Antique W. Watson & Sons Brass Edinburgh Royal Monocular Microscope c1915, Cased

This listing is for a rather nice example of an antique Edinburgh Royal model monocular microscope in brass by W. Watson & Sons Limited of London.

It dates from 1915, based on the sequential Watson production number of 19258, which is engraved onto the frame, just above the rear tripod foot. Dating evidence is also confirmed by the original Watson guarantee card which is present in the case and confirms the date of manufacture as 12 May 1915. The Royal model shares the same basic frame design as the rest of the Watson Edinburgh model range with its characteristic rear cross-member at the back of the frame.

This range included both Royal and Van Heurck variants with frames of different sizes and was manufactured by Watson between 1887 and around 1945. This long production run giving us a firm clue regarding just how good this model of microscope was in its heyday, with this model range comprising a number of variants including the well-known Edinburgh F and H-models, the Royal model (this example) and the much larger Dr Van Heurck models. The Edinburgh stand design with its characteristic rear cross-member was originally developed by Watson in collaboration with a professor and lecturer in bacteriology at the University of Edinburgh, hence the model designation adopted. The Royal is distinguished from Edinburgh F and H models most noticeably by the addition of a signature thumb wheel at the top of the main focus tube, which has a double draw-tube arrangement.

This Watson Royal model is essentially quite rare to market representing. An excellent piece of British optical engineering from a time when quality was paramount and fine materials were skillfully crafted by time-served technicians. Watsons of this era show their quality from every one of their many intricate parts, based on good materials, solid construction, great design and skilled workmanship with plenty of hand-finishing carried out in this period. Have a detailed look at the quality of the construction, even the brass screws and other furniture really do scream top quality from every component. This is therefore a sturdy, quality, well-made antique microscope in really good original condition, fully working and all moving parts seem to be mainly free from much in the way of wear and it's exhibiting just the right level of patination for an antique technical instrument from this period.

Turning to the technical details, the coarse focus is via rack and pinion which has a good smooth action, with fine focus achieved via a separate thumb-wheel located at the rear of the upper frame which operates an internal lever and spring-loaded system and also works smoothly. There's also the additional eyepiece draw-tube thumb-wheel on this Royal model, which also has a smooth action. With the optics, this Watson Royal comes fitted with a period graduated brass eyepiece draw-tube and two original 5x and 8x magnification Watson top-hat style eyepieces.

Watson Parachromatic - 10x magnification. 1/6th inch in brass Watson Parachromatic - 40x magnification.

Overall, the range of magnification available with this Watson therefore ranges from about 20x to a perfectly respectable 320x without the need for employing oil immersion techniques and of course additional eyepieces and objective lenses can always be added. There's also a fourth objective in brass which is unmarked and looks like a 1 inch, so therefore about 5x or 6x magnification in a Bakelite canister.

The microscope's mechanical over-stage is an original antique Watson item in brass with an adjustable specimen clip mechanism perfect for holding slides during inclined viewing. There's also a thumb-screw adjuster for different widths of slide, which is quite a useful feature. The freely running x/y controls located to the right hand side of the stage offering a good degree of control to specimen positioning, which is a real advantage for higher magnification work. Turning to the sub-stage, we have a Watson Abbe-style condenser in a brass mount with height adjustment via rack and pinion. The condenser assembly also swings out to allow for changing condenser type, carrying out maintenance or just for microscopy techniques that don't require using a condenser.

The condenser also has a working iris to control lighting levels as well as a swing-out holder for adding coloured, opaque or dark-field filters. Lighting is via a plano-concave mirror on an adjustable brass support arm and gimbal set-up, with period silvering that's also in good condition to both sides. All controls operate smoothly including coarse focus, fine-focus, eyepiece draw-tubes, mechanical stage x/y adjustment, condenser and plano-concave mirror. The instrument has been given a light lubrication so all controls operate smoothly with the existing Watson hardware, thereby preserving its originality and collector appeal. This is a great visual and working example of Watson's classic Royal model in highly original condition with its rather nice age-appropriate patination and sympathetic wear to its painted surfaces on the tripod frame and stage, caused by both use and where the frame rubs on the inside of the case during storage.

It's essentially in collectable condition with lovely gleaming brass-work that's showing a little age-related tarnishing and spotting, which is very much in keeping with its age and usage over the last 105 years. It really catches the light, its brass-work glowing with a lovely warm yellow/golden hue and presents extremely well making a real statement piece and I hope that the listing photos do it justice.

Here is also a correct original period wooden storage case with this example, which is also in excellent condition for its age with internal racking, nice brass/wooden handle and a working lock with key. Ured courier upon receipt of cleared funds. Thanks for looking - please also check out my other listings if you get a chance. Watson & Sons Brass Edinburgh Royal Monocular Microscope c1915, Cased" is in sale since Wednesday, February 10, 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 to United Kingdom, 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, Bermuda, Bolivia, Barbados, Brunei darussalam, Cayman islands, Ecuador, Egypt, Guernsey, Gibraltar, Guadeloupe, French guiana, Iceland, Jersey, Jordan, Cambodia, Liechtenstein, Sri lanka, Macao, Monaco, Maldives, Martinique, Nicaragua, Oman, Pakistan, Peru, Paraguay, Reunion, Saudi arabia, South africa, United arab emirates, Ukraine, Bahamas, Colombia, Jamaica, Kuwait, Panama, Qatar, Uruguay, Viet nam.

Period: 1901 to 1950
Sub-Type: Microscopes
Modified Item: No
Material: Brass
Type: Microscope
Antique: Yes
Country/Region of Manufacture: United Kingdom