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Improvements in machines quickly render old models obsolete. Fascinating new collectors today are the scientific instruments that fueled the technological achievements of yesterday. Antique microscopes and globes, medical items and slide rules, cameras and compasses are highly rated among collectors, both for their decorative appeal and for how the reflect the knowledge of an era. Growing up near the University of Chicago, I'd play with the demonstration devices at the Museum of Science and Industry. As a collector, such lab demos are among my favorites, for their beauty as much as their function.