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Japanese External Reverse Porro Prism Binoculars. WEBSITE MUSEUM |
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BIG & SMALL #4 binoculars |
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BINOCULARS RESEARCH WEBSITE, NOT FOR PROFIT FERNGLAS-FORSCHUNGS-WEBSITE, NICHT GEWINNORIENTIERT SITE DE RECHERCHE SUR LES JUMELLES, À BUT NON LUCRATIF |
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Big and Small: Palomar binoculars |
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Big and Small: Hambletonian Peerless binoculars |
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Big and Small: Lafayette binoculars |
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Big &Small: Megaphos binoculars |
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Though named the same, my big and small Megaphos binoculars are unrelated . My smaller Megaphos 7x18 binoculars are believed a brand of and has the trade marked Z logo of Zuih o K ō gaku Seiki K.K., or it’s export arm Zuiho Optical Instrument Co. 瑞宝光学精機工業株式会社 of Japan, and post date the US occupation period, but predate JB codes, so date 1952 to Nov. 1959. My larger 8x Megaphos binoculars were made in France and the brand was imported to the US ca 1908-1929. |
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Palomar was a trade marked binoculars brand of Thalson Co of San Francisco Ca., USA. My smaller 8x20 Palomar binoculars post date the US occupation period, but predate JB codes, so date 1952 to Nov. 1959, with no indication of manufacturer. My larger Palomar 8x30 binoculars were assembled by JB130/ Komiya Kogaku Sangyo Co Ltd. Of Japan, with the body made by JE7 Nippon Kogaku of Japan. The logo incorporates a representation of the Palomar Observatory of San Diego Ca. USA which presumably inspired this brand name. |
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Lafayette was a trade marked binoculars brand of US chain and catalog retailer Lafayette Radio Electronics Corp. My smaller 6x15 Lafayette binoculars post date the US occupation period, but predate JB codes, so date 1952-Nov. 1959. They are marked as assembled by TOA /Toa Optical Co., Ltd. (Toa Kōgaku Kōgyō Kabushiki-geisha )( 東亜光学株式会社 of Japan . My larger Lafayette 7x35 binoculars were assembled by JB17/ Otake Kogaku Kogyo Co Ltd. Of Japan, with body made by JE12/ Orara Kogaku Co. Ltd. (AKA Aurora Kogaku Co Ltd) of Japan They have an unidentified OTS in diamond exporter mark on the pivot. |
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Hambletonian was a trade marked binoculars brand of Peerless Camera Stores of NYC, USA. My smaller 6x15 Hambletonian binoculars post date the US occupation period, but predate JB codes, so date 1952 to Nov. 1959. They are marked as assembled by TOA / Toa Optical Co., Ltd. (Toa Kōgaku Kōgyō Kabushiki-geisha )( 東亜光学株式会社 ) of Japan. My larger Hambletonian 7x50 binoculars post date the US occupation period, but predate JB codes, so date 1952 Nov. 1959. They are marked Hambletonian and also Peerless. |
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Big and Small: Atlas binoculars |
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Big and Small: Marbo binoculars |
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I have never found documentation defining the background of Marbo brand use on binoculars. A quantity of binoculars such as my smaller binoculars are marked with a Marbo Hoya logo, and it is possible Marbo could be a non trademarked brand of Hoya Optical Co Ltd., but this is speculative . My smaller Marbo 7x18 binoculars post date the US occupation period, but predate JB codes, so they date 1951-Nov 1959. They are marked as assembled by TOA /Toa Optical Co., Ltd. (Toa Kōgaku Kōgyō Kabushiki-geisha )( 東亜光学株式会社 ) of Japan . My larger Marbo 7x50 binoculars were assembled by JB198/ Taishin Kogyo Co Ltd. Of Japan, with the body made by JE18 / Tokyo Kogaku Kikai Co Ltd. of Japan |
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I have never found documentation defining the background of Atlas brand use on binoculars. My smaller Atlas 10x20 binoculars were assembled by JB5/ JB5/ Meiji Seiko Co. Ltd. 明治精工株式会社 of Japan , with frame by JE50/ Tanaka Koki Seisakujo. Inc. of Japan. They also carry the MSC logo. My larger Atlas 7x50 binoculars were assembled by JB127/ Koei Seiki Co. Ltd. Of Japan, with the body made by JE30 / Tokyo Kogaku Kikai Co Ltd. of Japan |
