside th...
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1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Vintage Scientific Instruments

Materials

Glass, Plastic, Wood

Rare 1914 Industrial cast Iron Lawn Sprinkler/Sculpture Pennsylvania Rainmaker
Located in Buffalo, NY
Rare 1914 Industrial cast Iron Lawn Sprinkler/Sculpture Pennsylvania Rainmaker, 40 years and I have never seen one,, Amazing piece of industrial design / sculpture , Would make a great lawn , yard...
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1910s American Industrial Vintage Scientific Instruments

Materials

Iron

A scale weighs travel letters, France 1880.
Located in Milan, IT
A scale weighs travel letters of gilt brass, S-shaped round plate of gilt brass. Ring to hold it between the fingers of one hand and pliers to insert the travel letters to be weighed...
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Late 19th Century French Antique Scientific Instruments

Materials

Brass

Edmé Beauchêne disarticulated human skull with museum provenance, France
Located in Leuven , BE
Edmé François Chauvot de Beauchêne (1780, Île-de-France – 1830, Paris), was a French physician, surgeon and anatomist. He was Chief of l'hopital Saint-Antoine Paris, the Deputy Chief...
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19th Century French Antique Scientific Instruments

Materials

Brass

French Louis XVI Style Gilded and Painted Wood Directoire Wall Barometer
Located in Bradenton, FL
19th century French Louis XVI style gilt and painted wood barometer. While not in working order, barometer has that wonderful old 'chippy' peeling patina. The carved wood frame and g...
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19th Century French Louis XVI Antique Scientific Instruments

Materials

Wood

Italy 1939s Sketch Futurist Poster "Day of Two Crosses" Against Tuberculosis
Located in Milan, IT
Sketch of the futurist poster "Day of two crosses, 16th April 1939, XVII", mixed technique of pastel and water-color, for an Italian campaign against tuberculosis, to inform people a...
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1930s Italian Futurist Vintage Scientific Instruments

Materials

Paper

Fairbanks Scale Co American Doctors Scale
Located in Cheshire, GB
Fairbanks doctors scale in black with brass adjustable measuring stick, and cast iron pressure plate. Retaining there original weights. Dimensions: Heig...
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Early 20th Century American Scientific Instruments

Materials

Iron

18th Century Louis XVI Giltwood Wall Barometer
Located in Vancouver, British Columbia
A beautifully carved and giltwood 18th century Louis XVI wall barometer having its original mercury tube and mechanism but presently with the mercury missing.    
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Late 19th Century French Louis XVI Antique Scientific Instruments

Materials

Giltwood

Antique Student's Field Microscope, English, Scientific Interest, Edwardian
Located in Hele, Devon, GB
This is an antique student's field microscope. An English, brass scientific instrument in carry case, dating to the Edwardian period, circa 1910. Superb brass instrument with fine ...
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Early 20th Century British Edwardian Scientific Instruments

Materials

Brass

Wooden box containing a travel surgical set, signed Galante, Paris 1870.
Located in Milan, IT
Oak wood box, containing a set of 8 iron surgical instruments, equipped with black horn and rosewood handles. Signed H.Galante & fils. Paris, France circa 1870.
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Late 19th Century French Antique Scientific Instruments

Materials

Iron

Piece of Blue Azure Lapis Lazuli
Located in London, GB
This remarkable piece is a polished Lapis Lazuli slab, displaying an intense, deep blue color that is both rich and captivating. Originating from the mineral-rich regions of Afghanis...
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15th Century and Earlier Afghan Antique Scientific Instruments

Materials

Lapis Lazuli

French Modern Painted And Giltwood Sunburst Barometer
Located in Houston, TX
French Modern Painted and Giltwood Sunburst Barometer. This unusual French mid century modern star shaped barometer is executed in a beautiful shade of red with gilt wood accents. Th...
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1940s French Mid-Century Modern Vintage Scientific Instruments

