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Scientific Instruments For Sale
20th Century Terrestrial Globe by Peter J. Oestergaard
By Peter J. Oestergaard
Located in Madrid, ES
Early 20th century antique traditional Columbus earth globe, brass frame, papier mâché sphere and turned, ebonized wooden base.
Gezeichnet & Hergestellt
Peter J. Oestergaard.
Category
Early 20th Century German Mid-Century Modern Scientific Instruments
Materials
Brass
$767 Sale Price
20% Off
US Navy Mark 74 Aiming Telescope
Located in Norwell, MA
1943 United States Navy Telescope. Used primarily as part of the Mark 16 Aiming System on 50 caliber anti-aircraft gun mounts. Fitted with three sun filters...
Category
1940s North American Vintage Scientific Instruments
Materials
Brass
Brass Balance Shop Scales with Eagle Crest
Located in Godshill, Isle of Wight
Brass balance shop scales with eagle crest
Decorative large brass balance shop scales
I super looking set, the slightly dished pans are hung on brass...
Category
Late 19th Century Industrial Antique Scientific Instruments
Materials
Brass
Anatomical model: a thyroid, Germany end of 18th century.
Located in Milan, IT
Coloured wax anatomic model depicting an human organ: Thyroid mounted on black painted wooden base. Germany end of XVIII sec.
Category
Late 18th Century German Antique Scientific Instruments
Materials
Wood
A fine mahogany ship’s stick barometer by Dolland
Son
By Dolland
Located in Lymington, Hampshire
A fine mahogany ship’s stick barometer by Dolland & Son, of typical slender form with brass fittings, the plate engraved ‘Very dry, Set Fair, Fair, Rain, Stormy, Dolland London’. En...
Category
Early 19th Century English Antique Scientific Instruments
Materials
Brass
Telescope with Tripod, Metal, Decorative Object
Located in Madrid, ES
Telescope with tripod. gold metallic antique finish
Decorative use, not functional.
Gilt metal telescope decorated with a dark band standing on...
Category
20th Century Unknown Other Scientific Instruments
Materials
Other
Antique Ophthalmoscope Gowllands ‘May ophthalmoscope improved’. England, 1940.
Located in Milan, IT
Antique Gowllands Ophthalmoscope "May's Improved Ophthalmoscope". Wooden box covered with paper. The top is stamped in gold 'MAY'S OPHTHALMOSCOPE'. Inside the box is divided into com...
Category
Mid-20th Century English Scientific Instruments
Materials
Metal
Beautiful set of early 1900s surgical instruments, including an amputation saw s
Located in Leuven , BE
Beautiful set of early 1900s surgical instruments, including an amputation saw stamped A. GOUGEON and a complete Renault trepan with its accessories (rare). Overall in good condition...
Category
Late 19th Century French Antique Scientific Instruments
Materials
Metal
Antique Commercial Balance Scale by H. L. Becker in Brussels
Located in Dallas, TX
Antique commercial balance scale by H. L. Becker in Brussels is the type of precision instrument for which the company was known during the early 20th century. Note the attention to ...
Category
Early 20th Century Belgian Industrial Scientific Instruments
Materials
Steel
Brass Scale w/Weights
Located in Houston, TX
Vintage weight balance scale with counterweights. This includes three counter weights and the counter weights plate holder.
Category
20th Century European Scientific Instruments
Materials
Brass
$1,375
A poket sextant signed Stanley, London 1890.
Located in Milan, IT
A travel nautical instrument, sextant, to determine the ship’s position. The cover became the base of it. Signed Stanley, London, England circa 1890.
Category
Late 19th Century English Antique Scientific Instruments
Materials
Brass
Small gilded bronze mortar and pestle, Italy
Located in Cuneo, Italy (CN)
Small antique mortar with original pestle, chiseled in gilded bronze with period decorations, antique pharmacy mortar, used for potions and medicines, beautiful gift idea or to use i...
Category
19th Century Italian Antique Scientific Instruments
Materials
Brass
Palethorpes Butcher’s Balance Scales, Advertising Sausages
Located in Godshill, Isle of Wight
Palethorpes Butcher’s Balance Scales, Advertising Sausages
Palethorpes’ Butcher’s Scales with Brass Bell Weights
The scale has a brass weight plate on one side and a Painted glass ...
