Figure 1. Commercial microscope slides that were prepared by David Folsom. The lower slide is dated 1883. He is known to have prepared slides between 1881 and 1892.
David Folsom, 1830 - 1892
by Brian Stevenson
last updated April, 2023
David Folsom, of Chicopee, Massachusetts, operated a microscope slide-making business from 1881 until his death in 1892. He specialized in mounting whole insects and dissected parts of insects (Figures 1-3).
Figure 1.
Commercial microscope slides that were prepared by David Folsom. The lower slide is dated 1883. He is known to have prepared slides between 1881 and 1892.
Figure 2.
Tracheae of a larval Dytiscus marginalis, the great diving beetle, prepared by David Folsom (see Figure 1). D. marginalis is not native to Massachusetts, where Folsom lived, so he either acquired the specimen from Europe, or this was actually from another, North American species of diving beetle (possibly D. carolinus). Imaged with a 3.5x objective lens and C-mounted digital SLR camera on a Leitz Ortholux II microscope.
Figure 3.
“Tongue of Blow Fly”, prepared in 1883 by David Folsom (See Figure 1). Imaged with a 3.5x objective lens and C-mounted digital SLR camera on a Leitz Ortholux II microscope.
David Folsom was born on November 30, 1830, in Industry, Maine. He was the third of six children of Isaac and Betsey Folsom.
By the time of the 1850 US census, David was living in Madison, Maine, and working as a “shoe maker”. On September 12, 1855, he married Eunice Bellows in Chicopee, Massachusetts. At that time, Folsom was still living in Madison, but moved to Chicopee after the marriage. David and Eunice had one child, a son named Eugene. The 1860 US census described David Folsom as a maker of mail bags – presumably using many of the skills that he learned as a shoemaker to produce leather satchels.
By 1875, Folsom was a partner in a shoe manufacturing and retailing business. The 1875 Chicopee City Directory described Chapman & Folsom as “prominent dealers” on Exchange Street.
I have not found any records of Folsom being a member of a microscope society, so it is not clear how he hit upon the idea of preparing slides for sale. Two popular science magazines indicate that the business began in early 1881:
The American Naturalist reported in 1881, “Mr. David Folsom, of Chicopee, Mass., has … undertaken to prepare objects for sale, or mount them to order”.
The American Monthly Microscopical Journal also wrote that year, “We have recently had the pleasure to examine a box of slides prepared by Mr. David Folsom, of Chicopee, Mass. The objects were insect preparations, principally mouth-parts, in which Mr. Folsom seems to excell. Without wishing to depreciate the value of many of the slides which have been in the market for years, by the most experienced mounters, we have no hesitation in stating that, in our opinion, there are no preparations to be obtained that are more carefully made than those of Mr. Folsom, and we take pleasure in giving this commendation to the intrinsic value and the real merit of his work in this direction. Among the specimens we have seen, perhaps the most interesting, is a series of probosces of insects, some of which are not common - the proboscis of the queen honey-bee for example. We are not aware that Mr. Folsom, has made any special efforts to introduce his slides to the public, although it is his intention, we believe, to prepare them for sale. We trust that our readers will show their appreciation of the very excellent work of Mr. Folsom, by obtaining some of his slides for their cabinets.”
In 1882, The New England Journal of Dentistry and Allied Sciences described “an evening with the microscope” in Chicopee. Among the many attendees, “Mr. David Folsom, of Chicopee, a man rarely gifted in entomological science, brought in his best preparations of insect parts.”
Folsom wrote an article for The American Monthly Microscopical Journal in 1883, on “a home-made substage condenser” for microscopes.
"Twelve Slides of insect preparation, the work of David Folsom, of Chicopee, Mass., mostly mounted entire, without pressure, and showing natural form and colors” were exhibited by John D. White, of Chicopee, at the Annual Meeting of the American Society of Microscopists. Folsom does not appear to have been a member of that important group.
David Folsom died of “cerebral apoplexy” on February 19, 1892. Several scientific magazines reported, “David Folsom, of Chicopee, Mass., the well-known and careful preparer of microscopical objects, is dead, at the age of 61 years."
Resources
The American Monthly Microscopical Journal (1881) Some new slides, Vol. 2, page 96
The American Naturalist (1881) Microscopic objects, Vol. 15, page 420
Chicopee City Directory (1875) page 445
Death record of David Folsom (1892) accessed through ancestry.com
Folsom, David (1883) A home-made substage condenser, The American Monthly Microscopical Journal, Vol. 4, pages 46-47
The Microscopical Bulletin (1892) David Folsom, page 19
The New England Business Directory (1877) “Boot & Shoes Dealers … Chapman & Folsom, Chicopee”, page 453
The New England Journal of Dentistry and Allied Sciences (1882) An evening with the microscope, Vol. 1, pages 160-161
The Observer (1892) David Folsom, Vol. 3, page 97
Proceedings of the American Society of Microscopists (1883) Exhibits, Vol. 6, page 249
Springfield City Directory (1879) “Chapman & Folsom, (E.D. Chapman, David Folsom), shoe store, Exchange”, page 306
Springfield City Directory (1882) “Folsom David, shoe-maker, shop Exchange, h cor Gaylord and Grant”, page 416
Springfield City Directory (1890) “Boot and Shoe Makers and Repairers … Folsom David, 8 Springfield”
US census and other records, accessed through ancestry.com