Oesper Collections in the History of ChemistryA series of museum booklets on the History of the Chemical Apparatus, including spectroscopes, refractometers, and colorimeters, can be accessed at https://drc.libraries.uc.edu/handle/2374.UC/733810.
"Each booklet would include not only photographs of both displayed and stored museum artifacts, but also a short discussion of the history of the instrument or technique and of its impact on the development of chemistry as a whole."