Category
1930s Industrial Vintage Scientific Instruments
Materials
Iron
American Brass Telegraph Mounted on Circular Mahogany Base Bendix NY, Circa 1930
By Bendix Corporation
Located in Charleston, SC
American brass ship's double engine order telegraph mounted on circular mahogany base. E. O. T. has been electrified and has a faint bell ring when changing positions. Bendix Corpor...
Category
1930s American Mid-Century Modern Vintage Scientific Instruments
Materials
Brass, Wire
French Shop Wrapping Paper Dispenser, Mid Century Retro Paper Roll Cutter
Located in Godshill, Isle of Wight
French Shop Wrapping Paper Dispenser, Mid Century Retro Paper Roll Cutter
An unusual and very useful item, it has a green tubular metal frame with broad spanned feet for stability, ...
Category
1950s Mid-Century Modern Vintage Scientific Instruments
Materials
Metal
Domestic Medicine Chest by Thompson
Capper
By Thompson
Capper
Located in New Orleans, LA
An invaluable addition to the 19th century home, this domestic medicine chest contained nearly everything needed to nurse a member of the house...
Category
19th Century English Other Antique Scientific Instruments
Materials
Brass
Early 20th Century French Carved Black Forest Hunting Barometer and Thermometer
Located in Birmingham, AL
A stunning early 20th century French black forest barometer with thermometer, circa 1900. Found in a hunting lodge in Lyon, this antique weather station...
Category
Early 1900s French Black Forest Antique Scientific Instruments
Materials
Walnut
Vintage Safe Deposit Box In Steel, Czechoslovakia 1980s
Located in Zohor, SK
Step back in time with this remarkable vintage steel safe box, a testament to both craftsmanship and security. Crafted in the 1980s within the borde...
Category
1980s Slovak Mid-Century Modern Vintage Scientific Instruments
Materials
Steel
$188 Sale Price
50% Off
Anatomical model: an external and inner ear, Germany early 20th century.
Located in Milan, IT
Anatomical model for class, depicting an external and inner ear, made out of painted papier plaster, mounted on a black painted plaster rectangular base. Sold from Paravia, Italy, to...
Category
Early 20th Century German Scientific Instruments
Materials
Plaster
Solid Brass Case Inspectors Clinometer Mark I
Located in Norwell, MA
British Admiralty Mark I clinometer in a varnished wood box by E.R. Watts & Son, London, 1937. This instrument provides a highly accurate reading in degrees from dead level to 45 deg...
Category
1930s European Vintage Scientific Instruments
Materials
Brass
19th Century French Giltwood Barometer
Located in Richmond, VA
19th Century French giltwood barometer with working thermometer. Well executed carvings of scrolls, swags and bounty all finished in gold gil...
Category
19th Century French Antique Scientific Instruments
Materials
Giltwood
Sundial and Compass with Case, Schrettegger, Johan, Augsburg, Germany, Ca 1800
Located in Madrid, ES
Sundial and compass with case. Bronze. SCHRETTEGGER, Johan. Augsburg, Germany, around 1800.
Sundial with a polygonal shape made of bronze, engraved with plant elements on the front,...
Category
Late 18th Century German Neoclassical Antique Scientific Instruments
Materials
Bronze, Other
EARLY 19th CENTURY MARBLE SUNDIAL
Located in Firenze, FI
Ancient sundial in carved white marble, from a historic Florentine palace. The sundial features the famous Florentine lily carved at the top right, while the sculptor's monogram is a...
Category
Early 19th Century Italian Antique Scientific Instruments
Materials
Marble, Iron
Anatomical Model of the Upper Limbs, Italy 1900
Located in Milan, IT
Anatomical model for schools, didactic use, depicting the upper limb tilting on a fork supported by a black lacquered wooden base.
Made in plaster and finished entirely in colour. F...
Category
Early 20th Century Italian Scientific Instruments
Materials
Scagliola
Georgian Original Mahogany Apothecary Cabinet
Located in Northampton, GB
Free Worldwide Shipping
Constructed from Solid Mahogany
From our Apothecary Box collection, we are pleased to offer this Mahogany Apothecary Cabinet. The Cabinet made from solid Ma...
Category
Early 19th Century British George IV Antique Scientific Instruments
Materials
Brass
Solid Brass Ships Telephone On Pedesta
Located in Norwell, MA
Highly polished brass ships telephone on pedestal. Meticulously polished andl lacquered head by Hose-McCann Telephone Co, Inc., Brooklyn New York. Type A, model WTP, with phone insid...
