A monumental pair of Fuji Meibo 25×150 big-eye binoculars on their original deck mounting and naval-pattern tripod, by Fuji Photo Optical Co., Japan, 1950s. The data plate carries Fuji's script Meibo trademark and the 2.7-degree field designation.
The 25×150 is the largest of the Japanese big eyes, the pattern developed for the Imperial Navy to find ships at night before radar could, and continued by Fuji for whaling fleets and coastal observation. The 150mm objectives, each nearly six inches across, gather roughly four times the light of the familiar 15×80, and at 25 times magnification the image is extraordinary, with a brightness and depth no instrument of ordinary size approaches. These remain among the finest night-sky glasses ever made. This example carries the straight eyepiece configuration, the more sculptural of the two patterns, the twin barrels running unbroken to the great brass-capped objectives.
The set survives complete: the massive fork carries the glasses on a curved elevation quadrant secured by a polished handwheel, the cone beneath turns on a bearing ring graduated through the full 360 degrees, and the all-metal naval tripod with telescoping legs, folding spreader, and disc feet completes the ensemble.
Instrument, mount, and tripod have been hand polished in our workshop to a mirror finish, the brightwork set off against the brass objective shrouds. The optics are clear and bright, and focus, elevation, and traverse all operate smoothly.
A monumental pair of Fuji Meibo 25×150 big-eye binoculars on their original deck mounting and naval-pattern tripod, by Fuji Photo Optical Co., Japan, 1950s. The data plate carries Fuji's script Meibo trademark and the 2.7-degree field designation.
The 25×150 is the largest of the Japanese big eyes, the pattern developed for the Imperial Navy to find ships at night before radar could, and continued by Fuji for whaling fleets and coastal observation. The 150mm objectives, each nearly six inches across, gather roughly four times the light of the familiar 15×80, and at 25 times magnification the image is extraordinary, with a brightness and depth no instrument of ordinary size approaches. These remain among the finest night-sky glasses ever made. This example carries the straight eyepiece configuration, the more sculptural of the two patterns, the twin barrels running unbroken to the great brass-capped objectives.
The set survives complete: the massive fork carries the glasses on a curved elevation quadrant secured by a polished handwheel, the cone beneath turns on a bearing ring graduated through the full 360 degrees, and the all-metal naval tripod with telescoping legs, folding spreader, and disc feet completes the ensemble.
Instrument, mount, and tripod have been hand polished in our workshop to a mirror finish, the brightwork set off against the brass objective shrouds. The optics are clear and bright, and focus, elevation, and traverse all operate smoothly.
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