Vintage W. Watson & Sons Ltd Bactil Mono/Binocular Microscope, circa 1934, Cased

This listing is for a superbly engineered vintage original Bactil model microscope by W. Watson & Sons Limited of London.

It dates from 1934 based on the sequential Watson production number of 55253, which is engraved onto the main black-painted brass tube and also the binocular head; dating evidence also being backed up by the original Watson guarantee card which is present in the case. This inter-war example is in all-original condition and has been so well looked after by its former custodians that it almost looks unused.

In fact I've almost run out of superlatives to describe the condition of this example and suggest that you just take a good close look at the listing photos, because they tell its story better than I can. This Bactil also benefits from a good set of original period-correct lenses, an original brass circular full mechanical stage, alternate non-mechanical stage with brass clips, both mono and binocular configurations and a lovely period-correct mahogany storage case. It presents really well with some amazing gleaming bright brass-work including its eyepiece tubes and thumb-wheels which are showing no real signs of age-related tarnishing at all. The Bactil is essentially an excellent piece of British optical engineering built from quality materials, with solid construction, great design and skilled workmanship and in this period many hours of hand-finishing.

This is a sturdy good quality microscope in original condition, fully working, with no real signs of wear and only a little chipping to a few of the black painted surfaces. It's got a great look and patina with just the right signs of age for a brass example from the early 1930s. On the technical side both coarse and fine focus move nice and freely with little wear evident. Turning to the optics, this Watson Bactil microscope comes fitted with a period graduated chromed eyepiece draw-tube for its monocular head and its centerpiece which is of course its binocular head with both focus and inter-ocular adjustment. It's got appropriate sets of eyepieces that with good illumination produce excellent images: - 6x and 10x magnification - Watson for binocular head - 15x magnification - monocular head.

2/3rd inch - Watson Parachromatic -10x with period Watson canister - 1/6th inch - Watson Parachromatic - 40x with period Watson canister. 1/12th inch - R & J Beck - oil immersion - 100x with period R & J Beck metal canister (not tested with oil). Overall, the magnification provided by this Watson Bactil therefore ranges from about 60x to a perfectly respectable 1,500x when using oil immersion techniques. The microscope's circular mechanical stage is an original Watson factory-fitted item in brass with two armatures one of which is sprung, plus there are a couple of small spring-steel clips with nice bluing, which almost look new - these items are often missing or broken on this model of mechanical stage. This mechanical system is excellent for retaining slides during inclined viewing, with x/y controls also offering fine control of specimen positioning.

Turning to the sub-stage, we have a Watson Abbe-style condenser on a height adjustable rack and pinion mount with two brass thumb-screws for centering. There's a working iris to control lighting levels and a swing-out filter holder. Lighting is via a plano-concave mirror which is in very good condition on its adjustable brass support arm and gimbal set-up with excellent silvering to both sides. All controls operate reasonably smoothly including coarse focus, fine-focus, eyepiece draw-tube, binocular head, condenser and plano-concave mirror. The instrument has been lubricated so all controls operate smoothly with the existing Watson hardware, thereby preserving originality. This is an amazing visual and working example of Watson's classic Bactil model with some nice features such as the brasswork and both monocular and binocular options, making it quite an interesting proposition for a collector. It's in highly original condition and essentially a museum-quality piece, with a comprehensive specification, good optics and it's essentially highly collectable. Please note that there is also a period-correct storage case with this example, which is also in superb condition with internal storage racks for the lenses, a sundries drawer, original working lock with key, original transit bolt and brass washer and even its original leather handle, which you hardly ever find intact on Watson cases of this age.

Thanks for looking - please also check out my other listings if you get a chance. Watson & Sons Ltd Bactil Mono/Binocular Microscope, circa 1934, Cased" is in sale since Thursday, February 4, 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, Brazil, 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, Chile, Bahamas, Colombia, Costa rica, Guatemala, Honduras, Jamaica, Kuwait, Panama, Qatar, Trinidad and tobago, Uruguay, Viet nam.

Period: 1901 to 1950
Country/Region of Manufacture: United Kingdom
Sub-Type: Microscopes
Material: Brass
Type: Microscope
Antique: Yes
Featured Refinements: Microscope Objective