Description

The Protami is constructed of brass with chrome and a japanned surface finish. Its saltshaker-like outer case is made of aluminum alloy finished in black-crinkled enamel. It is provided with a three-objective turret, which makes changing magnifications an easy and speedy process.  Together with the draw tubes, this provides a broad choice of magnifications ranging between 40X and a theoretical 1450X, when used in the oil immersion mode. When the lower achromatic objective “T” (for “Tami”) is selected, it provides the magnification sequence of 45-250 times. The  “M” (“Metami”) marked dry objective provides the magnifications of 340-760X, as indicated by the scale on the tube. The “P” (“Protami”) objective is an oil immersion of 1/12″ with a numerical aperture of 1.34, yielding the magnification range of 915-1450X. The microscope is equipped with an Abbe condenser with iris diaphragm, flip-up stage clip, substage slide-out canister containing a tube for immersion oil, and flat and concave mirrors on an adjustable arm. Like the Metami, the stage can be flipped out of the optical path for easier access for the replacement of the objectives.

The Protami was an expensive microscope for its time. In 1933, its price was 230 RM. As mentioned previously, this was more than twice the price of a standard laboratory-quality bench-top microscope, which averaged around 150-160 RM.