Vintage Watson Bactil Binocular High-Power Technical Microscope, Cased c1958

Here is a very fine and complete example of an iconic technical microscope in astonishingly good original condition - a retro Watson Bactil binocular model - probably ex-hospital pathology lab, because most of these examples were used in such settings owing to their sheer capability and ruggedness. In fact one of the objective lenses is engraved Royal Infirmary Path. , which tends to confirm its NHS provenance. Don't confuse Watson's Bactil model with its smaller brother the Watson Service model - the Bactil is a much bigger (and heavier) model, one of the largest that Watson produced and it even needed a bigger style of wooden storage case to accommodate its increased bulk and the binocular head.

The earlier classic Bactil models like this one were produced with a black finish, with later Bactil 60 models (post about 1960) in an off-white finish. This example is serial number 123632 which dates its manufacture to around the 1958 period. This particular example therefore was produced after the original optical instrument manufacturing firm Watson & Sons had changed their trading name to Watson Barnet.

It's also got a comprehensive technical configuration and a good compliment of objective lenses. The construction is very solid with much use of heavy metals such as iron and brass. The black painted finish is in pretty reasonable shape with some fairly minor signs of wear. The bright-work components are all nickel-plated and have polished up nicely. This Watson Bactil has rack and pinion main and thumb-wheel fine focusing, both of which move nice and smoothly with little obvious wear. This example is supplied with two Watson 8x matched eyepieces in its binocular head which are fitted with new rubber eye-cups to aid binocular viewing.

The binocular head itself is 1.5x magnification therefore giving 12x magnification at the eyepiece unit. This example is fitted with a rotating quadruple nose-piece which clicks into position nicely as it's rotated and comes fitted with a good range of progressive magnification objective lenses as follows. Gilllet & Sibert (GS) - 28mm 4x - Watson - 16mm 10x - Watson - 8mm 20x - Watson - 4mm 40x engraved R. Watson - 2mm 100x oil immersion (not tested). Therefore the effective magnification capability ranges from around 48x to a very respectable 1,200x using oil immersion techniques.

The fully mechanical specimen stage set-up really is a well-engineered feature and is probably the best mechanical stage that Watson produced. It has rack and pinion systems that move both the x-axis and y-axis smoothly, together with silvered vernier measurement scales.

The stage-clip system for holding slides in place during viewing is present - it's adjustable to accommodate different slide sizes and retains adequate spring in its armature to hold a slide firmly in place while the x and y-axes are being moved around. There's some minor evidence of wear to the black painted stage surface but that's to be expected in view of this example's use over the years. Below stage there is an Abbe condenser with fully working iris on a rack and pinion mount for vertical adjustment. There's also a double set of swing-out filter holders located just below the condenser.

This example is fitted with electric illumination which worked perfectly during testing. It's an original period Watson Barnet sub-stage illumination lamp which just plugs into a standard 240 volt mains wall socket and provides instant brilliant sample illumination at the flick of a switch without the need to align a mirror towards a light source. A Watson mirror can of course be substituted for the lamp unit if required and the lamp unit is only held in place by a small thumb-screw located on the right hand side of the condenser rack.

And last but not least of course, the Bactil's pièce de résistance which is the binocular eyepiece unit, it's adjustable for both focus and eyepiece separation via a central thumb-wheel and comes with a set of matched Watson eyepieces. This example is supplied with a period-correct Watson Bactil wooden storage case, it's internal storage drawer for lenses and other accessories is absent, but otherwise it's in sound condition for its age, it also comes with an original working lock and key. All-in-all a really interesting example of a later retro Watson Barnet Bactil binocular model just oozing both solidity and quality with its comprehensive technical set-up, period look, useful. Electric illumination and superb cosmetic condition. This example will make a really good addition to any collection and it's also perfectly usable day to day as a technical microscope. With all that metal and large storage case it's a real heavyweight item, weighing over 12kg with packaging, so will be sent by insured courier upon receipt of cleared funds. Thanks for looking - please check out my other listings - mainly eclectic artworks and vintage optics, plus some other cool stuff. The item "Vintage Watson Bactil Binocular High-Power Technical Microscope, Cased c1958" is in sale since Wednesday, February 19, 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, Brazil, 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, Chile, Bahamas, Colombia, Costa rica, Guatemala, Honduras, Jamaica, Kuwait, Panama, Philippines, Qatar, Trinidad and tobago, Uruguay, Viet nam.

Period: 1951 to Present
Modified Item: No
Material: Brass
Type: Microscope
Country/Region of Manufacture: United Kingdom
Sub-Type: Microscopes