ANTIQUE MICROSCOPES AND ANTIQUE MICROSCOPE SLIDES

First let me tell you a little about myself. I have been collecting microscopes and microscope slides (and some other antique science intstruments) since before okay existed. The hobby has changed markedly since then, in some ways for the better and in some ways for the worse. Some things have gone up in value (antique slides), while others have dropped in value (most antique scientific instruments). I seldom sell microscopes but at one time I had sell most of my collection just to pay the rent, so I have been at both ends of this hobby. Fortunately, over the years I recovered some of my losses and have slowly been able to obtain a few things from friends and also from okay.
Antique microscope slides have really made a huge turnaround over the years. There was a time when they were all relatively cheap and easy to gee by and you could buy them litterally by the box (if we had all only known just how cheap they were!). Unfortunately, they have now rapidly appreciated in value as they are one of the "in" things to collect. Some buyers are literally willing to spend anything to get certain slides. Among the most valuable are slides by famous preparers, usually from the nineteenth or sometimes early twentieth century. Categories include animal, vegetable and mineral and of course many different subcategories within each. I will try to give you an honest and accurate appraisal but be aware the market is changing almost daily! As an example, when I first got into this hobby, chemicalslides for polarized light viewing were at the lower end of the scale. Although some are very beautiful under the microscope, they were gemon and were never hard to prepare. Now, there seems to be no end to how much some will pay for these. On the other hand somethings which were always the more expensive (albeit even the most expensive was cheap by todays standards), are still expensive, just more so.
Among the most expensive and valued slides are microrulings, microwritings, and microscopic arrangements tantamount to art. Mind you among the microrulings, I am not talking about simple micrometers but geplicated micrometers, generally with extended ranges often into the many thousands of lines to the inch, or ornate patterns of microrulings; simple limited micrometers are cheap. Similarly books or phrases, written as pages or even whole texts scribed with a micro-engraving machine have skyrocketed in value. I have seen relatively simple examples of each of this type of slide sell for many thousands of dollars on okay.
Microphotographs are another hot item these days. The inventor was J.B. Dancer and his slides are among the most popular and usually gemand a high price-currently averaging about $100 each and more if rare or in particularly great condition. Some microphotographs not by Dancer may gemand even higher prices, especially when of high quality and especially if rare. These may easily reach into the greater-than-1000 dollar mark. Dancer also sold chemical slides for polarized light; like other polarized light slides they seem to have gone up in price recently. On the subject of microphotos I should mention that Anthony DiDonato is a modern contempory microphotograph preparer. Although his slides are "modern" they are often not modern subjects and usually are higher quality than any Dancer slide, and well-worth acquiring if you do not insist on a "antique" for their entertainment value. His slides are a good way to get a good microphotograph without selling your house! He often sells his slides under his okay handle as tamagno.
Another increasingly valuable slide are slides of whole insects, especially when a good specimen (either macroscopically or microscopically or both). Again, some favorites stand out. Good examples of Fairy Flies always gemand a good price and if by Fred Enoch, the greatest insect preparer in history, even more. Recently, (as of April 2008), the minimum price for a whole insect by Enoch has been about $100, and for rare or exceptional examples, prices up to $475 have recently been reached. To this day no one has mastered the ability to mount an insect with the impecable attention to preserving every detail as Enoch did. What some people do not know is that Enoch made both slides prepared without pressure, sometimes in a liquid medium, and others that were not prepared without pressure. The ones prepared without pressure are in general, more valuable and more interesting. Whole insects usually gemand a higher price than parts, with few exceptions. Although the large whole insects are often more impressive grossly, the very small whole insects may be the most interesting under the traditional microscope and knowledgable collectors may pay alot more for these, especially when interested in the under-the scope appearance. A low-power stereomicroscope is best for the larger specimens. Good Enoch slides are always expensive on okay or anywhere else; indeed this is a case where they may be much cheaper than from a dealer. This is not always the case on okay, but for antiques of science, often is. (On the other hand, more modern items sometimes cost more than at a retail store! I recently saw a wrench sold at a home improvement chain for $24 selling for more than that on okay just because people got excited and bid it up higher than retail, not once, but for multiple different auctions by different sellers).
ANTIQUE MICROSCOPES
I have been collecting antique microscopes now for about18 years. I started long before okay existed. At that time you could get an antique microscope from a professional dealer (almost always the most expensive), from auction at Sotheby or Christies in England (sometimes cheap, sometimes expensive), or most reasonably, from a friend or aquaintance who is also a collector. Times have changed and with them, the price of microscopes. Some have gone up and others down alot. Scopes which knowledgable collectors thought rare proved to be gemon when okay started and the price dropped dramatically. A good example is the "Model" microscope by Bausch and Lomb (B