The scientific instrument and optical equipment makers, Thomas Armstrong & Brother, began operating in 1868. The company took on the business of Joseph Armstrong, father of Thomas Armstrong and his brothers George Booth Armstrong and Alfred Armstrong.

Joseph Armstrong established a jewellery and silversmith business in 1825. The business was located on Deansgate, Manchester, and known as the Old Deanery.

Before his father’s death in 1851, Thomas Armstrong had been managing the business and had expanded its products to include optical instruments and spectacles. His brother George Booth Armstrong joined him in the business as a partner in 1868, and the company was renamed Thomas Armstrong & Brother.

In 1877, Thomas Armstrong & Brother was appointed as official optician to the Manchester Royal Eye Hospital, of which Thomas Armstrong was a Trustee. The success of the company resulted in its premises being expanded and younger brother Alfred Armstrong joining the business as an employee. Additional premises were bought in 1887, at the same time as the company exhibited its products at the Industrial Exhibition.

In 1891, the company was contracted to supply scientific instruments to the War Office, Board of Trade, Admiralty, India Office and the General Post Office.

Thomas Armstrong’s son Frank Armstrong joined the business towards the end of the 1890s, and the company expanded to include premises in Liverpool.

In 1914, the company was contracted to supply the War Department with gun sights, elevation equipment and surveying equipment. The company also supplied clocks, watches and submarine detectors to the naval services.

A chartered accountant, Leonard Douglas Kidson, bought Thomas Armstrong & Brother in 1920. Frank Armstrong remained with the company until 1930.

By 1925, the company employed 125 people and its range of products included microscopes, telescopes, laboratory equipment, nautical and meteorological equipment, jewellery, timepieces and horn and tortoiseshell spectacle frames.

Harrisons Opticians bought Thomas Armstrong & Brother in 1965, including its Manchester head office and branches, and branches in Liverpool and Altrincham.

Dollond & Aitchison took over the Harrison Group in 1968.