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Big and Small: Elko Prismatics binoculars |
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I have never found any documentation defining the background of Elko brand use on binoculars. My smaller 7x18 Elko Prismatics binoculars and my larger Elko Prismatics both post date the US occupation period, but predate JB codes, so date 1952 to Nov. 1959. |
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Stupid collimation fix. This applies to full size binoculars only !!! In buying lots of cheap full size binoculars for the big/little photos, maybe 33 arrived with bad collimation issues...from being dropped where that impact had shifted the prisms. Most of these $10-$20 Goodwill ® ( sold :”as is”) binoculars did not seem worth me investing much tome/ effort to fix, or else wouldn’t cooperate much in being taken apart. After photographing them, I considered most as being expendable/ not very collectable, or just spare parts like eyepieces. So I thought if inertia impact shifted prisms out of collimation, why not try to do the same to reverse that, and tried impacting them certain ways on a plastic cutting board. To my astonishment I have successfully fixed 29 full size binoculars this way, and I even fixed WW1 German 6x24 and WWII Japanese military binoculars that wouldn’t come apart. Now I absolutely do not recommend that you try this on any binoculars that you value !!!. And I am flat out flabbergasted that this really dumb idea worked out as well at it has for me…. But it sure has ! |
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Big and Small: SPI & Southerner binoculars |
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Southerner was a non trade marked brand of SPI , which was a trade marked name of distributor Southern Precision Instruments. My smaller 7x18 SPI Southerner binoculars post date the US occupation period, but predate JB codes, so date 1952 to Nov. 1959. They were assembled by TOA /Toa Optical Co., Ltd. (Toa Kōgaku Kōgyō Kabushiki-geisha )( 東亜光学株式会社 ) of Japan . My larger & unusual power 16x50 SPI Southerner binoculars post date the US occupation period, but predate JB codes, so date 1952 to Nov. 1959. They have a TOC in surround exporter mark of Tokyo Optical Manufacturing Co. Ltd. of Japan. |
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Big and Small: Glory binoculars |
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Big and Small: Gold Cup binoculars |
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Glory was claimed to be a trade marked (perhaps Japanese trade mark) binoculars brand of Japanese Katsuma Optical Co. My smaller Glory 8x20 binoculars were assembled by JB5/ Meiji Seiko Co. Ltd./ 明治精工株式会社 of Japan , with frame by JE50/ Tanaka Koki Seisakujo. Inc.of Japan My larger 8x30 Glory binoculars post date the US occupation period, but predate JB codes, so date 1952 to Nov. 1959. They have a KOCo logo of Katsuma Optical Co./ 勝間光学工業株式会社 of Japan . |
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Gold Cup was a trade marked binoculars brand of US chain store retailer Fred Meyer Inc. with stores in Oregon, Washington, Idaho and Alaska, USA. My smaller 7x18 Gold Cup binoculars were assembled by JB93/ Siewa Optical Co. Ltd. (Seiwa Kōgaku Kōgyō Kabushiki-geisha ) ( 清和光学株式会社 ) of Japan , with frame by JE50/ Tanaka Koki Seisakujo. Inc.of Japan. My larger 8x30 Gold Cup binoculars were assembled by JB194/ Miyagaki Kogakusha of Japan, and the frame /body was made by JB69/ Akebono Optical Co., Ltd. (Akebono Kōgyō Seisakujo) ( 曙光学工業 ) of Japan. |
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Big and Small: Apollo binoculars |
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Big and Small: Charles Frank Nipole binoculars |
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Big and Small: Fisher Dietz binoculars |
