Galilean Binoculars 5x Mod. 08 Eng. Salmoiraghi "Night Guards on Board" - Royal Italian Navy, circa 1915

Galilean binoculars mod. 08 Produced by Salmoiraghi - Milan, exclusively supplied to the "Night Guards on Board" on the ships of the Royal Italian Navy. The binoculars appear in a Salmoiraghi catalog which contains some information identifying this very rare optic, certainly produced in a very limited number of specimens. The serial number is "1235" and appears to be the first binoculars, produced by Salmoiraghi - Milan, to have independent focusing eyepieces. It has 5 magnifications and has 50 mm objective lenses to guarantee a lot of brightness obviously for the era in which it was in use.

The project of this model of binoculars was born in the year 1908, when the Prussian Ministry of War (Germany) delivered the specifications of the Galilean binoculars for the infantry troops and with the royal decree of 13 August 1909 many German companies participated in the supply of this type of binoculars.

Among these Leitz, Goerz, Busch, Voigtländer and Spindler&Hoyere and also Zeiss.

Following the German example, on Italian territory in fact, exclusively Salmoiraghi will produce a model practically identical to the German version but brighter and larger in size, completely made of bronze suitable for naval use, therefore also much heavier. The view is clear, the focus works smoothly and softly and it comes complete with its own case with shoulder strap.

History of Salmoiraghi:

Salmoiraghi was a company resulting from the experience that Angelo Salmoiraghi acquired, after graduating from the Filotecnica of Milan, founded in 1865, under the guidance of the founder Ignazio Porro.

In Filotecnica, Eng. Salmoiraghi held positions of manager until acquiring ownership in 1873, transforming the name into "Salmoiraghi, Rizzi e C." for the production of optical and topographical instruments.

In 1877 the company dissolved and Angelo Salmoiraghi continued the business alone with a new company called Filotecnica Salmoiraghi.

At the end of the century he had excellent collaborations: above all that of Francesco Koristka, improving the offer of optical and precision instruments. Under his guidance the company developed considerably, to the point of acquiring a leading role among the producers of optical and precision instruments, the Regia Aeronautica and the Regia Marina.