c.1860, English, engraved to foot 'J. B. Dancer Optician, 315, Manchester', standing on a very large folding brass lacquered foot, central boss with supporting architectural-type pillars supporting body on trunnions, large plano-concave mirror in gimbal on a sliding collar, removable stage held in place on a sliding dovetail with a large steel screw to secure it in place, fully mechanical stage with X-Y control via rack and screw with substage aperture for accessories, course focusing via rack work to rear of body tube with fine focusing via screw and lever above nose piece, polished mahogany travel case includes: opaque object revolver and case of disks (missing chain), live box, achromatic substage condenser and set of stops in a brass case, focusing substage Wenham's parabolic condenser, a combination objective marked 1½" and ¾" in a can, an objective engraved '4/10', with correction collar in can, later Leitz objective, very low power eyepiece, low power eyepiece, medium power eyepiece and high power eyepiece, all housed in original French polished mahogany case with folding carry handle, trade label inside lid with list of objective and eyepiece powers, lock damaged and wood broken but all parts present, case width 43.5cm Footnote: Gloria Clifton: 'Directory of British Scientific Instrument Makers' lists John Benjamin Dancer as working at 43 Cross Street, Manchester between 1847 and his retirement in 1878.