Materials

Wood, Giltwood

George III Mahogany Zograscope
Located in Brooklyn, NY
George III mahogany zograscope with inlaid base and frames and a ring and urn turned shaft, circa late 18th or early 19th century. Provenance: Philadelphia Main Line. Dimensions: 24....
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Late 18th Century American George III Antique Scientific Instruments

Materials

Mahogany

Vintage Reichert Austria Microscope 241 653 in Wooden Box with Accessories
Located in Philadelphia, PA
Vintage Reichert Austria Microscope Number 241 653 in Wooden Box with Accessories as Pictured. Circa Late 20th Century. Measurements: Box: 14.5" H x 9" W x 10.5" D.
Category

Late 20th Century Art Deco Scientific Instruments

Materials

Metal

Anatomical model: a human brain inserted into a sectioned skullcap, Italy 1920.
Located in Milan, IT
Anatomical model for schools, educational use, depicting a human brain (enlarged 2 times). Model that can be dismantled into six parts which highlights both the internal and external...
Category

Early 20th Century Italian Scientific Instruments

Materials

Plaster

A set of Victorian oak Jockey scales by Youngs
Located in Lymington, Hampshire
A set of Victorian oak Jockey scales by Youngs, of typical form with an upholstered seat adjacent to a brass balance, with four weights of 8, 4, 2 and 1 stone, the frieze with a carved rosette and leaf band, raised on four barley twist legs, reupholstered in deep buttoned green leather, stamped ‘Youngs, London’. English, circa 1860. Footnote: John Young & Son, Royal Warrant Holders to Queen Victoria, operated out of 5 Bear Street and 46 Cranbourn St, Leicester Square, London W.C., from 1812-1901. They are recorded by the Museo Galileo as ‘makers of balances’ and in their own trade adverts...
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Mid-19th Century English Victorian Antique Scientific Instruments

Materials

Brass

Automa Tedesco Gabbia Con Uccello Cantante e Animato 1920s Karl Griesbaum
Located in Milan, IT
Automa Animato Tedesco Gabbia Con Uccellino del 1920 circa costituito da una gabbia rotonda in ottone dorato con al suo interno un uccello animato canterino su di un trespolo con un ...
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Early 19th Century German Art Deco Antique Scientific Instruments

Materials

Brass

Italian mid-century modern Round brass medicine scale weights, 1900-1950s
Located in MIlano, IT
Italian mid-century modern Round brass medicine scale weights, 1900-1950s Set of vintage round brass medicine scale weights. The weight set is made up of 6 pieces, which can be inser...
Category

Early 20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Scientific Instruments

Materials

Brass

French 19th Century Brass Fabric Scale on Wooden Base by the Maison Piat
Located in Atlanta, GA
A French brass fabric scale from the 19th century with wooden base, from the Maison Piat. Created in Paris during the 19th century, this fabric scale, made of brass, is mounted on a ...
Category

19th Century French Antique Scientific Instruments

Materials

Brass

Wall-Mounted Large Weather Station in Art Nouveau Style Carved Walnut Belgium
Located in Verviers, BE
Wall-mounted weather station in carved walnut made in Spa Belgium by Valentine Engel High quality mechanism with Jeweled movement barometer and thermometer (in centigrade) Unusual de...
Category

1910s Belgian Art Nouveau Vintage Scientific Instruments

Materials

Walnut

Swid Powell Magnifying Glass in Original Box
Located in Hopewell, NJ
Stunning Richard Meier designed magnifying glass for Swid Powerll, having ebony wood handle, silver plate and glass, plus original sleeve and box.
Category

1980s Italian Mid-Century Modern Vintage Scientific Instruments

Materials

Silver Plate

Antique 3 Draw Telescope, English, Fruitwood, Brass, Henry Hughes, Victorian
Located in Hele, Devon, GB
This is an antique 3 draw telescope. An English, fruitwood and brass terrestrial refractor by H. Hughes, dating to the early Victorian period, circa 1850. Perfect for bird watching, landscape appreciation, wildlife, or maritime observation. Equally suitable for observing the night sky Delightful early Victorian telescope...
Category

