Microscope Museum

Collection of antique microscopes and other scientific instruments

Microscope 541 (W. Watson & Sons; Vulcan metallurgical inspection microscope; c. 1922)

W. Watson & Sons were opticians and camera makers trading from London and Edinburgh. The company was originally founded in 1837 by William Watson at 71 City Road, and the business continued at this address until 1861, when it moved to 313 High Holborn. In 1867, the name was changed to W. Watson & Son. In 1882, the name was changed to W. Watson & Sons. In 1900 the company acquired the John Browning and Co., and in 1908 the firm became W. Watson & Sons Ltd. In 1929 they published an advert in the British Industries Fair Catalogue as an Optical, Scientific and Photographic Exhibit, highlighting the manufacture of microscopes for medical, industrial and educational purposes. Into the 1950s, the company changed their address to 25 West End Lane, Barnet, Hertfordshire, where they stayed until the late 1960s. In 1957 the company was acquired by Pye of Cambridge and ten years later, taken over by Philips. By 1970 the manufacture of microscopes was over. Microscope 541 is a Watson’s compound metallurgical inspection microscope, Vulcan model (Figure 1). The instrument is signed ‘Vulcan, W. Watson & Sons Ltd, 313 High Holborn, London’ and contains the serial number ‘27205’, allowing to date the instrument to c. 1922. It is a compound microscope with an electric vertical illuminator. Focus is by diagonal rack and pinion. This instrument was described as a simple microscope for examining metal in the field.

Figure 1. Watson’s Vulcan metallurgical inspection microscope as engraved in a 1923 catalogue of the firm.