Microscope Museum

Collection of antique microscopes and other scientific instruments

 

    

Microscope 457 (Vickers; Patholux microscope; 1960s)

 

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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 457 is a Vickers Patholux microscope model dated from the 1960s (Figure 1). The instrument is signed by “VICKERS INSTRUMENTS”. There is a plate on the base with the inscription “MADE IN ENGLAND BY VICKERS INSTRUMENTS”, the serial number “M320378”, and “US PAT 2601175”. This patent was attributed to the inventor Smith Francis Hughes in June 1952, related with the development of interference microscopy. The Patholux microscope was manufactured and sold by Vickers in the 1960s and early 1970s.

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

 

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Figure 1. Vickers Patholux microscope as featured in a 1967 advert in the journal Nature.