Mid-19th Century British Early Victorian Antique Scientific Instruments

Materials

Brass

Antique Danish SNTS Morse Telegraph Round Relay of brass and mahogany
Located in Sweden, SE
The telegraph relay made in late 19th century by The Great Northern Telegraph Company (Det Store Nordiske Telegrafselskab A / S) that was founded in Denmark in June 1869. It was set up as a merger of three recently established telegraph companies initiated by Danish industrial mogul Carl Frederik Tietgen. The brass and wood instrument is state of the art creation by legendary Danish engineers. Serial 48062. Size app.: 11 cm high (4”) 15,8 cm deep and wide (6”). Very good, little of age n usage wear, original state, very well preserved and likely functioning. Please study high-res pictures for cosmetic condition! App. 2,1 kg weight it is going to measure some 3 kg packed for shipment. The aim of the firm was to create a worldwide telegraph company. The former headquarters of the GNTC on The Bund, Shanghai. The starting point of The Great Northern Telegraph Company (now GN Store Nord) was a concession agreement, which C.F. Tietgen made with the Russian Tzar...
Category

Late 19th Century Danish Art Deco Antique Scientific Instruments

Materials

Brass

Small French 20th Century Terrestrial Globe on Turned Black Wooden Base
Located in Atlanta, GA
A small French terrestrial globe from the 20th century, with metal protractor and circular black wooden base. Created in France during the 20th century, this terrestrial globe is con...
Category

20th Century French Scientific Instruments

Materials

Metal

19th Century Bronze and Lead Weight in its Interior of Seven Pounds
Located in Marbella, ES
19th Century Bronze and Lead Weight in its Interior of Seven Pounds
Category

Late 20th Century English Scientific Instruments

Materials

Bronze

19th Century French Iron Balance - Antique Small Brass Scale
Located in West Palm Beach, FL
A small, antique French intricate brass balance with different weights in solid brass, in good condition. The iron scale is topped with the original polished brass plates. The scale ...
Category

Late 19th Century French Antique Scientific Instruments

Materials

Metal, Brass, Iron

English Silver Plated Bronze Barometer Covered with Hand-Sewn Leather
Located in Marbella, ES
English Silver Plated Bronze Barometer Covered with Hand-Sewn Leather
Category

Late 20th Century English Scientific Instruments

Materials

Aluminum, Bronze

A set of botanical models of a plant embryo, Fisons Scientific, London UK 1930.
Located in Milan, IT
A set of five botanical models depicting in numbered sequence the development of a vegetal embryo. Made out of hand painted plaster, the models are mounted on a wooden base. T. Gerra...
Category

Mid-20th Century English Scientific Instruments

Materials

Plaster, Wood

A Victorian Brass Microscope By J.P. Cutts & Sons
Located in New York, NY
A Victorian English brass microscope marked ‘J. P. Cutts & Sons / Opticians to her Majesty / Sheffield’. The company operated for most of the 19th Century under many variations of th...
Category

Mid-19th Century English Victorian Antique Scientific Instruments

Materials

Brass

19 century Islamic Persian Brass Celestial Globe
Located in New York, NY
19 century Persian celestial globe astrolabe mounted on axle, decorated with bands, Farsi inscriptions and animals, raised on four baluster shaped legs with secondary ring raised on...
Category

Early 20th Century Persian Scientific Instruments

Materials

Brass

Bilancia Da Farmacia Inglese F E Becker & CO Entro Teca Inizio 1900
By F. E. Becker & Co
Located in Milan, IT
Antica Bilancia Da Farmacia F. E. Becker & CO conservata entro una teca a giorno costruita in legno e vetro. Alla bilancia si accede sollevando l’antina frontale, dopo di che si può ...
Category

Early 20th Century Scientific Instruments

Materials

Brass

Vintage 2 Draw Telescope, English, Leather, Brass, Terrestrial Refractor, C.1960
Located in Hele, Devon, GB
This is a vintage 2 draw telescope. An English, leather on brass terrestrial refractor, dating to the mid 20th century, circa 1960. Perfect for bird watching, landscape appreciatio...
Category

