Historical production and supply lists

The microscope book production lists (production data) and dispatch lists (e.g. buyers, equipment) were combined until 1904. From this date onwards, only delivery data was collected. The lists are normally structured as follows:

Serial number / stand + recipient / place of delivery / accessories / date of delivery / produced by + date

In book 1, simple and compound microscopes appear in separate lists. Simple microscopes were given their own numbers, from 1 to 879, and compound microscopes from 1 to 5,024. From 1865 to 1881, the microscope stands featured two labels: stand no. / microscope no. So, for example, the 500th compound microscope is also the 1,174th ZEISS microscope. So it was labeled as “500/1,174.” The dissecting microscopes were labeled from 1 to 86, but in reverse order (microscope no./ stand no.).

In books 2 through 7, the microscopes are listed in numerical order, from 5,000 to 69,460. This does not apply to the dissecting microscopes, which are logged in book 3, and numbered from 10,003 to 51,260.

Any ZEISS instruments that used optical methods to determine the chemical and physical characteristics were referred to as measuring instruments. This area also paved the way for the creation of other product groups like geodetic instruments, stereoscopy and photogrammetry. That’s why instruments like these were also included in these production lists. The first measuring instruments were collected in the book “Mikro 1” (Micro 1). From 1888 and refractometer no. 91 onward, individual lists were also compiled for these instruments.

The instrument type should first be identified before research can be conducted into the production lists. You are also welcome to contact us for this purpose.

The log book "Astro 1" documents serial numbers for different astronomical devices such as monocular and binocular telescopes, from no. 11,364 (1929) to 50,392 (1976). It also includes information about accessories such as mounts, astronomical cameras, clock drives (Uhrgan) and domes. In 1990 only 3 devices were assigned the numbers 50,393 through 50,395.
A separate list details planetariums, from nos. 55 (1949) through 385 (1975) (386 through 388 as "latecomers" in 1990) and panorama telescopes from nos. 751 (1919) through 3085 (1942). Unfortunately, there are no details about customers or delivery points. The Starmor and Starmorbi telescopes with the numbers 751 through 1,750 from the period 1919 to 1931 appear to have been grouped at a later stage. Blank pages (1-6, 55-84, 87-96) have not been scanned.

The lists are structured as follows:

Serial no.: Large devices were assigned at least two numbers (one for the mount and one for the optic). These numbers appeared on the mount or the device itself, not the lens.

Quantity: The quantity is derived from the difference between the order numbers (+ 1)
Device name: The device names are often abbreviated.

Ref. no. = drawing number: The ref. nos. have appeared occasionally since 1957 and continuously since 1960, and simultaneously functioned as the numbers for the drawing sets. The first two digits of the 6-digit number stood for the product group: 16 or 17 for astronomical devices and their accessories, 18 and 19 for planetariums and their accessories.

documented for = order number (abbreviation: LA): The order number system changed several times over the years.

Date: It can be assumed that the date given was an order date, or the date on which the serial numbers were assigned to the production area, and not the date when production was completed or the item was delivered

The log book "Astro 2" contains information about astronomical optics from nos. 15,001 (1929) through 38,593. Unfortunately, they are only dated up to number 29,735 (1969). In addition to lenses, they contain other optics like prisms and mirrors. Occasional reference is made to devices that you would expect to see in the book Astro 1, so it is worth consulting both lists.
The log books are set up as in Astro 1. Pages 27, 28, 45 and 46 are missing in the original. We can assume that the folio numbering was incorrect. The lists were written by hand. Abbreviations may differ depending on the writer. Feel free to contact us if you have any questions or problems.