Feldstecher C.Zeiss, Jena 6x D.R.P., 1895

Feldstecher 6x15 produced by Carl Zeiss Jena in 1895. The particularity and uniqueness of this feldstecher, in addition to the unusual marks "C.Zeiss, Jena" on the left plate, 6x in the central washer for the interpupillary distance and D.R.P. (Deutsche Reich Patent) on the right plate, all engraved in italics, lies in the fact that both objective lens supports, despite being firmly screwed to the body of the binoculars, are secured by a fourth screw, which tightens a "cam" on the smooth edge on the objective lens support, against unscrewing. It is only a year later that this system was replaced by a tiny grub screw screwed in from the side. All binoculars produced by Zeiss that feature this particular lens support clamping system were produced before 1897.

Rotating the eyepieces, completely made of bakelite, activates a cam that follows the rotation path, in a grooved guide inside the eyepiece support. This mechanism was cutting-edge for that era and allowed the image to be focused very quickly and precisely. Between the objective lenses, a small knob with a hole in the center tightens the chosen interpupillary distance and it is possible to do this either using two fingers, or using the key that was supplied with the binoculars (if requested, as an accessory).

The binoculars are in excellent condition and come complete with their original case. The view is good and collimated and the mechanisms all work correctly.

Carl Zeiss takes its name from its founder, Carl Zeiss, who on November 17, 1846 chose the small city of Jena, in Thuringia, as the location for his precision optical equipment factory. Thanks to the strict quality control that Carl Zeiss imposed on its products, going so far as to personally destroy the microscopes that did not pass the tests, the newborn Zeiss became the official supplier of the University of Jena and received the gold medal of the industrial exhibition in 1861 of Thuringia as the best research instrument manufactured in Germany, awarded to the microscope Stand I of 1857.

In 1866, the thousandth microscope was produced and the Zeiss name became known in all European scientific circles. Thanks to the studies on the Porro prism, in 1893 Abbe patented a double prism binoculars, which accentuated the perception of depth.

The mass production of Zeiss binoculars began in 1894, already at the beginning of the twentieth century more than 30,000 were made, by the beginning of the First World War the figure had risen to 500,000 and, by the end of the Second World War, 2,260,000 were produced binoculars for the civilian and military market. Models were made starting from 4x11 mm to 12x40 mm, up to real giants such as 80 mm and 100 mm.

Thanks to studies conducted on the perception of light in low light situations, it was shown that the average dilation of the pupil in an adult is about 7 mm. For this reason, the 7x50 mm model was introduced in 1910 and remained on the market until 1917 with few changes to the materials used.

In 1926, following the post-war crisis of the First World War with the Treaty of Versailles which bankrupted many important German companies, Zeiss bought the "C.P. GOERZ" and founded the Zeiss Ikon in 1926.

In 1937, Zeiss had commercial contacts and factories spread over 29 countries around the world. From 1933 Zeiss acquired interest from the Nazi regime, which balanced production towards military instruments. It successfully produced binoculars with wide-angle optics for military use, pressure resistant optical systems for U-boats, periscope binoculars for targeting tanks. Furthermore Zeiss cameras were mounted on the V2 for remote sensing operations of the English coasts.

On November 1, 1935, Zeiss, in the person of Alexander Smakula, patented a process for the treatment of optical glasses with extraordinary results in terms of light transmission. Remained a military secret until 1939, it was adopted on binoculars to reduce ghost images and internal reflections. During the Second World War, there were numerous bombings against the Zeiss factories.

Jena was bombed several times by the Allies starting in 1944. Stuttgart was razed to the ground, although the Contessa-Nettel factory suffered little damage. The bombing of Dresden, in addition to devastating the city, also caused considerable damage to the Zeiss Ikon headquarters.

On April 13, 1945, American military forces entered Jena, surprising themselves as the bombings had not caused significant damage. The main planetarium was in ruins, while the factories remained operational.