On Thursday, 17 October 2019, Gillian Vogelsang wrote:

We have been talking for some time at the TRC about getting a digital microscope for our work with various archaeological and historical textiles, in particular for basic fibre identification, as well as weave, print and embroidery analysis. We are also curious about what caused particular types of (past) damage to the structure of some of our textiles (insects, mould, etc). More specifically we were looking for something that has a magnification of between x25-250, can be used to take publication level photographs (at least 1200 ppi) and with a magnification that is easy to adjust.

But the main question was: which microscope? There are various forms on the market, with a wide range of prices. In July 2019 Eric Boudot gave a demonstration of the Dino-lite microscope at a workshop held at the TRC as part of the ICAS Asia Conference. Based on his presentation it was decided to obtain one of these microscopes as it clearly works well with the type of textiles we are working with. One thing I was particularly impressed with was the very light-weight nature of the microscope and stand. It will not be a problem to have it in hand luggage when travelling!

Thanks to the generosity of a Friend of the TRC, we have the funding to buy a suitable microscope and equally importantly, a good quality stand that we can use to easily make minute adjustments in the height of the microscope. We contacted Michel van Rooijen of AKB Longs, a company in Zouterwoude-Rijndijk, which is very close to Leiden and they kindly agreed to give us a demonstration of the Dino-lite AM4515ZT, how it works, with a discussion concerning the advantages and disadvantages.

A group consisting of archaeologists, students, depot managers, as well the librarians from the TRC came to the demonstration and were able to ask a wide range of questions. We used various textiles from the TRC Collection, including flat textiles (a piece of mummy cloth, some Dead Sea Scroll textiles), as well as a Macedonian knitted sock with metal thread cuff to give a range of materials and textures.

I have borrowed the microscope for a week to see how it goes, and, as it stands at the moment, we are going to get one. But I think we will be getting one that can take 5 mb images rather than 1.5 mb that was demonstrated because of publication requirements. I am also looking forward to using it with the work on more detailed analysis of the medieval St. Petrock’s Pall in Exeter Cathedral, as well as looking at various items in the TRC Collection.