HISTORY OF THE BLISTER MICROSCOPE
About Blister Microscope
History of the Microscope
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| Blister Microscope inventor and company
founder, Chester Newby |
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The General Science Service Company
was founded by Chester A. Newby in 1946. Newby was
an adventurous intellectual with a passion for travel and
exploration. He graduated with honors from the University
of Iowa with a major in geology in 1932. His love of travel
began in his teenage years which he spent working with Chautauqua,
or traveling tent shows, during the 1920s. He later would
form a company which would bring assembly programs to schools
throughout the Midwest. In addition he spent much time traveling
throughout the western United States collecting rocks and
mineral samples to create educational rock charts for high
schools and colleges.
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| Drawings of lenses by
Chester Newby |
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When World War II began he went to work for Honeywell supervising
the manufacture of lenses used in tanks for the Army. After
the war he purchased surplus lenses at auction and began designing
microscopes. After a number of prototypes he found his design.
He created a low power, wide field microscope which was durable
enough to be used by children, and inexpensive enough to be
accessible to everyone. This design was so successful it has
not undergone any significant changes since. The GSS Blister
Microscope has been an elementary school science staple for
over 50 years!
In 1972 Newby retired and sold General Science Service to
his protégé Robert Otos. Otos, a former science
teacher, operated the company with great success until his
death in 2004. Otos’ adventurous spirit greatly resembled
that of his mentor. In 1984 Otos sailed around the world by
himself in a 29 foot sailboat, a feat he would duplicate in
1987.
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| Partner and second owner of GSS microscope,
Robert Otos on an around-the-world sailing adventure. |
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A love of exploration was not the only similarity between
the two men who guided the General Science Service Company
for close to 60 years. They both held the overriding belief
that the highest quality educational equipment needs to be
available to the general public at affordable prices. This
has always been, and will always be the guiding principle
of the General Science Service Company.
We invite you to begin your exploration of the world around
you, with us, today.
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