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Microscope Museum Collection of antique microscopes and other
scientific instruments |
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Microscope
392 (Vickers; Patholette II microscope; 1960s)
The scientific instrument maker T.
Cooke & Sons (1837 – 1922) was founded by Thomas Cooke in York in 1837.
Thomas Cooke built his own factory on Bishophill,
York, in 1855, producing a great range of spectacles, telescopes and other
items. By the turn of the century, defence products for the home market had
also become an important field of the company. In 1915 the control of Cooke's
was acquired by Vickers Ltd., an engineering firm of shipbuilding and
aircraft, who had long had an interest in the military side of Cooke
products. Cooke’s continued to expand in York and in 1922 they merged with
the long-established instrument-making firm of Troughton & Simms of
London (1824-1922). The new firm became Cooke, Troughton & Simms and in
1924 it became a wholly owned subsidiary of Vickers. After the war
microscopes, survey equipment and engineers' measuring instruments became the
main products. In 1963, following the acquisition of the C. Baker Ltd
microscope factory, the new company of Vickers Instruments was formed. This
company continued for many years, mainly selling microscopes, surveying
instruments and micro measurement apparatus. In 1989 the business was sold to
Bio-Rad Micromeasurements, an American company
based in California, apart from the defence products, which were acquired by
British Aerospace. Microscope 392 is a Vickers Patholette
II model dated from the 1960s (Figure 1). The instrument contains the
characteristic Vickers’s logo, a plate with the inscription “Made in England
by Vickers Instruments Ltd., Inst. No. M160296”. There is also another plate
indicating the name of a previous owner of the instrument: “BANBRIDGE ACADEMY”,
a school that was established in 1786 in Northern Ireland. In its days, this
was probably the microscope of choice for education and schools and there are
many used examples. Note: this instrument was kindly
donated by Dave Levell (Pembrokeshire, Wales) in May 2023.
Figure 1. Vickers
Patholette II microscope as featured in a 1968
Townson & Mercer’s catalogue |
