Description

Offered for Sale is a good antique condition with clear optics, nice age and use-appropriate patina to its brass-work. 111 year old example of the compact Watson Praxis that’s an ideal example for a collector or as a display piece in a suitable setting.

Here we have a lovely collectable Praxis microscope by W. Watson & Sons Limited of London and for comparison purposes I’ve put a copy of the entry from Watson’s 1912 product catalogue at the end of the listing photos.  This example dates to 3rd July 1914, so just before the start of WWI.  Dating evidence is based on the sequential Watson production number of 19834 which is engraved onto the instrument’s horseshoe or tuning-fork shaped foot and also it’s on the Watson Guarantee/Magnification card inside the case door, which is a nice touch and increasingly hard to find these days. 

This instrument is in good general condition and has been generally well looked after by its former custodians.  It presents with a rather nice age-appropriate patina including some minor wear to the black paint finish and a few blemishes to the lacquer-work here and there, which is very much what you’d expect with an antique instrument such as this.  Overall, it’s a great opportunity to acquire a usable vintage instrument that’s still in decent condition.  It’s perfectly usable and ideal for transmitted light microscopy applications and of course, also as a display piece.

Watson’s Praxis model was a small to mid-size model in Watson’s range of microscope offerings with a contiental-type design and was intended to compete directly with similar sized microscope offerings from continental manufacturers like Leitz and Zeiss. 

This example also benefits from a set of period objective lenses and eyepieces that produce some nice images.  The Praxis is essentially an excellent piece of British quality optical engineering constructed from the right materials, with solid construction and hand-finishing to many of its components.  Feel the weight of it for one, despite being a small to mid-size antique microscope it’s still quite heavy with all that brass.  This is a sturdy Praxis microscope, fully working with no adverse signs of wear to its moving or technical components. 

Turning to the optics, this Watson Praxis is fitted with a brass eyepiece draw-tube with graduation markings.  The main tube is in lacquered brass with coarse focus via rack and pinion with a nice smooth action, with the main tube holding in position as it should.  Fine focus is single brass thumb-wheel operating a vernier screw/lever arrangement which also moves smoothly with the right level of resistance to the touch and has just been lightly lubricated.   

The instrument is supplied with an appropriate set of vintage eyepieces by Watson and others as follows:

– 6x magnification
– 8x magnification
– 10x magnification
– 12x magnification

With good illumination the supplied eyepieces produces nice sharp images.  It’s also got three vintage brass objectives and a triple turret, which rotates freely with a positive feel as the objectives rotate into viewing position.  The objectives are as follows:

– 2/3rds inch in brass – Watson -10x magnification
– 1/2 inch in brass – Watson – 25x magnification
– 1/6th inch in brass – unbranded – 40x magnification

Overall, the range of magnification provided by this Watson therefore runs from about 60x to around 480x with good illumination.

The instrument tilts for inclined viewing, holding in position as it should.  The stage is a standard Watson ebonite covered brass stage that’s fitted with a pair of slide-clips which are fine for holding a slide steady especially when using inclined viewing.

Turning to the sub-stage, we have an Abbe-type condenser friction-fitted into the 39mm brass mount that’s on a swing-out pivot for easy change-over or maintenance of the condenser as shown.  The condenser just push-fits into the sub-stage carrier and also has working iris and a 35mm swing-out filter carrier fitted.  Lighting is via a plano-concave mirror on a height adjustable support rod with gimbal giving good adjustability.  The mirror is in a brass holder with silvering in good condition to both sides.

This is a nice visual and also an excellent working example of Watson’s Praxis model in good condition with usable period optics. 

Owing to the weight and delicacy of the microscope, it will be partially dismantled, very well wrapped for shipping and dispatched by insured courier upon receipt of cleared funds.  Anyone who’s bought instruments from me previously will know that I take great care and pride in packing and shipping items including both domestic and international services.  Overseas buyers please use the eBay Global Shipping option if available for your territory, or contact seller for options and costs.

Please study the photos as they also form part of the description.

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