Category
1920s North American Vintage Scientific Instruments
Materials
Brass
19th Century Large Barometer
Located in Dublin 8, IE
19th Century large barometer made in London by Thomas Rubergall, who was the Queen Victoria’s optician. The face of the barometer features engraving reading ‘Tho(s) Rubergall, Optici...
Category
Mid-19th Century English Antique Scientific Instruments
Materials
Glass, Satinwood
$13,210
Mid-Century French Louis XV Carved Giltwood Wall Barometer
Located in Dallas, TX
Dress a study, library, or living room wall with this elegant Louis XV style barometer, crafted in Paris, France, circa 1960. Square in format, the decorative weather instrument feat...
Category
Mid-20th Century French Louis XV Scientific Instruments
Materials
Giltwood
19th Century Chinese Apothecary Balance Scale Stand
Located in Rio Vista, CA
Large Chinese carved wood apothecary balance scale with stand and storage drawer cabinet. It features beautiful carved fretwork on the top and sides...
Category
19th Century Chinese Ming Antique Scientific Instruments
Materials
Brass
$700 Sale Price
22% Off
Mid Century Medical Floor Model Scale by Detecto
By Detecto Scale Company
Located in New York, NY
Architectural Mid Century Modern design floor model doctors scale made in the USA by Detecto, circa 1950's. The scale is in very good, original clean and ready to use condition, it is missing the horizontal height bar. This example includes a vertical grab knob , which is something I have never seen before.
Originally from a doctors office, perfect to complete a stylish MCM bathroom.
Category
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Scientific Instruments
Materials
Aluminum, Steel
Antique English Brass-Mounted Rosewood Complete Apothecary Case, Circa 1880.
Located in New Orleans, LA
Rare complete antique English London-made apothecary case, circa 1880.
Rosewood with Brass Mounts.
Category
Late 19th Century English Antique Scientific Instruments
Materials
Brass
19th Century Anatomical Model of Dissected Wax Head Mounted on Framed Board
Located in London, GB
Antique Anatomical Model, Anatomical Wax Model, Antique Wax Head, Medical Antique, Anatomical Antique, Vintage Anatomical Model, Antique Cabinet of Curi...
Category
Late 19th Century German Gothic Antique Scientific Instruments
Materials
Wood
A Large 19th Century Brass Library Telescope Marked A. Bardou, Paris
By A. Bardou
Located in San Francisco, CA
A large and impressive 19th century French brass library telescope marked A. Bardou, Paris.
(Denis Albert Bardou; 1841 - 1893)
The telescope mounted on a brass and cast iron tripod ...
Category
Mid-19th Century French Other Antique Scientific Instruments
Materials
Brass, Iron
Late 19th Century Antique Ericsson Mahogany and Brass Morse Telegraph Register
Located in Sweden, SE
This impressive antique Morse telegraph register by L.M. Ericsson represents a sophisticated electromagnetic recording device from circa to late 19th century. This telegraph register...
Category
Mid-19th Century Art Nouveau Antique Scientific Instruments
Materials
Brass, Steel
Navy Binoculars
Located in Paris, FR
Binoculars Navy with polished steel adjustable tripod base.
With polished aluminium and steel binoculars with clear glass
lens, magnifying x8 times. Adjustable height.
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Indian Scientific Instruments
Materials
Aluminum, Steel
$7,139 / item
W. Ottway
Co Ltd Brass Power 7 Telescope on Wooden Tripod Stand
By W. Ottway
Co. LTD.
Located in Milford, NH
A fine English brass power telescope on wooden tripod stand stamped “W. Ottway & Co. Ltd." marked 'Power 7 telescope,For HIGH ANGLE gun, No. 1600, 1941 Patt No. G350." Very good over...
Category
Mid-20th Century English Scientific Instruments
Materials
Brass
Flemish mortar. Bronze. 17th century.
Located in Madrid, ES
Flemish mortar. Bronze. XVII century.
Features brand.
Mortar with a circular base with a mouth that extends outward from the two upper stripes and a body with slight entasis and a ...
Category
17th Century European Baroque Antique Scientific Instruments
Materials
Bronze
A 18th-Century scientific instrument: wooden screw dilator clamp.
Located in Milan, IT
A medical instrument. A brass screw clamp (dilator), with a rosewood handle. It consists of two symmetrical parts, each with a circular cushion element that continues with a cylindri...
Category
Mid-18th Century English Antique Scientific Instruments
Materials
Brass
An apothecary bronze mortar and pestle, Italy 1700.
