Fine Pair Victorian Binoculars by Negretti & Zambra.

A beautiful pair of 19th century Binoculars made by Negretti and Zambra of Hatton Garden London, maker to the Queen; they have Galilean optics set in to a brass body with sliding eye pieces, these date from anything around the 1860’s – 90’s so in military terms these were probably a private purchase, they are also engraved with the original owners monogram and would have been very expensive in the day as well as carrying kudos with collectors today.
The firm Negretti and Zambra was a producer of scientific and optical instruments and also operated a photographic studio based in London from around 1850, Henry Negretti (1818–1879) and Joseph Zambra (1822–1897) formed a partnership in 1850, thereby founding the firm which would eventually be appointed opticians and scientific instrument makers to Her Majesty Queen Victoria, Prince Albert and Edward VII, the Royal Observatory and the British Admiralty.
This pair comes in quite remarkable condition considering their age and function, they are now heavily patinated and have not been cleaned for years, however the lenses are clear and clean and have quite good magnification with clarity better than some modern examples. A fabulous antique collectable that is still a joy to use.

Code: 17309