Antique Brass James Swift Research Microscope circa 1915 Cased, Watson Lens

Here we have a wonderful antique microscope by renowned optical instrument makers James Swift & Sons Ltd of London. It's a really interesting model and is known as the "Research" model microscope. As is normal with microscopes of this era, the tripod stand is engraved with the makers name and the sequential instrument production/serial number. This model's serial number is 15133 - the engraving is underneath one of the stand legs - which dates it to about 1915, so just after the end of the Edwardian period and during the Great War.

The microscope's main focus is by a smooth rack & pinion and the brass eyepiece draw-tube is calibrated for easy setting of tube length. The fine focus is by a micrometer thumb-wheel which works an internal lever system and operates nice and smoothly. The microscope also has a fully mechanical stage of Swift design with brass thumb-wheel x-axis and y-axis controls, both operating freely with a little wear evident in the thumb-wheel action.

The upper stage has a novel specimen holder intended to hold specimens under inclination, the additional slide clips for securing a slide are however not present. The mechanical sub-stage has right-sided thumb-wheel controlled rack & pinion vertical adjustment for the condenser which moves freely. The sub-stage also comprises a lever-operated iris and the Abbe-type condenser; there's also a couple of brass thumb-screws for adjusting the lateral position of the condenser.

The plano-concave mirror has good silvering to both sides and is mounted on a separate multi-adjustable limb for oblique illumination in addition to its standard gimbal. Turning to the optics, the microscope has a triple nose-piece changer which slots into place well as it's rotated and it also comes with a total of four objectives covering a range of magnifications right up to high-magnification "oil immersion", some in lacquered brass cans and one in a period Bakelite canister, as follows.

2/3rds inch - J Swift (brass canister). 1/6th inch - J Swift (brass canister). 1/12th inch oil immersion - J Swift (brass canister) - untested. 1/12th oil immersion "Utility" - W. Watson & Sons (Bakelite canister) - untested. There are also three period eyepieces - 7x magnification, 10x magnification and 15x magnification. This is a high-quality and highly original antique brass microscope with a great selection of lenses. It's also most probably quite a scarce example in view of both its age and designation as a "research" piece of technical equipment and therefore may well appeal to collectors. It's also supplied with its original quality wooden case which may well be in mahogany. The case is fitted internally, remains in reasonably good condition for its age and has a replacement door catch because the original key is not present. Thanks for looking - please also check out my other listings - mainly eclectic artworks and vintage optics, plus some other cool stuff. The item "Antique Brass James Swift Research Microscope circa 1915 Cased, Watson Lens" is in sale since Saturday, February 8, 2020. 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 to United Kingdom, Antigua and barbuda, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Australia, United States, Bahrain, Canada, Japan, New Zealand, China, Israel, Hong Kong, Norway, Indonesia, Malaysia, Mexico, Singapore, South Korea, Switzerland, Taiwan, Thailand, Bangladesh, Belize, Bermuda, Bolivia, Barbados, Brunei darussalam, Cayman islands, Dominica, Ecuador, Egypt, Guernsey, Gibraltar, Guadeloupe, Grenada, French guiana, Iceland, Jersey, Jordan, Cambodia, Saint kitts and nevis, Saint lucia, Liechtenstein, Sri lanka, Macao, Monaco, Maldives, Montserrat, Martinique, Nicaragua, Oman, Pakistan, Peru, Paraguay, Reunion, Turks and caicos islands, Aruba, Saudi arabia, South africa, United arab emirates, Ukraine, Chile, Bahamas, Colombia, Costa rica, Guatemala, Honduras, Jamaica, Kuwait, Panama, Philippines, Qatar, Trinidad and tobago, Uruguay, Viet nam.

Period: 1901 to 1950
Material: Brass
Type: Microscope