Hi together,
ROW (Rathenower Optische Werke) was the new name of Emil Busch Optische Werke after 1945 in the GDR. Emil Busch hat a huge impact on worldwide optics industry by inventing lens grinding machines that allowed to produce precision lenses at a fraction of the cost of before. They were in the microscope business before 1945 and made nice instruments, but not in especially big volume and not at the forefront of technological development.
In the time of WW 2 Carl Zeiss Jena was the world leading company and everybody was carefully watching what the did and was done with them in the development of the war. Towards the end of the war it was decided that Jena would fall into th russian sector, but the american troops reached it first. Specifically 1 soldier reached it and asked the boss there to sign a letter that he was first to reach Jena!
The americans deported leading scientifical staff and management to their sector, but the russians stopped them from removing machines and more staff. The rest of the works and much of the staff was transported to Russia and took up production there (LOMO), in the first time using only Zeiss Jena designs. The GDR rebuilt the works and there was a big law suit with Zeiss in West Germany about the use of the name Zeiss (important to know for the microscopist, 2xZeiss). Zeiss Jena was the bis star company in the GDR, it brought hard currency and they were very proud of it. In the last years of the GDR they gave Zeiss Jena the control over the underdeveloped GDR microelectronics development.
So what became of Rathenow? They were a supplier for Zeiss Jena and basic school and routine microscopes were sold under this name. The school microscope KMC is a fairly nice travel microscope, even by todays standards and plenty here on german ebay, fetching only 15€ or so. I have on incident light ROW microscope, probably for university use, and it is of very basic build quality. Then I have an older routine microscope that is a bit basic but nicely build and incrediby heavy. Today Askania still offers old GDR designs among other products and is said to offer good service.
But where does the ROW Photomikroskop fit? No idea! It is kind of similar to the Zeiss West Phomi, but while Zeiss West had every option imaginable in finnest quality for the Phomi, ROW had a small objective range and nothing fancy available. Zeiss Jena still offered pre war designs in the 50s and didn't have a microscope with built in camera. These microscopes are fairly rare, perhaps ROW tried to enter the research instument market and was stopped by the governmental central economical system?
On the photos your instrument looks like the typical basement find. Not a barn find, but maybe with some mold here and there. As a collectors item it is nice. As a user it is ok but a quite special taste.
As an instrument to base a full blown research microscope on it is limited. Perhaps you have a look at the Zeiss West Phomi/Universal range. As they are a bit bigger they are not that sought after and not expensice for what you get. And you can get the most exotic add-ons without having to look for ages.
Bob