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Apollo was a German trade marked binoculars brand of the German company Apollo-Optik Gmbh, also trade marked in Israel, Australia, USA, and the UK., and perhaps some other markets, and with some related Apollo trademarks later owned by the German Foto Quelle camera-optical retail chain. My smaller 7x18 Apollo binoculars post date the US occupation period, but predate JB codes, so date 1952 to Nov. 1959. They marked as assembled by TOA /Toa Optical Co., Ltd. (Toa Kōgaku Kōgyō Kabushiki-geisha )( 東亜光学株式会社 ) of Japan, and are German language market marked. My larger yellow Apollo 7x50 binoculars post date JB codes and carry an exporter mark I can’t identify. The yellow rubberized design is typical to targeting the maritime market. My largest 10x50 Apollo binoculars were assembled by JB17/ Otake Kogaku Kogyo, of Japan. |
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Nipole was a non btrade marked binoculars brand of Scotland based optical retailer Charles Frank Ltd , as is also marked on the binoculars. My smaller 8x25 Frank Nipole 8x25 binoculars were assembled by JB93/ Siewa Optical Co. Ltd. (Seiwa Kōgaku Kōgyō Kabushiki-geisha ) ( 清和光学株式会社 ) of Japan , with frame by JE84/ Oei Kogaku Co. Ltd. of Japan. My larger Charles Frank, Frank-Nipole 10x50 binoculars were assembled by JB230/ Higashi Nippon Kogaku Kikai Kyodo Kumiai of Japan. |
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I have never found any documentation defining the background of Fisher Dietz brand use on binoculars. My smaller 7x18 Fisher Dietz binoculars were assembled by JB001/ Toa Optical Co., Ltd. (Toa Kōgaku Kōgyō Kabushiki-geisha )( 東亜光学株式会社 ). of Japan. My larger Fisher-Dietz 7x50 binoculars were assembled by JB57/ Oji Kogaku Kikai Co. Ltd. of Japan , with frame/body made by JE6 /Asahi Kogaku Kogyo Co. Ltd. of Japan. |
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Big and Small: Constellation binoculars |
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Big and Small: Harpers binoculars |
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Big and Small: Birks binoculars |
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Big and Small: Crystal binoculars |
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I have never found documentation defining the background of Famous brand use on binoculars. My smaller Famous 7x18 binoculars post date the US occupation period but predate JB codes, so date 1951 to Nov. 1959, and do not have any manufacturer or exporter logos. My larger 7x35 Famous binoculars were assembled by JB38/ Nakabishi Kogaku Inc. of Japan, with frame/body made by JE31/ Muraki Koko Co. Ltd. Of Japan. , |
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Big and Small: Dickson binoculars |
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I have never found any documentation defining the background of Constellation brand use on binoculars. My smaller 8x20 Constellation binoculars were assembled by JB5/ Meiji Seiko Co. Ltd./ 明治精工株式会社 of Japan , with frame by JE50/ Tanaka Koki Seisakujo. Inc. of Japan. My larger 8x30 Constellation binoculars were assembled by JB118/ Yoshikawa Koki Co. Ltd. of Japan. |
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I have never found documentation defining the background of Harpers brand use on binoculars. My smaller 10x20 Harpers binoculars probably predate JB codes, but carry the MSC logo of Meiji Seiko Co. Ltd./ 明治精工株式会社 of Japan. My larger 7x35 Harpers binoculars were assembled by JB204/ Chuo Koki Seisakujo of Japan , with frame/body made by JE66 (unknown Japanese entity). Both the 7x35 and 7x50 binoculars are made to look like prismatic binoculars, but are actually cheap low end non prismatic binoculars. |
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Birks is a Canadian trade marked binoculars brand of Canadian retailer Henry Birk & Sons (now Birks group, formerly Birks Jewelers and Les Joalliers Birks Inc. My smaller 8x20 Birks binoculars are marked as assembled by JB5/ Meiji Seiko Co. Ltd./ 明治精工株式会社 of Japan. My larger Birks 8x30 binoculars were assembled by JB4/ Toei Kogaku Co. Ltd. of Japan, with frame/body made by JE22 / Itabashi Kogaku Kikai Seisakujo Inc. of Japan. |