Mid-20th Century British Mid-Century Modern Scientific Instruments

Materials

Brass

An Antique Brass Library Telescope With Tripod
Located in New York, NY
A large brass library telescope with a tripod of three folding metal legs. The telescope consists of 3 sections. The first and largest is the main body of the telescope, the second i...
Category

19th Century English Victorian Antique Scientific Instruments

Materials

Brass, Iron

A German Combination Compass With Sundial
Located in New York, NY
An 18th century German combination compass and sundial, complete with its original box. The inside of the cloth and leather box is affixed with a medallion listing various cities alo...
Category

18th Century German Antique Scientific Instruments

Materials

Brass

A Rare Victorian Johnston Patent Optometer Device
Located in New York, NY
A rare Victorian-era optometer device patented by George Johnston of Detroit, Michigan in 1882. This device was used to determine the strength of lenses needed for eyeglasses by meas...
Category

Late 19th Century American Late Victorian Antique Scientific Instruments

Materials

Brass, Steel

Decorative French Ceramic Thermometer by Mithê Espelt (circa 1960s)
Located in London, GB
Decorative, French vintage ceramic thermometer and casing by Mithé Espelt (circa 1960s). A delightful piece with stylised French coq and castle motifs. The hen is in a lovely deep green and a creamy white; the castles are yellow and green. With a thermometer that accurately measures the temperature in Centigrade, the ceramic is also in very good overall condition. The felt backing is intact and in pristine condition. A truly charming and stylish item for your home or work place. Please enjoy the many photos accompanying the listing. Upon request a video may be provided. These works do not generally bear any signature. Not signing her pieces was Espelt's way of shunning recognition and fame. Dimensions: H 45.5 cm / 17.9" W 12 cm / 4.7" D 1.5 cm / 0.6" About the artist: Born in 1923 in Lunel in the South of France, Mithé Espelt grew up in a family of affluent winegrowers and was very close to her grandfather who passed on his love for the arts and brought her into contact with major intellectuals and artists of the time. She rubbed shoulders with Jean Hugo, Jean Cocteau, Pablo Picasso, Christian Bérard and many others. She graduated from the Beaux-Arts school in Montpellier in 1942, and then studied at the Fontcarrade school where she took a special interest in ceramics. She began by designing buttons for fashion houses in Paris, before managing the entire production of buttons and jewellery at the Lydia Chartier workshop and collaborating with Line Vautrin, amongst others. At the end of the war, she returned to her native south, opened her studio and took advantage of the growing excitement around ceramics, particularly those from the town of Vallauris. To stand out and sustain the workshop business she started designing gilded jewellery...
Category

1960s French Vintage Scientific Instruments

Materials

Ceramic

Large Format Mahogany Studio Camera on Adjustable Stand c.1890-1930
Located in San Francisco, CA
ABOUT An antique large format camera sitting on an articulating and geared stand. Camera has a Mahogany case constructed with dovetail joi...
Category

Late 19th Century American Industrial Antique Scientific Instruments

Materials

Brass, Iron

Antique Danish SNTS Morse Telegraph Register Wheatstone transmitter
Located in Sweden, SE
The telegraph apparatus made in late 19th century and was driven by weight on chain like Old Father clock. The brass and steel instrument is state of the art creation by legendary Danish engineers. Register serial 52771. Size app.: 19 cm high (7”) 23 cm deep (9”) and 29 cm wide (11”). Very good, little of age n usage wear, original state, very well preserved and likely functioning. Please study high-res pictures for cosmetic condition! App. 7,2 kg weight it is going to measure some 10 kg packed for shipment. Wheatstone type transmitter was produced by The Great Northern Telegraph Company (Det Store Nordiske Telegrafselskab A / S) that was founded in Denmark in June 1869. It was set up as a merger of three recently established telegraph companies initiated by Danish industrial mogul Carl Frederik Tietgen. The aim of the firm was to create a worldwide telegraph company. The former headquarters of the GNTC on The Bund, Shanghai. The starting point of The Great Northern Telegraph Company (now GN Store Nord) was a concession agreement, which C.F. Tietgen made with the Russian Tzar...
Category

