Vintage Cooke Troughton & Simms M2000 Mono/Binocular Microscope, c1950s, Cased

Here we have a good quality and highly original example of an M2000 binocular microscope by well-known British optical manufacturers Cooke Troughton & Simms (CTS) of York. This is a well-specified example, probably dating from around the mid to late 1950s and bearing serial number M201803. It's in very good original condition and being pretty well complete, makes a rather nice microscopy set-up, so probably one for the collector or serious amateur.

The M2000 model was first introduced by CTS in the late 1940s, with the final examples produced during the mid-1960s when the CTS brand name was dropped by owners Vickers Instruments. The condition is generally good for a working instrument and it's got virtually no signs of wear and it has recently been through a check-over and lubrication. Turning to the main technical details of this quality vintage binocular microscope set-up, we have a binocular eyepiece unit that's adjustable for both focus and eyepiece separation. These binocular units are fixed at +1.5x magnification therefore effectively giving the eyepieces a 50% magnification boost.

There are three sets of eyepieces, as follows. 6x magnification - CTS Compensating - for binocular head - 8x magnification - CTS Compensating - for binocular head. 10x magnification - Vickers for monocular tube. The coarse focus system moves the main microscope optical tube in a vertical plane, with its controls at the top of the frame.

There is a lovely smooth action through the twin-sided thumb-wheels - travel and focus are both good. Fine focus adjustment essentially works by moving the nose-piece only, therefore the fine focus mechanism doesn't carry the full weight of the main focus tube - a neat CTS patented design feature. There's a useful mixture of progressive magnification, standard and oil immersion objectives, all by CTS on a rotating 4-way turret which clicks into place positively as each objective is rotated into its viewing position.

The objective lenses are as follows. 16mm - 10x by CTS.

4mm - 40x by CTS. 3.75mm - 45x Fluorite Oil Immersion by CTS (not tested with oil). 1.8mm - 95x Fluorite Oil Immersion by CTS (not tested with oil). (All the objectives are supplied with their correct CTS period storage canisters).

(The effective overall magnification therefore ranges from 90x to a respectable 1,140x when using oil immersion techniques). The specimen stage is fully mechanical being a CTS design with twin thumb-wheel x-axis and y-axis controls mounted on the right-hand side of the stage.

There's a two-part slide holder mechanism for holding samples in place during viewing sessions, which can be adjusted for position and one of the slide holders has a sprung armature. The stage mechanisms run nice and smoothly with a lovely solid feel and the y-axis also has a locking mechanism to prevent it slipping when the instrument is in inclined viewing mode. Below-stage there's a CTS condenser in a dovetail-fit type of mount with centering, a working iris and a swing-out filter holder for adding coloured, opaque or dark-field filters. Sample illumination is provided via a standard CTS plano-concave mirror on an swiveling gimbal mount, with silvering that's in excellent condition to both sides. The overall condition of this technically very interesting M2000 microscope is amazingly good and it's got the benefit of very little evidence of wear to the paint finish on the frame where one would normally expect to see some signs of use for a vintage piece of technical equipment.

It's also supplied with an original CTS fitted wooden case with two internal lens racks. The lock and key are also present, but since the lock mechanism is rather sticky, I've also added a small catch that secures the door in its closed position. In summary, this is a very well-equipped vintage technical mono and binocular microscope from quality British optical firm CTS, together with a correct original set of lenses, making a rather nice microscopy set-up. It may therefore appeal to both specialist collectors of technical equipment and of course those seeking a good quality CTS M2000 model for its technical capabilities and imposing retro look, which also makes it a spectacular display piece. It's supplied with a correct wooden case which is in good condition and it's fitted with a mechanical stage which is a must for high-magnification use.

It's essentially usable out of the box with a bit of time spent getting to know it and setting up its various features and controls for optimum viewing results depending on chosen application. This microscope equipment is very heavy especially in view of the period wooden case and overall weighs in at around 12kg with packaging. The item "Vintage Cooke Troughton & Simms M2000 Mono/Binocular Microscope, c1950s, Cased" is in sale since Saturday, May 1, 2021. This item is in the category "Antiques\Science/Medicine\Scientific Instruments". The seller is "arcboutant" and is located in Glasgow.

This item can be shipped worldwide.

Period: 1951 to Present
MPN: Does Not Apply
Viewer: Binocular
Brand: Cooke Troughton & Simms
Material: Steel
Type: Microscope
Antique: Yes
Microscope Type: Compound Microscope