Antique French Binoculars. Victorian Era (?)

Hi Folks,

Bought these about a month ago and completely forgot about them.

What we have here is a pair of French-manufactured binoculars of a very antiquated style. I believe them to be of quite advanced age (WWI or previous, most likely previous).

They came with their original leather case.

Both the glasses and case were in very good antique condition (except that the case was missing its shoulder-strap. Whatever...). The case had the British military 'Broad Arrow' mark on it, which leads me to believe that these were made in Paris, exported to England, and then put into military service of some kind. There's no date on them. Given the Broad Arrow I suspect WWI or previous. By WWII, glasses like this would've been seriously old-fashioned.

Anyway, here's the glasses. Take a look. They are QUITE BIG. They're about 6-7 inches standing up straight.


The case. You can see the loops where the leather shoulder-strap would go.

The case is in very good condition. A bit of wear (hey's 100 years old), but still fully functional.



The inscription printed in the lid is:

"SOCIETE PARISIENNE JUMELLES A' PRISMES - PARIS"

Which basically translates as: "The Parisian Society of Prism Binoculars" or something along those lines. I tried researching this, but didn't get very far.









Apart from a bit of crazing on the lenses, the glass is in excellent condition, which is rare for antique binoculars etc.

I have no FIRM ideas on how old these are, but my guess is the second half of the 1800s at least.

 

Not 19th C.

Mention of prismatic binoculars (invented in the 1890s or so, indicates this. These are early 20th C.non prismatic binoculars unusual in their extreme range of focus. I have no idea why anyone would want this feature.

WWI period is most likely.

Try some practical experiments with that extreme range of focus. You may be able to determine how it works in the field.

It just may be that they are prismatic without the usual pentaprism shape, and with some peculiar optics that dictate the odd shape.

The objective lenses should unscrew, a glance inside would show either the expected straight through construction or something else more interesting.

 

They're not prismatic. I've pulled them apart entirely and checked. The Broad Arrow made me think WWI issue, but the style made me hesitate.

 

Shame about that. Now they are just odd for an unspecified reason.

Could it be they only focus toward the end of the extension range and the whole idea is to make them more compact?

 

It was the oddness that made me question the age, although I think you're right about that. WWI seems to make the most sense.

I don't think 'compactness' comes into it with these binoculars. They're chunky as hell! They're at least six inches high, closed. They're big by any stretch of the imagination.

 

But do they only focus when almost completely extended. And do they have a high magnification?

 

They seem only to focus when fully extended, and no, magnification is mediocre at best.

They're basically a giant pair of opera glasses.

 

They're basically a giant pair of opera glasses.

Which you love so much.....so they ended up in the right place !!

 

Not really. I have no need for a giant pair of opera glasses. I'm actually trying to sell them.

 

Oh....OK.....I was wrong....

 

I think you will need to start them at 99 cents in an auction. They are kind of minimal as binoculars go.

 

They are not great as binoculars but I think they are unusual enough to be of interest to collectors. I don't recall seeing any similar. They are not typical WWI field glasses.

 

To my eye, looks like they're a bit of a loose fit in the case - would expect to see a marked pair of S.P.J.P. prism binoculars in that case, perhaps someone just slipped a pair of old field glasses into a handy case...

~Cheryl

 

Ya....you'd expect them to be snug !!