Microscope Museum

Collection of antique microscopes and other scientific instruments

 

      

Microscope 397 (Vision Engineering Ltd; 4/200 stereo microscope; 1970s)

 

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The company Vision Engineering was founded in 1958 by Rob Freeman MBE (1933 - 2017). Rob studied Mechanical Engineering at Imperial College, and started working at Kenwood’s mixers, as a machinist. He then joined Jaguar Racing, as a racing mechanic, supporting cars in races all over Europe and North Africa. Subsequently he formed Vision Engineering Ltd as a means of developing his interest in optics applied to manufacturing technology. The company started off as a specialist optical sub-contractor to large British companies, including Rolls Royce and Vickers, and still exists today as a manufacturer of optical equipment. On the early 1970s, the company took over the manufacturing and marketing of the microscopes previously produced by W. Watson & Sons. Microscope 397 is a stereo microscope, which also includes an illuminator and the respective power supply source. The power supply unit and the microscope are labelled with stickers containing the information “POWER SUPPLY UNIT, 6V 20W, VISION ENG. Ltd., SEND, SURREY” and “4/200 STEREO, VISION ENGINEERING Ltd, SEND, WOKING, SURREY”, respectively. The microscope contains three objective units with the inscriptions “x2.5”, “x5” and “x10”, and should be dated to the 1970s (Figure 1).

Note: this instrument was kindly donated by Dave Levell (Pembrokeshire, Wales) in May 2023.

 

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Figure 1. Visio 4-200 stereo binocular microscopes as featured on a 1972 brochure of Vision Engineering.