Late 19th Century Danish Art Deco Antique Scientific Instruments

Materials

Brass

Leiden bottle from the second half of the 19th century holds electrical charges
Located in Milan, IT
Leiden bottle from the second half of the 19th century, this is an electrical component that accumulates and stores a high-voltage electrical charge by means of an external source ...
Category

1880s Antique Scientific Instruments

Materials

Glass

English oak wall-mounted aneroid barometer signed Smiths 1940s
Located in Milan, IT
aneroid barometer square-shaped wall-mounted English oak wood signed Smiths from the 1940s. Good working condition. Measures 20x20x 5 cm - inche 7.9x7.9x2. The last photo is the ...
Category

1940s Vintage Scientific Instruments

Materials

Wood

Engraved boxwood sun clock English manufacture mid-19th century.
Located in Milan, IT
Engraved boxwood diptych sun clock with brass hinges and locking hooks, book-shaped, mid-19th-century English manufacture. The clock has an orientation compass inserted in the base w...
Category

Mid-19th Century Antique Scientific Instruments

Materials

Wood

A Very Rare and Fine 19th Century Telescope by Browns of Glasgow
Located in Dublin, IE
A very rare 19th Century lacquered brass telescope by Browns of Glasgow. This stunning three draw brass telescope is of exceptional quality, in full working order with a spare astro...
Category

19th Century Scottish Antique Scientific Instruments

Materials

Brass

Leiden bottle second half of the 19th century accumulates preserves electrical charges
Located in Milan, IT
Leiden bottle from the second half of the 19th century is about an electrical component that accumulates and stores a high-voltage electrical charge by means of an external source ...
Category

1880s Antique Scientific Instruments

Materials

Glass

1930s Germany Botanical Model of the Lamium Purpureum Flower
Located in Milan, IT
Educational model of the Lamium purpureum L. (false purple nettle) flower made of painted papier mâché with a Bakelite base from the 1930s, German ma...
Category

1930s German Vintage Scientific Instruments

Materials

Parchment Paper

Wall-Mounted Large Weather Station in Art Nouveau Style Carved Walnut Belgium
Located in Verviers, BE
Art Deco Style Barometer with Mercury Thermometer Weather Station Antique Decorative Cherrywood Wall Barometer Austria 1920s Please don't hesitate to get in touch with any further q...
Category

1920s Austrian Art Deco Vintage Scientific Instruments

Materials

Brass

Bussola magnetica da topografo da viaggio in legno di rovere e ottone metà '800
Located in Milan, IT
Bussola magnetica da topografo e da viaggio, in legno di rovere e ottone; strumento costituito da un ago calamitato libero di ruotare su un piano orizzontale segnando con la punta de...
Category

Mid-19th Century Antique Scientific Instruments

Materials

Wood

Iron pharmacy mortar. 18th-19th centuries.
Located in Madrid, ES
Iron pharmacy mortar. 18th-19th centuries. Old mortar for pharmaceutical use, made of cast iron. It follows the usual structure for this type of utensil between the 15th and 19th ce...
Category

19th Century Spanish Neoclassical Revival Antique Scientific Instruments

Materials

Iron

Wall-Mounted Large Weather Station in Art Nouveau Style Carved Walnut Belgium
Located in Verviers, BE
Wall-mounted weather station in carved walnut made in Liege Belgium by G.Tart. High quality mechanism with Jeweled movement barometer and thermometer (in centigrade) Unusual design ...
Category

1910s Belgian Art Nouveau Vintage Scientific Instruments

Materials

Walnut

Vintage Hydroway Scales Inc, HydroScale 1000 Pound Crane Weigh Scale
Located in Philadelphia, PA
Vintage Hydroway Scales Inc, HydroScale 1000 Pound Crane Weigh Scale. Item itself weighs approx 40-50 lbs. Circa Late 20th Century. Measurements: 13.5" H x 13.5" W x 8" D
Category