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I have never found documentation defining the background of Dickson brand use on binoculars. My smaller 7x18 Dickson binoculars probably predate JB codes, but carry the TOA mark Toa Optical Co., Ltd. (Toa Kōgaku Kōgyō Kabushiki-geisha )( 東亜光学株式会社 ) of Japan. My larger 7x50 Dickson binoculars were assembled by JB43/ Tozaki Kogaku Kogyo Co. Ltd. of Japan, with frame/body made by JE26/ Futaba Kogaku Kogyo Co. of Japan. |
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Big and Small: Fortuna binoculars |
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I have never found documentation defining the background of Crystal brand use on binoculars. All four of my Crystal binoculars post date the US occupation period but predate JB codes, so date 1951 to Nov. 1959. I believe that the ROYAL , T.K.K. and other logo mark are of different Japanese exporters. All three of the 6x15 binoculars are of an distinctive construction design that I have only seen on Crystal marked binoculars. |
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Big and Small: Elite binoculars |
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Big and Small: Pollux binoculars |
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I have never found documentation defining the background of Fortuna brand use on binoculars. My smaller 6x15 Fortuna binoculars were assembled by JB5 / Meiji Seiko Co. Ltd./ 明治精工株式会社 of Japan. My larger 7x35 Fortuna binoculars predate JB codes and were made in occupied Japan. So they presumably probably date from around 1949 to 1953. And they are marked as C.O.C. which I believe to be Carton Optical C o ( Carton Optical Industries Ltd / カートン光学株式会社) of Japan. |
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Big and Small: Pigmy binoculars |
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Big and Small: Yoshida Thorobred binoculars |
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I have never found documentation defining the background of Elite brand use on binoculars in the relevant time period (Bausch & Lomb held a trademark for post 1989 not believed associated). Both of my Elite binoculars post date the US occupation period, but predate JB codes, so date 1951 to Nov 1959. My 6x15 Elite binoculars have an M.I.I. marking (unknown entity to me at this time). My 7x35 Elite binoculars have a TOC marking in surround which is the mark of Tokyo Optical Manufacturing Co. Ltd. of Japan. |
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I have never found documentation defining the background of Pollux brand use on binoculars. My external prism pattern 10x30 Pollux binoculars were assembled by JB93/ Siewa Optical Co. Ltd. (Seiwa Kōgaku Kōgyō Kabushiki-geisha ) ( 清和光学株式会社 ) of Japan, with frame by JE50/ Tanaka Koki Seisakujo. Inc. of Japan. My larger Pollux 10x50 binoculars post date the US occupation period, but predate JB codes, so date 1951 to Nov 1959, and have the TJK in diamond mark of exporter Toyo Jitsugo Kogaku K.K. (Oriental Trading Co) of Japan. |
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I have never found documentation defining the background of Pigmy brand use on binoculars. My smaller 6x15 Pigmy binoculars are marked Yamato Kogako Co Ltd. of Japan, and have the finish characteristics of being prewar export (and a pre war Yamato Kogako Seisakusho example is documented). My larger Pigmy 7x50 binoculars are marked MADE IN OCCUPIED JAPAN , and thus date Feb. 1947-1951 per SCAPIN mandate. They have an exporter logo I cannot identify at this time |
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In my opinion (speculative) Yoshida & Co. was probably a 1950’s Japanese exporter, based on not appearing on the 1959 list of assembling Japanese binoculars, and based on the only indication of assembling manufacturer I have personally seen on Yoshida binoculars is several “ K ” logo markings (Japanese contract manufacturer Omori Sogo Kogaku). My smaller Yoshida & Co Thorobred 7x15 binoculars post date the US occupation period, but predate JB codes, so date 1951 to Nov 1959, have an unknown identity TKG in diamond mark. My larger Yoshida & Co. Thorobred 7x50 binoculars also post date the US occupation period, but predate JB codes, so date 1951-Nov 1959. They have an unknown “ FU ” marking (presumably not meant to be what comes immediately to mind !!!). |
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Big and Small: Famous binoculars |
