Groß Scherenfernrohr M.17 15x K. P. Goerz - Bratislava, 1919
Groß Scherenfernrohr or "large Scherenfernrohr" Model 17 produced by K.P. Goerz of Bratislava (Slovakia) for the armed forces of Serbia (in Serbian: Bojcka Србије - Vojska Srbije), starting from about 1919 in the Goerz branch of Bratislava which was officially named so only on January 1, 1919: before this date in fact, the city was known as Presburgo (in German Pressburg; in Slovak Prešporok or Prešporek until 1919) or Posonio (in Hungarian Pozsony, still in use).
This optic had a long time of use so much so that it was used by the Serbian Army under the military occupation of Nazi Germany during the Second World War following the invasion of Yugoslavia. In fact, the Serbian State, led by Serbian General Milan Nedić under German military command with the official name of Vlada Nacionalnog Spasa (in Italian, Government of National Salvation, which existed between 1941 and 1944) needed to employ material useful for defending itself from Tito's communists and to meet this need, they acquired war material from the main German companies including Goerz for optics and Mauser for armaments.
Furthermore, unable to resist the Germans, General Nedić allowed the existence of concentration camps in his territory, a Serbian Gestapo, and a legion of volunteers used precisely against Tito's communists (Serbian Volunteer Corps), as well as to flank the German forces from the Russian advance from the Romanian front. This optic, equipped with 15x magnification, is larger than the more common German Scherenfernrohr. The optical system, consisting of 2 tubes, is independent of each other allowing it to be used by 2 observers at the same time thus promoting faster and more precise observation.
On the right eyepiece tube there is a plate with technical information about the Manufacturer, Model, Magnification and Serial Number. Also, on the left eyepiece plate there is a warning about use (translated into Italian "before moving the periscope tubes, loosen the screw).
It is equipped, in addition to its original Tripod produced and marked "Goerz", also with its original "Richtkreis" also produced by "Goerz" in the Bratislava branch.
The conservation conditions are optimal, all the mechanisms work correctly and the view is clear and collimated.
The C.P. Goerz was a company of optical and photographic instruments founded in Berlin in 1886 by Carl Paul Goerz (1854-1923), together with Carl Moser, optical researcher, and Ottomar Anschutz, laboratory technician in close friendships; precisely from this last C.P. In 1889, Goerz had purchased the patent for the construction of the first shutter for cameras capable of shutter speeds of 1/1000 of a second. The company specialized in the production of lenses, cameras, telescopes and binoculars, including for military use.
In 1886 it had around 25 employees, which rose to 2500 in 1911, although at its maximum expansion the workforce reached 10,000 employees. In terms of size it was not even second to Zeiss (which in the same period had 1000 fewer workers), and it exported to many countries, including Russia and the United States.
In 1905 Goerz American Optical continued to operate independently in the United States until 1972.
In 1908 Goerz Photochemisches Werk GmbH was founded in Berlin, this section of the Goerz group produced films for photography and cinema.
Goerz had a fundamental relationship with the armies of the time and military supplies. In fact, it remained famous both for the large trench binoculars (First World War) and for the binoculars supplied to all the weapons of the Austrian-German Army (including navy and air force) as well as Bulgaria, Romania etc.
Even today there are countless examples of Goerz binoculars that have value on the war and optical antiques market, one must think that in 1906 Goerz had already produced and exceeded 100,000 "Triëder" model binoculars, both for civil and military use. In addition to the main and historic factory in Friedenau (Berlin), C.P. Goerz was also present in London, Paris and Vienna, Bratislava, Milan, Riga and St. Petersburg.
Other sections were dedicated to chemical products and also for typewriters or calculating machines, which a division of the company was responsible for producing until 1945.
In 1910 the company bought the "Sendlinger Optische Galswerke" company founded by J. Von Fraunhofer and C. A. Steinheil for the production of optical glass and mirrors, which made it completely independent from purchasing from other retailers.
After the First World War, with the Treaty of Versailles, the German companies that had produced war material were slowed down in production and this quickly led to a serious economic situation.
In 1923 Paul Goerz died and the company, which was in bankruptcy, was purchased by Zeiss which, together with the companies "Contessa", "Nettel", "ICA" and "Ernemann" founded Zeiss Ikon in 1926. The American division of Goertz became an independent company under the name Goertz American Optical Co. producing camera lenses and continuing their technical development.
In 1971 it was bought by Kollmorgen, which was absorbed by Schneider Optics in 1972.