Located in Milan, IT
Bronze Apothecary mortar, fitted with mortar pestle. Italy early 18th century.
Category
Early 18th Century Italian Antique Scientific Instruments
Materials
Bronze
Terrestrial globe published by Ernst Schotte
co, Germany 1890.
Located in Milan, IT
Terrestrial globe in watercolored paper, fixed with an inclined axis through a small brass arm, mounted on a black turned fruit wood base. Published by Ernst Schotte & Co. Berlin, Ge...
Category
Late 19th Century German Antique Scientific Instruments
Materials
Brass
Antique L. M. Ericsson AC110 Iron Skeleton Telephone Taxen Eiffel Dachshund #3
Located in Sweden, SE
Desktop telephone model AC 110 (Old catalogue No. 375) made by L. M. Ericsson, Stockholm in period of 1895-1910. A legendary model that enjoys special attention from collectors.
Size app.: 30 cm (roughly 11.8 in) high, 27 cm (roughly 10.6 in) wide, 14 cm (roughly 5.5 in) deep. Quite good condition, age and usage wear, attritions, damages, losses of 2 feet out of 4, original finish! Please study high-res pictures for cosmetic condition! In person actual item may appear darker or brighter than in our pictures, strictly depending on sufficient light in your environment. Weight of app. 6 kg it is going to measure some 8 kg packed for shipment.
Lars Magnus Ericsson began his association with telephones in his youth as an instrument maker. He worked for a firm which made telegraph equipment for the Swedish government agency Telegrafverket. In 1876, aged 30, he started a telegraph repair shop with help from his friend Carl Johan Andersson. The shop was in central Stockholm (No. 15 on Drottninggatan, the principal shopping street) and repaired foreign-made telephones. In 1878 Ericsson began making and selling his own telephone equipment. His phones were not technically innovative, as most of the inventions had already been made in the US. In 1878, he made an agreement to supply telephones and switchboards to Sweden's first telecom operating company, Stockholms Allmänna Telefonaktiebolag. Also in 1878, local telephone importer Numa Peterson hired Ericsson to adjust some telephones from the Bell Telephone Company. This inspired him to buy a number of Siemens telephones...
Category
Late 19th Century Art Nouveau Antique Scientific Instruments
Materials
Metal, Brass, Bronze
Edwardian Oak Cased Barograph by Negretti
Zambra, London
Located in Norwich, GB
Negretti & Zambra
Fine Edwardian oak cased barograph with hinged lid, bevelled glass panels and central chart drawer.
Seven vacuum ...
Category
1910s English Edwardian Vintage Scientific Instruments
Materials
Brass
A terrestral globe signed J. Lebegue
C, Paris France 1880.
Located in Milan, IT
A Medium-sized terrestrial globe, made of papier-mâché, finished with pastille and completed by the application of paper spindles imprinted with intaglio printing. Color touch-ups. F...
Category
Late 19th Century French Antique Scientific Instruments
Materials
Fruitwood
Barograph and Barometer by Negretti
Zambra
Located in Cheshire, GB
Unusual oak-cased barograph and barometer by Negretti & Zambra, having five glazed removable lid. The mechanical eight-day movement is housed i...
Category
Early 20th Century British Scientific Instruments
Materials
Oak
$1,982 Sale Price
33% Off
Camera Gilles-Faller
Paris
Studio with Easel, France, circa 1925
By Gilles-Faller
Located in Madrid, ES
Study camera with bellows in very good condition, two objectives and mounted on easel on casters for professional use that has crank for the adjustment of the camera in height and in...
Category
1920s French Modern Vintage Scientific Instruments
Materials
Metal
19th C Scientific James DeVille L N Fowler Phrenology Plaster Bust Head Curio
By L. N. Fowler
Located in Lowestoft, GB
A larger than the normal plaster cast phrenology head, with its original painted finish and paper labels.
The original makers label is partially missing leaving it a bit of a myster...
Category
Mid-19th Century English Antique Scientific Instruments
Materials
Plaster
PAXMAN and ULTRANOMIC brass boiler plates
Located in London, GB
"PAXMAN" and “ULTRANOMIC” brass boiler plate, Paxman Davey & Co, Colchester, England, circa 1930.
PAXMAN width: 13 inches - 33.5 cm.
ULTRANOMIC width: 19 inches - 48 cm.
Paxman...
