C F Palmer (London) Limited

1891-1987, physiological instrument maker

C. F. Palmer (London) Ltd was established in 1891 by Charles Fielding Palmer (1864-1938), who started out as an engineer and bicycle manufacturer. The company described itself as a maker of “Research and Students’ Apparatus for Physiology, Pharmacology, Psychology, Bacteriology, Phonetics, Botany, etc.” and it was a prolific operation during the first half of the 20th century. It became the leading manufacturer of specialised physiological apparatus in Britian. It provided the tools for the investigation of organ systems by physiologists worldwide and it equipped the teaching laboratories that became an essential part of medical education.

Throughout the rise in popularity of electronic sensing and recording instruments from the 1960s onward, Palmer maintained its standard production line of electromechanical instruments. Naturally, demand for these types of instruments fell and by 1987 the company was absorbed into the Harvard Apparatus Company.