Microscope Museum

Collection of antique microscopes and other scientific instruments

 

      

Microscope 424 (Olympus; stereoscopic microscope, model VA-II; c. 1970)

 

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Olympus was founded in Japan, in 1919, by Takeshi Yamashita and Shintaro Terada. The name of the company at that time was Takachiho Seisakusho. The trademark Olympus was registered in 1921. In 1942, the company was renamed Takachiho Optical Co. Ltd. After the World War II, in 1949, the company became Olympus Optical Co. Ltd. In 2003, they were again renamed to Olympus Corporation. Microscope 424 is a stereoscopic microscope engraved with “OLYMPUS, TOKYO”, “JAPAN”, “VA-II”, and the serial number 210164. This stereoscopic microscope, model VA-II, should be dated to c. 1970 (Figure 1). The wooden box that accompanies this microscope has a plate with the information “STC54FC524”, and a label by the firm Cooke, Troughton & Simms. However, this label indicates another serial number (M30196), suggesting it is not the original box of the instrument.

Note: this instrument was kindly donated by Dave Levell (Pembrokeshire, Wales) in May 2023.

 

Figure 1. Olympus’s stereoscopic microscope model VA-II as featured in a catalogue of the firm from the 1970s.