A WWII tripod mounted 10 x 80 binocular by Busch Rathenow, circa 1938.

80 mm objective lenses, 10 times magnification, 45° inclined oculars, coloured filters.

Serial number: 6014

Mounted on a later aluminium tripod. With protective feet pads.

Emil Busch AG founded in 1845.

1792 – Johann Heinrich August Duncker (1767-1843) began to make optical instruments in Rathenow. 1819 Duncker’s son Eduard (1797-1878) took over the company, Eduard passed the business on to his nephew Emil Busch (1820-1888) in 1845 as Optische Industrie-Anstalt, Rathenow. 1872 – the Optische Anstalt Rathenow became the stock market company Emil Busch AG which worked closely with Zeiss, from which they obtained their optical glass. 1908 – The company was renamed Emil Busch AG Optische Industrie. 1929 – Zeiss became a majority shareholder. In the mid 1930s – Busch developed this model of 10 x 80, 45 degree binocular which was used widely in the second world war. 1946 – company became the state-owned Rathenower Optische Werke GmbH and from 1948 VEB Rathenower Optische Werke (ROW), later becoming part of VEB Carl Zeiss Jena.