Description

Watson Edinburgh-H c1914 serial no. 17592 – antique stand “H” model.

Offered fro sale is a nicely presented and well seasoned example of Watson’s Edinburgh Student’s Stand-H model microscope in brass – it dates to 1914 based on its serial number 17592.  It’s marked W. Watson & Sons Ltd and post-dates the firm’s move to limited company status which occurred in 1908.  This is a decent example with some signs of wear such as the stage surface and still quite presentable lacquered brass-work that’s showing some age-related spotting here and there, but not that bad in reality for an instrument that’s 111 years old and counting.

The Edinburgh pattern model of microscope was produced by Watson between 1887 and around 1945; its long production run giving us a firm clue regarding just how good this model of microscope was in its heyday and over that long production cycle Watson regularly updated and improved the model, so what you see here is a fairly early example with some of the original Edinburgh features such as: the stage attached via brass bolts to the upper limb and mirror on a swinging support arm.  The Edinburgh stand was originally developed by Watson in collaboration with a professor and lecturer in bacteriology at the University of Edinburgh, hence the Edinburgh designation. With its signature rear cross-member giving that classic “H” look and nice lacquered brass-work, the Edinburgh H is a fine example of British optical engineering with a design and style essentially dating back to the Victorian era. 

Turning to the technical details, the construction is a brass tripod in black paint finish, with bun feet that are attached by small brass screws.  From the tripod rise twin uprights to a pivot with tension adjustment available if required.  The upper limb is also in black-painted brass, with stage bolted to the limb and the sub-stage fittings attach to the underside of the stage.  The coarse focus is via rack and pinion with good smooth action that holds in position on adjustment.  Fine focus is operated via a separate brass thumb-wheel located at the rear of the upper limb which operates an internal lever system acting against sprung resistance.  The focusing technique being to achieve near focus with the coarse thumb-wheels, then fine-tune with the single rear thumb-wheel, which only has a fairly small range of movement via its vernier screw mechanism.

With the optics, this Watson microscope comes fitted with a period graduated brass eyepiece draw-tube inside a brass main optical tube and there’s a good selection of vintage eyepieces that with adequate illumination produce very good images:

– 5x magnification – C. Baker
– 6x magnification – C. Baker
– 10x magnification – R & J Beck
– 15x magnification – unbranded

It’s also got four period objectives in total and a triple turret which rotates with a positive feel as the objectives slot into their viewing positions.  The objectives are as follows:

– 1.5 inches parachromatic in brass by Watson – 4x magnification
– 2/3rds inch in brass by Prior – 10x magnification
– 1/6th inch para in brass by Watson – 40x magnification
– 1/12th inch unbranded in brass – 100x magnification – oil immersion required

(all objectives have appropriate brass or Bakelite canisters)

Overall therefore, the range of magnification available with this Watson ranges from about 20x with the lowest power lens combination, up to around 1,500x with the highest power combination and with the benefit of very good illumination and an immersion technique when using the 100x objective.

The fully mechanical stage is an original Watson design in brass with twin thumb-wheel adjusters on the right hand side of the stage that have just the right positive feel and give excellent x/y sample movement.  It’s fitted with specimen clips that are fine for holding slides steady during inclined viewing and when the axes are being moved around.  The freely running x/y controls also offering fine control of specimen positioning, which is a real advantage for higher magnification work.  The stage surface shows signs of wear to the paint finish giving it an appropriate time-worn patina.

Turning to the sub-stage, we have a top-mount Watson Abbe-type condenser in a ring-carrier with centering controls comprising twin brass thumb-screws, which sits in a height adjustable rack and pinion mount with single-sided brass thumb-wheel to adjust the height along with a swing-out feature allowing easy swapping or maintenance of the condenser hardware.  I’ve shown the swing-out feature in the listing photos.  The condenser assembly also has a working iris to control lighting levels and note that the swing-out carrier is missing.  Lighting is via a plano-concave mirror on a height and swing-adjustable slider and gimbal on the fixed brass support rod.  The period silvering is in very good condition to both sides.

The instrument’s controls and friction surfaces have been very lightly lubricated with non-hardening grease and operate smoothly with a nice feel and there’s not much in the way of noticeable of wear to any of the moving parts.  This instrument presents reasonably well for its age and usage profile, with brass-work that catches the light well.  This example presents well while being used as a desk-top instrument and will also display rather nicely in a library of home office setting.

There’s an original Watson storage case with this example, with wooden carry-handle, internal racking and sundries drawer.  The lock is missing so there’s a cupboard latch fitted in order to keep the door closed.  Overall the case has just the right aged look with patina and some lovely exterior sheen, so complements the antique microscope perfectly.

Owing to the weight and delicacy of this antique Edinburgh-H microscope and its case, it will be partially dismantled, very well wrapped for shipping and dispatched by insured courier upon receipt of cleared funds.  

Thanks for looking.