The firm was established by James Smith, one of the three premier English microscope manufacturers of the Victorian era (the two others were A. Ross and H. Powell), around 1839. In 1847 Richard Beck became a partner in the firm and was shortly followed by his brother Joseph Beck in 1857. After the retirement of Smith in 1865, the firm was known as R&J Beck. Read about the Universal Microscope as described in Richard Beck's The Achromatic Microscope, 1865.

The Smith and Beck delivery books indicate the this microscope was purchased by E. Clift in May 1862. The books also show that Mr. Clift purchased a total of 10 microscopes that year. Elsewhere on this website is an example of the binocular version of this microscope.