Abstract
Linnaeus expressed his fascination for microscopy in his work Mundum Invisibilem 1767 (the invisible world), which was one of the very first attempts to bring light and order to the microscopic discoveries of the time. Linnaeus wrote about his only microscopic experiment in the same publication. He wanted to know where to place the fungi in his grand ‘Systema Naturae’, but misinterpreted the results of the experiment completely. This is perhaps one of Linnaeus’ greatest and least known mistakes, but one that somehow boosted development anyway.We took the original microscope models used by Linnaeus, took photos, and compared them with images obtained with modern instruments. Our experiments revealed several new findings, and let us understand why Linnaeus made his mistake. One other finding is that Linnaeus must have used the most modern and advanced compound microscope of his time, a large Cuff microscope in his experiment. Only two large microscopes by Cuff were available in Sweden by the time. A large Cuff microscope was found in Sweden lately. This microscope is probably the actual instrument that Linnaeus used.
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