History
Adapted from a presentation by curator Karin Gjudjenow given to
the OAICC on September 10, 2004
Also adapted from the introduction by Joachim Toppler in A Spectacle
of Spectacles, Exhibition Catalogue and from Eric Muth’s Vision Aids
in History.
One of the finest collections of antique vision aids and
instruments in the world is housed in Jena, Germany. The Optisches
Museum there has a fascinating and significant history. Three great
men who were destined to make optical industry news joined together
and what has emerged is both wondrous and spectacular.
Carl Zeiss (1816–1888) was born in Weimar, became a mechanic, and
established a mechanical workshop in Jena in 1846. His business was
to found one of the world's leading precision and optical
engineering enterprises. The talented mechanic started by making
microscopes and at that time he was the sole owner of his workshop.
In 1866 the physicist Dr. Ernst Abbe (1840–1905) from the University
of Jena joined the firm initially as a consultant. Having formulated
the theory of microscopic image formation in 1871-72, Abbe's work
brought forth new and more superior microscopes. Thus the company
was able to prosper in a unique way, which led to a continuous
improvement in technology and quality of instrument making. In 1876
Abbe became a full partner to Zeiss and the company sold its 3000th
microscope and five years later it opened new production areas.
After 1888 the famous scientist took on the complete responsibility
for the further development of the firm. In 1893 Abbe constructed
prism binoculars and soon became world-renowned for this product
line. In 1897 the Zeiss Company produced its first of many
astronomical instruments.
Otto Schott (1851–1935), whose father owned a small plate glass
factory, moved to Jena on the initiative of Abbe and set up a glass
technical laboratory there. With the support of the Prussian
Government the Schott Jena Glass Works were established in 1884 and
the shares of Schott's partners, Carl and Roderich Zeiss and Ernst
Abbe, then merged into the Carl Zeiss Foundation.
This foundation promoted the basic ideas of Ernst Abbe in 1889 and
comprised the Zeiss Works. Then from 1919 onward it became the
complete Schott Glass works.
Ernst Abbe published the statutes of the foundation in 1896,
which guaranteed many benefits for the employees. These statutes
marked a milestone in German social history because many social
rights later became part of general social legislation and wage
agreement regulations. All workers benefited and an example was
therefore established and set for other countries to later follow.
Schott developed optical glass with totally innovative optical
properties and put glass manufacturing on a more scientific footing.
In 1919 he transferred his share holdings in the glass works to the
Carl Zeiss Foundation. Since 1850 Rathenow and other German cities
had been manufacturing millions of utilitarian spectacles which the
world’s population was easily able to consume.
The Carl Zeiss Jena workforce began to make an expanded range of
optical instrument around 1890.
In this start-up phase, the Zeiss scientists Professor Hermann
Ambronn, Dr. Henry Siedentopf, Dr. Hans Boegehold and Dr. Moritz von
Rohr contributed strongly to the collections of various instruments.
Eventually the company had assembled a remarkable stock of
microscopes, telescopes and spectacles.
In June 1922, the Optical Museum was set up as a Carl Zeiss
Foundation facility. In October 1924 this museum was moved to a
newly-erected building in Carl Zeiss Square. During the 1930's and
1940's the Carl Zeiss Foundation acquired the important collections
of spectacles formerly owned by eminent Dresden ophthalmologist
Professor Albert von Pflugk and also by Richard Greef. After the
death of Moritz von Rohr the direction of the museum passed to the
responsible hands of Dr. Hans Boegehold. This particular collection
was restricted to the use of but a few select people for research
purposes.
To protect the entire collection from the effects of the Second
World War, it was stored in the neighborhood of Jena. The storage
conditions however were extremely poor and caused enormous damage to
some of the exhibits. At the end of the War, it was discovered that
during storage some of the boxes had been broken open and several of
the museum's exhibits had been stolen. Years of intensive
restoration work became necessary. In April 1946 when archivist
Fritz Ortlepp started work as an administrator of the Museum he
tackled this job. Thanks to the dedication of its courageous
administrator the Optisches Museum escaped from the planned
dismantling by the Soviet occupying forces. After the war, Ortlepp
and Boegehold and others tried to acquire better premises along with
access for the general public. In August 1965, the first permanent
exhibition in the Griesbach house was declared officially open to
the public. It held nearly 4000 vision aids, including microscopes
and other scientific devices. Due to limited space availability, the
exhibition was then moved to Carl Zeiss Square between 1976 and
1977. The new presentation was entitled ‘Tradition and progress in
Optical precision instrument manufacture'. In the 1980s, numerous
special exhibitions in Florence, Paris, London, Edinburgh and
Liverpool made the museum famous throughout Europe.
In December 1988 on the occasion of the centenary of the death of
Carl Zeiss the historical Zeiss workshop was opened as a part of the
Optical Museum. With the inauguration of the Zeiss historical
workshop the museum was renamed the “Zeiss Museum” a name, which,
however, was then revoked in 1991.
Since 1992, the museum has been located in the Service Department
and has become a facility of the newly established Ernst Abbe
Foundation of Jena. In 1993, a complete redesign of the museum's
presentation was started in terms of content and with modernization
of the entire layout.
First the reopening of the visual aids and ophthalmologic
instruments departments, and then the Ernst Abbe and Otto Schott
biographical departments took place sequentially from 1992-94. In
1996 the permanent exhibition was completely revamped with the
presentation of the “History of the Microscope and Telescope” as
well as “Photo Technology” and finally “The World of Images”. The
opening of the “Carl Zeiss and his Work” exhibition represented both
the culmination and completion of this redesign phase. In April
1999, the exhibition area was extended further by the permanent
presentation of “Holography – a Glimpse into the Third Dimension”.
In October 1999, the Optical Museum established another new
highlight, a demonstration of historic and modern optical
experiments in the shape of “Milestones in Optics”. In 2001, a hall
for graphic exhibitions was established. One year later people were
delighted with the presentation of “Planetarium’s Technique”.
This modern-style museum continues to enjoy mounting popularity
with visitors from all over the world. Some of the feature
attractions at the Optisches Museum Jena are now included in the
first slideshow below together with photos of Carl Zeiss, Otto
Schott and Ernst Abbe. In addition a special slideshow of color
lithographs has also been organized for everyone to enjoy. The
museum’s entire holdings have become recognized as one of the
world's top collections of antique vision aids. Many of the finest
objects still remain uncatalogued and hidden in storage but
hopefully these will also eventually all be identified. Then even
more exceptional items can be placed on display for everyone to see
and appreciate.
Visit their website;
Optisches Museum Jena (Ernst-Abbe-Foundation)
