Featured German Busch Multinett Opera Glasses

Life gets complicated when I start "finding" old things I've packed away. The other day, I found a bracelet (and a few other pieces of jewelry) in an old jewelry box, and now that I've started "digging" again, I'm overwhelmed with more stuff I'd forgotten I had...

These 3 1/2” wide Busch opera glasses belonged to my grandmother (1906-1966.)


I remember them very well from my childhood, when they were always kept in a little drawer inside Grandma's drop-front secretary desk in her living room. I was allowed to take them out and use them, indoors only, through the window, to look at birds at the bird feeder outside.


They are in pretty tough shape, despite the fact that since 1966, they have been kept inside the little hard-backed, velvet-covered box filled with cotton, that is shown in my first picture. The leather is very dry, and also as shown, one of the ocular caps is broken. It is either hardened rubber or some sort of plastic material:


The glasses are marked with the German D.R.G.M. (Deutsches Reichsgebrauchsmuster) which was introduced in 1891 and in continued use until 1949 (and with its 3-year registration period, the D.R.G.M. marking could have been used until 1952):


Where a registration number often appears on other models, these glasses are instead marked with the retailer's name and address:


The retailer, Schlesicky-Ströhlein of Frankfurt, was in business from at least 1877 until at least the 1950's - as evidenced by this 1950's photo:

This is the closest pair I have found to mine:

from:
https://www.ebay.ie/itm/OPERA-GLASS...552105?hash=item1a45d22ea9:g:3ysAAOSw2Uxala~9

My first question is:
How hard is it to find replacements for the ocular caps? I have read that these were not uniform from company to company, so I'm wondering if finding ones to fit will be a problem.

My second question is:
How old are these glasses? The marks all point to pre-1950's, but I knew that, going in... Would between the Wars be accurate, or is there any reason to think otherwise?

My final question, officially for Shangas, but open to all:
These may not be anything that YOU would collect, but since I already have them and plan to keep them in the family, how best should I go about making them the best that they can be? I will not be using them, just displaying them, behind glass.

Thanks for any and all input!
-C-

@Shangas

 

YES....... @Shangas

& nice find !!

 

Couldn't you buy the one on Ebay and use the Ocular caps from that one?

 

Hey dude.

Repairing that broken piece in the photo is going to be next to impossible. Unless you can find an identical pair with matching parts, I'm honestly not sure what you're going to do with it. I'd say that it's probably bakelite, celluloid or possibly ebonite (hard-rubber), although by the 1920s and 30s, ebonite was becoming rather old-fashioned.

Also, ebonite turns brown as it gets older. I see no evidence of that. Whereas, black celluloid will generally remain black forever (unless it's damaged by sunlight or something).

It certainly looks to be of 20th century construction. I'd say 1930s or 1950s.

A lot of the opera glasses I collect are MUCH older than this but what I generally do is pull them apart, clean the threads, blow out the dust, clean the lenses, put them back together, and put a drop of oil on the major moving parts and that's about it.

 

Thanks, one and all, for your input. It is much appreciated.
-C-