Opening this Saturday, April 23, 2016, and running through March 18, 2017, a new exhibition at The Corning Museum of Glass entitled "Revealing the Invisible: The History of Glass and the Microscope" will examine the 17th century figure of Antonie van Leeuwenhoek, a Dutch dealer in fabric who intitally was looking for a way to examine in greater detail the threads in of the cloth he was selling. His interest in lensmaking led him to develop very fine glass spheres that, when installed in a simple handheld device, could reach magnification levels of 275 times. Van Leeuwenhoek would go on to keenly observe and describe for the first time blood cells, bacteria, and sperm, advancing the fields of biology and medicine. Through his regular correspondence with the Royal Society in London, he eventually won their endorsement and his continuing discovery made him a celebrity in his time, even winning an invitiation to visit with the Tsar of Russia. Among the highlights of the Corning exhibition will be an extremely rare original 300-year-old van Leeuwenhoek microscope. Less than 12 are known to have survived, and none have ever been exhibited in the United States.
Also on exhibit will be replicas that visitors can handle, as well as other historically significant early microscopes. In addition, numerous books and materials from the Rakow Library will be incorporated, as well as specially designed interactive displays that will help understand the momentous changes ushered in by the early microscopes.
“CMoG is the world’s premier institution for the study of glass, so we’re excited to present this exhibition that will illuminate a fascinating and surprising story about the history of science and of glassmaking,” said Dr. Marvin Bolt, CMoG’s curator of science and technology in a prepared statement. “Revealing the Invisible will lead visitors through nearly 400 years of discovery that helped transform the way we see the world.”
Another highlight is a rare first edition of van Leeuwenhoek's contemporary Robert Hooke’s illustrated 1665 book Micrographia, which has been digitized for a special interactive presentation in this exhibition.
According to the exhibition announcement, there will also be an original copy of Antonio Neri’s 1612 work, L’Arte Vetraria (or The Art of Glass), one of the first published documents on the Venetian glass trade, including information on the near alchemical recipes for colors. The continuing inquiry into microscopes will be presented through examples of early 1800s and late-1800s German microscopes with lenses by now-famous makers Otto Schott, Carl Zeiss, and Ernst Abbe.
IF YOU GO:
Corning Museum of Glass "Revealing the Invisible: The History of Glass and the Microscope" April 23, 2016, through March 18, 2017 One Museum Way Corning, New York 14830 Tel: 800.732.6845 Exhibition Website