Description

Background to Watson from Microscope Museum:

W. Watson & Sons were opticians and camera makers trading from London and Edinburgh. The company was originally founded in 1837 as Watson by William Watson, located at 71 City Road.  The business continued at this address until 1861, when it moved to 313 High Holborn. In 1867, the name was changed to W. Watson & Son. In 1881 the founder William Watson died and in 1882, the name was changed to W. Watson & Sons when the second son joined the company. In 1900 the company acquired the business of John Browning and in 1908 the firm became W. Watson & Sons Ltd.  Post WWII into the 1950s, the company changed their address to 25 West End Lane, Barnet, Hertfordshire, where they stayed until the late 1960s. In 1957 the company was acquired by Pye of Cambridge and ten years later, taken over by Philips. By 1970, the manufacture of microscopes was over.

This early example of a late Victorian instrument by Watson & Son is in pretty good cosmetic condition for its age, with only light patination and no doubt quite a back story in light of its assumed many previous custodians.  It’s a survivor from the last 150 years or so – the lacquered brass-work catches the light really well as I hope the listing photos illustrate and it’s also complete with original case. The instrument’s look and feel is pretty solid in that’s it’s fashioned from brass, giving it a quality feel and suitability for display, being compact it’s an ideal and useful desk-top accessory.

Technical details – the construction is a lacquered brass y-shaped foot with a nice engine-turned type of surface finish giving quite a sparkly look when it catches the light – the firm’s name and serial number are engraved to the rear of the foot.  There’s also a wooden base-plate in the case that can be used to give extra stability when in use, if so desired.  From the foot twin uprights support a pivot and a bar-limb arrangement, comprising triangular section limb.  Coarse focus is by a rack and pinion system with optical tube in brass with additional draw-tube also in brass.  The coarse focus works well holding in position as it should with straight cut rack.  Fine focus is controlled by a brass thumb-wheel at the rear of the optical tube just above the bar, which also works well with good smooth fine adjustment. 

In terms of its optics, this microscope is supplied with a single eyepiece as under:

– Top-hat 6x magnification by Watson
 
The eyepiece works well giving nice bright images.

It’s also got two objective lenses with RMS thread, as under:

– No. 3 – 10x magnification by Ernst Leitz Wetzlar with brass canister
– 1/6th inch – 40x magnification by Watson with brass canister

The magnification available with its current set of optics is therefore 60x to 240x. This will increase slightly as you extend the eyepiece draw-tube – you also have to re-focus.  I’ve tested the optics with various antique slides and the images produced are perfectly acceptable when using suitable illumination.  

The instrument tilts for inclined viewing and holds in position through its working range as it should.  The specimen stage is a rectangular fully mechanical design in solid brass, with twin thumb-wheel adjusters for the x and y axes to the right-hand side of the stage giving a useful range of movement.  There are two holes for siting stage tools and also stage clips in a slider mechanism set into the stage surface, which works very well giving additional adjustability.  

Sub-stage there’s brass ring mount to which is fitted a 3-position wheel-of-stops.  Lighting is via a single-sided concave mirror in a brass carrier and gimbal mount fitted via a slider to the limb tail-piece.  The mirror therefore has a useful range of height and rotation adjustment, with period silvering showing some losses but reflectivity that’s still perfectly adequate. 

Accessories supplied:

– live box in brass
– stage forceps
– pair of brass tweezers
– wooden base plate

There’s a good quality, original fitted case probably in mahogany that’s showing some age.  It’s still in decent condition with appropriate external finish and sheen, internal fittings, drawer for slides, brass carry-handle and a lock but the key is missing, so it’s got a cupboard latch to keep the door closed, which works well.  In order to store the microscope away in its case, the optical tube has to be removed – it just unscrews, so is easy to remove and as shown it fits into a recess in the case.

The instrument has been very lightly lubricated with non-hardening grease where necessary, so that the controls operate smoothly.  This example of a late Victorian Watson bar-limb microscope is very usable and essentially makes a superb technical display piece, especially in view of the excellent cosmetic condition.  It could be displayed in a library or home office type of setting, especially when set up with an appropriate antique slide such as the Victorian Smith & Beck slide shown in the listing photos. 

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

Thanks for looking.