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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;SBSVC, post: 340537, member: 136&quot;]Life gets complicated when I start &quot;finding&quot; old things I&#039;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&#039;ve started &quot;digging&quot; again, I&#039;m overwhelmed with more stuff I&#039;d forgotten I had...</p><p><br /></p><p>These 3 1/2” wide Busch opera glasses belonged to my grandmother (1906-1966.)</p><p>[ATTACH=full]114513[/ATTACH]</p><p><br /></p><p>I remember them very well from my childhood, when they were always kept in a little drawer inside Grandma&#039;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.</p><p>[ATTACH=full]114514[/ATTACH]</p><p><br /></p><p>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:</p><p>[ATTACH=full]114511[/ATTACH]</p><p><br /></p><p>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):</p><p>[ATTACH=full]114512[/ATTACH]</p><p><br /></p><p>Where a registration number often appears on other models, these glasses are instead marked with the retailer&#039;s name and address:</p><p>[ATTACH=full]114509[/ATTACH]</p><p><br /></p><p>The retailer, Schlesicky-Ströhlein of Frankfurt, was in business from at least 1877 until at least the 1950&#039;s - as evidenced by this 1950&#039;s photo:</p><p>[ATTACH=full]114508[/ATTACH]</p><p>This is the closest pair I have found to mine:</p><p>[ATTACH=full]114507[/ATTACH]</p><p>from:</p><p><i><a href="https://www.ebay.ie/itm/OPERA-GLASSES-GREEN-GOLD-WITH-LEATHER-BUSCH-MULTINETT-D-R-G-M-GERMANY/112840552105?hash=item1a45d22ea9:g:3ysAAOSw2Uxala~9" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://www.ebay.ie/itm/OPERA-GLASSES-GREEN-GOLD-WITH-LEATHER-BUSCH-MULTINETT-D-R-G-M-GERMANY/112840552105?hash=item1a45d22ea9:g:3ysAAOSw2Uxala~9" rel="nofollow">https://www.ebay.ie/itm/OPERA-GLASSES-GREEN-GOLD-WITH-LEATHER-BUSCH-MULTINETT-D-R-G-M-GERMANY/112840552105?hash=item1a45d22ea9:g:3ysAAOSw2Uxala~9</a></i></p><p><br /></p><p>M<b>y first question is: </b></p><p>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&#039;m wondering if finding ones to fit will be a problem.</p><p><br /></p><p><b>My second question is:</b></p><p>How old are these glasses? The marks all point to pre-1950&#039;s, but I knew that, going in... Would <i>between the Wars</i> be accurate, or is there any reason to think otherwise?</p><p><br /></p><p><b>My final question, officially for Shangas, but open to all:</b></p><p>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.</p><p><br /></p><p>Thanks for any and all input!</p><p>-C-</p><p><br /></p><p>[USER=360]@Shangas[/USER][/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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