Item Description
Original Item. Only One Available. In the 1920s, the Imperial Japanese Navy was the world’s third largest maritime service, behind Britain’s Royal Navy and the United States Navy. During the Pacific War of WW2, it was the principal opponent of the Western Allies.
On Japanese warships, naval binoculars were positioned on towers 90 feet high, with a primary mission to spot Allied ships. The aim of such huge binoculars is to funnel in as much light as possible. These huge brass-and-steel instruments (many of them built by Nippon Kogaku, a supplier that became Nikon) are often large enough to fit a human head inside, with lenses that absorb up to 980 times more light than the human eye, offering a view of objects up to 20 miles away. The 100mm, 20x instruments designed by Nikon became the templates for ones used on British warships until the turn of the 21st Century.
This set of “big eye” binoculars aren’t nearly big enough to fit your head inside of, but they certainly come close! Overall the set measures roughly 18 x 9 x 9”, definitely too large to take to the game! They look to be made of a mixture of brass and aluminum, and are definitely quite heavy, as they were intended to be mounted to a ship, and the weight would also make them less likely to move with the sea.
These are offered in "as found" condition, and they do definitely have some condition issues. The paint and finish is very well retained, but there is light rusting in areas. The optics look to be clear, but they are not very well-focused, and could use some adjustment. The set retains both of its eye-covers which are removed by hand. Also intact is the original stand piece that would attach to a post on a Japanese ship, and impressively, the set can stand on its own on this piece, although it’s not entirely sturdy.
The set retains markings on the left eye, 15 x 4° / TORO / No. 1053. TORO is the maker of the binoculars, but we haven’t been able to find anything on this company. There are a myriad of other small Kanji markings and inspection stamps across the set.
These are an incredible find and are seldom seen on the market anymore. Comes ready for further research and display. These could possibly also be restored to fully working order, but it would definitely take an expert in optics restoration.
- This product is available for international shipping.
- Eligible for all payments - Visa, Mastercard, Discover, AMEX, Paypal & Sezzle
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