Description

Offered for sale is a well-specified and very good condition antique monocular microscope by Henry Crouch of London and it will date to around 1900s or thereabouts, carrying serial number 9489.  It’s a lister-limb design, with some continental features and a classic Crouch-style foot.

Background to Henry Crouch (source: Antique Microscopes)

Henry Crouch learned apprenticed with Smith, Beck & Beck, then formed his own company in early 1862 with younger brother, William. The original H. and W. Crouch shop was located on Commercial Road, London, and their earliest instruments bear that address. The Crouch brothers focused on producing good-quality, less-expensive microscopes for the middle-class microscopists and students. Henry joined the Royal Microscopical Society in 1863, and the Quekett Microscopical Club in 1866. Advertisements as early as September 1864 indicated a move to 64A Bishopsgate Street. The Crouch brothers dissolved their partnership in 1866, with Henry retaining the optical business. Henry Crouch’s business moved in 1868, to London Wall, then to Barbican in early 1873. About 1886, Henry incorporated as Henry Crouch Limited. Crouch sold the business in 1907 to S. Maw and Sons. Henry then worked for that firm, supervising manufacture of microscopes and other equipment. Henry Crouch died in 1916.

This example of a Henry Crouch monocular microscope presents really well with some lovely gleaming brass-work details and just a little age-appropriate patination here and there, but hardly noticable.  The instrument’s look and feel is of a quality not found in modern microscopes in that’s it’s fashioned from solid brass, giving it a weighty feel despite being a mid-size instrument. 

Technical details – the construction is a classic anodised brass tripod Crouch foot with twin uprights supporting a pivot and an upper limb/pillar arrangement.  The coarse focus is by rack and pinion with the newer-style diagonal cut, which has quite a smooth action and holds in position as it should.  Fine focus is achieved via a graduated brass thumb-wheel located at the rear of the main tube on a continental-style pillar, being a vernier screw acting against sprung resistance and moving the entire limb/pillar, which also works well. 

In terms of its optics, this microscope has a graduated brass eyepiece tube inside the main optical tube that holds in position on adjustment.  It’s supplied with three vintage 6x, 8x and 10x magnification standard-diameter eyepieces that with good illumination produce bright age-appropriate images.

It’s currently got its original compliment of Crouch objective lenses on a triple turret, all with RMS thread.  The supplied objectives are as under:

– 2/3rds inch in brass by Crouch – 10x magnification
– 1/6th inch in brass by Crouch – 40x magnification
– 1/12th inch in brass by Crouch – 100x magnification – oil immersion required
(all objectives have their appropriate brass canisters)

I’ve tested the optics with various slides and the images are perfectly acceptable when using good illumination. The magnification range available with the instrument with its current set of optics will be from around 60x up to 1,000x.

The instrument tilts for inclined viewing and holds in position as it should on inclination.  The all-brass specimen stage is fully mechanical with x/y adjustment thumb-wheels on the right-hand side of the stage, which work very well and hold position on inclination.  There’s also slots in the stage top plate for a slider mechanism with twin slide clips which work well.

Turning to the sub-stage, we have a Abbe-type condenser with working iris and swing-out feature.  This sits in a rack & pinion mount with single-sided thumb-wheel to adjust the height.  Lighting is via a plano-concave mirror in a brass gimbal mount with swing/rotation adjustment and good period silvering. 

The instrument has been very gently dusted and also lightly lubricated with non-hardening grease, so that the controls operate smoothly.  This example displays exceptionally well having quite a presence, with some lovely brass-work with rich golden tones which catch the light beautifully.  This antique microscope is very much a usable proposition and should also make a stunning antique display piece, perhaps in a library or home office type of setting, especially when set up with an appropriate antique slide. There is the correct hardwood storage case with this instrument in mahogany, with a good exterior finish and sheen.  The case has internal racking for lenses and eyepieces, a wooden/brass carry-handle and with its lock missing there are cupboard latches to keep the door closed. 

Owing to the weight and delicacy of this antique microscope and case, it will be partially dismantled, carefully wrapped for shipping and dispatched by insured courier upon receipt of cleared funds.  

Thanks for looking – please also check out my other listings if you get the chance.