COMPOUND MONOCULAR
MICROSCOPE
MAKER:W.Watson & Sons, Ltd
MODEL: 'The Naturalist'
c. 2nd decade, 20th C.
SIGNED: 'W. WATSON & SONS LTD, LONDON, 11618'
Please Click On Any Picture for a Larger Version
DESCRIPTION: This is a basic compound microscope which is designed to either use a bench as its base, or mounted in the socket of its case. It is signed on the arm: 'W. Watson & Son Ltd, London, 11618. The mirror can be mounted below the stage or on it to provide top lighting of opaque objects. The stage can be easily removed to allow use of lower power (longer focal length) objectives. Coarse focus is by rack and pinion of the single knurled knob. There is no provision for fine focus, nor condenser, as this microscope is designed mainly for low power work.
HISTORY OF THE WATSON NATURALIST AND PHILATELIC MICROSCOPES:
The Naturalist was first reported and pictured in the JRMS of 1910, page 224. A variant, the Philatelic model was offered in the 1914 Watson catalog. The philatelic microscope is, like the Naturalist, designed to be a low power portable instrument. Very low powers might be needed to examine postage stamps and thus in the Philatelic model, the stage can be removed and placed on a separate mount on the case further away from the objective, allowing the use of a very long focal length (e.g. very low power), objective. The wider body tube also allowed photography with less vignettting.
