Microscope Museum

Collection of antique microscopes and other scientific instruments

 

      

Microscope 178 (J Swift & Son; Stead workshop microscope; c. 1915)

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James Swift were microscope makers trading from London and founded in 1853 by James Powell Swift, who was son of the watchmaker Thomas Swift. Before founding his company, James Swift was apprenticed to the well-known microscope maker Andrew Ross. In 1881 they made improvements to microscope design, including the replacement of the straight rack and pinion focusing to helical cut components and a new fine focus system. In 1884, Mansell James Swift, son of James Powell, joined the company and the name was changed to James Swift & Son. In 1901, Captain Scott was supplied with Swift microscopes for use on the R.R.S. Discovery for the 1901-1904 expedition, named in the catalogue of the time as the 'Discovery' model. In 1903, Mansell Powell John Swift, grandson of the founder, joined the company. In 1906, the founder of the company, James Powell Swift, died. In 1912, the company was incorporated as a limited company and the name changed to J. Swift Ltd. In 1942, both Mansell Powell and Mansell James died. In 1946, ER Watts and Son Ltd took over the company, mainly due to the association between the Watts and Swift families in earlier years. In 1949, they employed John H. Basset who, in 1968, took over the company. Stead and made by J. Swift & Sons. The instrument is engraved with ‘J. SWIFT & SON, LONDON’ and ‘WORKSHOP MICROSCOPE’, and can be dated to c. 1915. The microscope was designed for engineers, iron and steel founders and other workers in metals and, as the metals examined were opaque, there was no need for any substage apparatus. The legs of the tripod may be lengthened or shortened by rotating the milled heads on them, in order to compensate for any unevenness of the surface of the object under examination. The optical tube slides in a fitting through the centre of the plate of the tripod for focussing and can be fixed by a small clamp screw. The instrument was originally completed with a vertical illuminator (including a reflector, lamp and battery; Figure 1), missing from this instrument. According to the seller of this instrument, the microscope originally belonged to an engineer who worked to the shipbuilding company Swan Hunter, based in Wallsend, Tyne and Wear, England. This company was responsible for some of the greatest ships of the early 20th century, most famously the RMS Carpathia (launched in 1901, which rescued survivors from RMS Titanic) and RMS Mauretania (launched in 1906).

 

Figure 1. Workshop metallurgical microscope originally designed by JE Stead and made by J. Swift & Sons as engraved in the company’s 1914 catalogue.

 

References

James Swift and Son (https://www.gracesguide.co.uk/James_Swift_and_Son), last accessed on 12.08.2020

COMPOUND TRIPOD MICROSCOPE FOR INSPECTION OF METAL SURFACES (https://www.microscope-antiques.com/stead.html), last accessed on 16.04.2021

LAST EDITED: 05.05.2021