Late 20th Century Industrial Scientific Instruments

Materials

Iron

Piccola bussola da viaggio in ottone con coperchio manifattura francese anni '20
Located in Milan, IT
Piccola bussola da viaggio in ottone con coperchio, strumento costituito da un ago calamitato libero di ruotare su un piano orizzontale segnando la direzione del Nord magnetico. Ros...
Category

1920s Vintage Scientific Instruments

Materials

Brass

1900s French Metal Scale
Located in High Point, NC
This 1900s French Metal Scale is an enchanting piece of historical craftsmanship, designed to bring a timeless aesthetic to any setting. Constructed with a durable, iron base that ha...
Category

Early 20th Century French Scientific Instruments

Materials

Metal

19th Century French Metal Scale
Located in High Point, NC
Step back in time with this authentic 19th-century French metal scale, a captivating piece of history that combines elegance and functionality. Crafted during a period when precision...
Category

19th Century French Antique Scientific Instruments

Materials

Metal

Rare paradoxical planetarium of Jupiter and the Medici satellites, France 1840.
Located in Milan, IT
This rare paradoxical planetarium demonstrates the rotation and revolution motion of the system of the planet Jupiter and the Medici satellites. The base is made of ebonized fruit wo...
Category

Mid-19th Century French Antique Scientific Instruments

Materials

Brass

5 dial Elegant Victorian Barometer First half of 19th century by P Corti Exeter
Located in Sweden, SE
Literally “Weather Station” (known as a '5 dial' type wheel barometer) incorporates, wheel Barometer with silvered barometer dial finely engraved, encased in a cast bezel and covered...
Category

Early 19th Century British Victorian Antique Scientific Instruments

Materials

Silver Plate, Brass

Vintage, New and Antique Scientific Instruments

Decorating with vintage, new and antique scientific instruments, as well as other authentic collectibles and curiosities that can be found on 1stDibs, presents an opportunity to create a unique, natural history museum-like atmosphere in your home that can provoke conversation as often as it pays tribute to how far we’ve come in understanding our world.

The Age of Discovery (or the Age of Exploration) refers to a period during the 15th to 18th centuries that saw Europeans taking to the high seas to explore, trade and conquer various regions of the world. What we know about geography, the advancement of sea vessels and the development of scientific instruments all broadened significantly during this time.

With every new finding about our world, scientists invented tools to measure and record. While many of these objects are now obsolete, they are essentially works of art and have a rich history. Scientific instruments of a bygone era represent how far science and technology have advanced.

If you’re interested in introducing antique scientific instruments and tools to your decor to add contrast or draw attention to otherwise unexplored corners of your living room or dining room, there are many options to consider as far as textures and colors go. Like any curious decorative object that draws attention to your home library or mantel, vintage scientific instruments will likely add spirit to any conversation that might take place over cocktails or dinner.

Create an intriguing focal point with Georgian scientific instruments, such as stick barometers with mahogany cases or lacquered brass telescopes. These items stem from an era named for the monarchies of the four King Georges, who ruled England in succession starting in 1714 (plus King William’s reign, which lasted until 1837). Just as there was beautiful jewelry produced during the period that today is coveted by collectors, there is much to be found in the collectibles and curiosities realm too.

Mid-century modern scientific instruments also capture a period of rapid progress, representing groundbreaking discoveries that defined the 20th century. Wouldn’t antique anatomical models of the 1950s pair well with your eye-catching abstract paintings, George Nelson clock or Florence Knoll sofa?

Whether you’re looking for a way to showcase your passion for chemistry or aviation or are making room in your foyer for a breathtaking industrial-style electronic time tower manufactured by Patek Philippe, 1stDibs offers a collection of vintage, new and antique scientific instruments that includes topographic tools, laboratory equipment and more.

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