Microscope Museum

Collection of antique microscopes and other scientific instruments

 

    

Microscope 36B (R & J Beck; star microscope; c. 1885)

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R & J Beck occupy an especially important place in the history of the British microscope manufacturing with its beginning established in London, by Richard Beck (1827 - 1866) in association with James Smith (1800 – 1873), and later to be joined by his brother Joseph Beck. Richard and Joseph Beck were nephews of Joseph Jackson Lister, who was a respected British optician and physicist who experimented with achromatic lenses and perfected an optical microscope. In commissioning the manufacture of his improved microscope, Lister worked with James Smith, an employee of the instrument-making firm of William Tulley, to create the stand. James Smith went on to establish his own optical instruments workshop in 1837. Through this relationship, Lister arranged for his nephew, Richard Beck to be an apprentice under Smith in 1843. In 1847, James Smith entered into partnership with Richard Beck, and the company was re-named Smith & Beck. In 1854, the company was renamed to Smith, Beck and Beck, as Richard Beck's brother Joseph Beck joined the company in 1851. James Smith retired in 1865 and the company became R & J Beck and this name lasted for long time. In 1866, Richard Beck died at an early age of 39, and Joseph Beck carried on the business. In 1895 the company became a limited partnership (R & J Beck Ltd). By 1968, the company was a subsidiary of the Ealing Corporation of USA. In 2019, Beck Optronic Solutions Ltd is a descendent of the former R & J Beck Ltd. Microscope 36B is from c. 1885 and is known as the Beck’s Star model. This model was presented in the Journal of the Royal Microscopical Society in 1885 as an effective instrument adapted to scientific research (Figure 1). The microscope body is made of nickel-plated brass and the cast iron base. The coarse adjustment is obtained by a rack and pinion and the fine focus is achieved by micrometre screws controlled by a knurled knob. The device has a removable iris diaphragm that screws under the platen and controls the amount of light reaching the preparation. The base, heavy, allows the horizontal position of the optical tube for use with a Wollaston’s camera lucida. The microscope was originally sold with achromatic 1 inch and ¼ inch objectives. The serial number of microscope 36B is 12778.

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Figure 1. Beck’s Star model microscope (adapted from the Journal of the Royal Microscopical Society, June 1885)

 

Reference

James Smith, 1800 – 1873 (http://microscopist.net/SmithJ.html), last accessed on 12.08.2020

R. and J. Beck (https://www.gracesguide.co.uk/R._and_J._Beck), last accessed on 12.08.2020

Antique Optics - R & J Beck "Star " microscope (https://antiqueoptics.eu/home/landen/verenigd-koninkrijk/r-j-beck/), last accessed on 01.01.2021

 

 

LAST EDITED: 15.08.2020