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Assistance w/Bureau of Ordnance US Navy Binoculars w/Case


Edelweisse
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Hi Folks: I recently picked these binoculars up but I don't know much about them besides they're "old"...period (Unknown) w/ leather case marked "Bureau of Ordnance U.S. Navy"....the serial "25755"...but I don't know the optics which is clear...nor the time period.

 

Any assistance would be appreciated.. ..I'm also trying to find out the approx. value....Thanks,

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Brian Keith

They have a WW I era look to them. Are the bino's marked other than the SN#? The leather case and straps seem to be in pretty good shape!

BKW

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Based upon the Bausch & Lomb ser# list...here is a section of the list... this serial# 25755...between 1897-1898

 

20000 1896
25000 1897

28000 1898

 

Happy Easter.....HE has risen!

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  • 2 weeks later...

They are marked Germany because they were produced in cooperation with Zeiss....the German at the turn of the century still had the monopoly on high quality optical glass and lenses...Bausch and Lomb went into a partnership with Zeiss in 1892, where Zeiss would provide the lenses, Bausch and Lomb built the binoculars (and other optical apparatus).

 

The US was behind the 8 ball so to speak producing high quality lenses until WWI forced our hand, and US manufacturers like B&L, Eastman Kodak, Crown Optical, Spencer Lens, etc had to step up and figure out how to make quality optical lenses, and learn about optical coating. I had a really interesting article titled something like "No Glass, No Optics" about the US's struggle to catch up...

 

They are 10 Power of course, the 60 and 70 marks are setting for the inter-pupillary distance (how far apart the eyepieces are apart)

 

That's a really neat pair of binoculars and case!

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Thanks for your comments pzjgr....I really appreciate the info....which I didn't know. I saw an article in an "Old" National Geographic's dated 1917 or 1918 asking the public for binoculars...and after the war......they'd return them. Thanks for the Zeiss info...I wasn't aware....I was surprised to find the data when I rubbed off the grime...and found "GERMANY" and the numbers.

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