Accession No

6612

Brief Description

'Service II' compound microscope, by W. Watson & Sons, English, 1954, used as student loan microscope in library of King’s College, Cambridge

Origin

London; England

Maker

W. Watson & Sons

Class

microscopes

Earliest Date

1954

Latest Date

1954

Inscription Date

1954

Material

metal (steel?, brass); enamel; glass; plastic; wood (mahogany); leather; felt; paper

Dimensions

Special Collection

Provenance

Transferred from King’s College Library, Cambridge, CB2 1ST on or before 14/08/2014.

Inscription

SERVICE II

W. Watson & Sons, Ltd
London
115603 [on body tube of microscope]

Description Notes

'Service II' compound microscope, by W. Watson & Sons, English, 1954, used as student loan microscope in library of King’s College, Cambridge.

Black enamel monocular microscope with silver metal detailing, in fitted mahogany box. Microscope has three objectives on its revolving nose piece; x10, x40, and x100. The microscope features both course and fine adjustment knobs, an adjustable sub-stage condenser, and a mechanical stage with stage clips. There is a mirror underneath the main body of the microscope, and the whole object sits on an integrated y-shaped base. All three objectives are removable, as is the glass disc on the mechanical stage, the glass disc in the condenser, the metal handle for the condenser, the eyepiece and the eyepiece cover.

The wooden box is engraved on its front with the Watson's and sons logo, and has a leather carrying handle with two metal clasps. The interior features felt-lined wooden inserts to keep the microscope and its parts in place. It has a removable wooden shelf with five additional parts. There is also a partially full bottle, labelled "immersion oil", and a stable pack of tissue paper. On the inside of the door, there is a paper insert with a magnification table, which is partly printed and then typed over. This also notes the date, either of purchase or manufacture. The box has a locking mechanism, for which there is a key attached to a brass key ring.

References

Events