http://microscopist.net/MasonRG.html this is Roberts (b. 1819) first son born 1849.?
"His father, Robert William Mason, worked in the gun-making trades as a finish polisher. He was evidently quite successful at that occupation, as the family retained live-in servants. Robert George Mason was the first child, born during 1849 in the Whitechapel area of London. His mother died in 1856, possibly as a consequence of giving birth to the family’s fourth child.
The 1871 census found Robert George boarding with a gunsmith in Enfield. Most of their neighbors were also involved with gun-making, although one man next door was a sword-maker. Robert, however, was an “optician”, possibly working for a nearby telescope or microscope manufacturer.
In addition to Robert’s upbringing, his later writing and advertisements indicate strong, practical knowledge of brass and iron work. Figure 6 illustrates advertisements from Mason in which he offered unfinished brass parts such that enterprising people could build their own microscopes, offered advice on assembling/repairing a key microscope component, and applied for a metalworking lathe. In addition, he published advice on giving brass a black finish, coating a mirror with mercury and silver, soldering gun-metal, case-hardening iron and many other aspects of metalworking."
