Signedon back of mirror: SPENCER / BUFFALO / USA [in achromat trademark]
Inscribedscratched on bottom of arm and clamp: Crypt. Lab. 11
scratched on bottom of arm and clamp: Radcliffe
Historical AttributesThis instrument was used in the Biological Laboratories of Harvard University and at Radcliffe College.
It is marked "Crypt. Lab. 11." During WW II there was a program at Radcliffe training women in cryptology and cryptanalysis. This camera lucida may have belonged to it. A less romantic and more likely explanation would be botanical studies on cryptogam plants.
Primary SourcesSpencer Lens Company, Catalog of Spencer Products including Microscopes, Microtomes, Delineascopes and their Accessories with Other Scientific Optical Instruments (Buffalo: Spencer Lens Company, 1924), 69.
Spencer Lens Company, Catalog (Not complete) of the More Popular Spencer Microscopes, Microtomes, Delineascopes, Optical Measuring Instruments and Accessories (Buffalo: Spencer Lens Company, 1930), 63.
ProvenanceRadcliffe College; Biological Laboratories, Harvard University; transfer to CHSI, 1981.