Category
Mid-20th Century English Industrial Scientific Instruments
Materials
Brass
Anatomical model: an external and inner ear, Dresden, Germany 1920.
Located in Milan, IT
Anatomical model for schools, educational use, depicting an external and internal ear, made of painted papier-mâché and plaster, all placed on a base of fruit wood painted black. Mad...
Category
Early 20th Century German Scientific Instruments
Materials
Plaster, Fruitwood, Parchment Paper
19th Century Mary
David Livingston Memorial Relic Heart Buried Beneath 1896
Located in Lowestoft, GB
A very odd Victorian collection of curiosity, a section of the tree that the Scottish physician, congregationalist and pioneer Christian missionary David Livingston was buried under ...
Category
Mid-19th Century Zambian Antique Scientific Instruments
Materials
Hardwood, Natural Fiber, Glass
Large 18th c. Wooden Jointer Plane c.1700-1799
Located in San Francisco, CA
ABOUT
Antique wooden carpentry plane used to make trim and moldings. Shown with life size hand mold for scale.
CREATOR Unknown.
DATE OF MANUFACTURE c.1700s.
MATERIA...
Category
18th Century Industrial Antique Scientific Instruments
Materials
Fruitwood
Vintage Prosthetic Foot
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Vintage authentic prosthetic foot. Interesting piece of medical history. Great vintage condition.
Category
1960s American Vintage Scientific Instruments
Materials
Rubber
$375 Sale Price
46% Off
English Stick Barometer by Worthington of London
Located in New Orleans, LA
This exceptional English stick barometer is a classic example of these intriguing meteorological instruments. Crafted by the esteemed Worthington & All...
Category
19th Century English Georgian Antique Scientific Instruments
Materials
Mahogany
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
$2,795 Sale Price
20% Off
Botanic Modelof a Primrose Flower, Paravia, Italy, 1940
Located in Milan, IT
A botanical maquette for didactic use, depicting a flower of Primrose, Acaulis, Primulaceae. Made of metal, paper, plaster, galalith and wood. Extremely detailed. Paravia, Milan, Ita...
Category
Mid-20th Century Italian Scientific Instruments
Materials
Metal
18th Century Gold French Gilded Wood Barometer, Antique Parisian Thermometer
Located in West Palm Beach, FL
A rare antique finely worked French barometer with lyre shaped crest thermometer above a large hexagonal framed barometer. The Parisian décor piece is m...
Category
Late 18th Century French Empire Antique Scientific Instruments
Materials
Giltwood
1907 C.C.Rettberg Architects Office Ruler Straight Edge Etched Signature Dated
Located in Hyattsville, MD
Wonderful personalized straight edge ruler from the turn of the 19th century. Does not appear to be altered, the size is 20 1/8 by 2 1/8 inches.
Category
Early 1900s American Late Victorian Antique Scientific Instruments
Materials
Resin
19th Century French Metal Scale
Located in High Point, NC
Add a touch of vintage charm to your decor with this exquisite 19th-century French metal scale. Crafted during a period renowned for its fine attention to detail, this scale features...
Category
19th Century French Antique Scientific Instruments
Materials
Metal
Louis XVI Giltwood Barometer
Located in Kittery Point, ME
Of typical form‚ the giltwood body centered by a circular barometer dial flanked by pillars ending in flame‚ above a thermometer flanked by foliate branches‚ surmounted by swags.
Category
Late 18th Century French Louis XVI Antique Scientific Instruments
Materials
Wood
$12,500
Bronze Mortar with Pestle, Spain, 17th Century
Located in Madrid, ES
Mortar with hand. Bronze. XVII century.
Mortar with a circular base, cylindrical body and slightly outwardly flared mouth, decorated with a series of smooth horizontal moldings arranged both in the lower and upper areas and with simple vertical elements (which still maintain slight balustraded shapes) derived from of the ribs that these specimens used to have in the medieval Spanish...
Category
17th Century Spanish Baroque Antique Scientific Instruments
Materials
Bronze, Other
20th Century Japanese Pair Of Naval Bridge "Big Eye" Binoculars By Nikon c.1940
By Nikon
Located in Royal Tunbridge Wells, Kent
A rare set of Japanese naval bridge “big eye“ binoculars by Nikon manufactured during WWII by Tokyo Kogaku Kikai (Tokyo Optical Company). They have been expertly cleaned and hand pol...
Category
1940s Japanese Other Vintage Scientific Instruments
Materials
Metal
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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