|
|
Microscope Museum Collection of antique microscopes and other
scientific instruments |
|
|
|
|
|
Microscope
133 (W. Watson
& Sons; FRAM stand microscope; early 1910s)
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 133 is a Watson’s
microscope FRAM stand. The instrument is labelled only with ‘FRAM’ and
the serial number 7058, allowing to date it to the early 1910s. This model was
described in a Watson catalogue from 1905 as a ‘highest-class microscope
at a very moderate cost’ (Figure 1).
Figure
1.
Watson’s FRAM stand microscope as engraved in the 1905 Watson catalogue References W. Watson and Sons (https://www.gracesguide.co.uk/W._Watson_and_Sons), last accessed on
12.08.2020 FRAM MICROSCOPE (https://www.microscope-antiques.com/fram.html), last accessed on
01.10.2020 Watson & Son
"Fram" Microscope (https://exhibits.uncc.edu/s/Microscopes/item/2359), last accessed on
01.10.2020 Microscopio Watson & Sons.
"Fram". Nº 4820 (https://sites.google.com/site/coleccionguillermocrovetto/home/ingleses/watson--son-fram), last accessed on
01.10.2020 LAST
EDITED: 01.10.2020 |
