glass
still-life-photography
product displayed
glass
england
Dimensions: 13 3/16 x 4 3/4 x 1 7/8 in. (33.5 x 12.07 x 4.76 cm)
Copyright: No Known Copyright
These binoculars, made by F. Davidson & Co., have a sort of serious beauty to them. The black metal and the worn tan leather case, each with their own texture, make me think of a sculptor working with different materials, seeing how they play off one another. I wonder what the craftspeople who made these were thinking about. Did they imagine someone on a ship, scanning the horizon? Or maybe a birdwatcher, hidden in the trees? There’s a human connection there, a desire to see further, to understand more. It’s like when I’m painting – I’m trying to see something that’s not quite there yet, pushing and pulling until it reveals itself. You know, these binoculars remind me of those old camera obscuras. It's all about how we see, what we choose to focus on. And that’s what art is too, right? A way of focusing our attention, making us see the world in a new light.
Comments
Binoculars are not a new instrument--early European records record their development in the 17th century--but the "binocular Micro-Telescope" combined the magnifcation of a telescope with stereoscopic vision in one well-made instrument. Essentially two telescopes mounted together, it promised good field, definition, depth of focus, and remarkable perspective. A reviewer advised using the lower magnification of 14 until necessary to add the higher magnification eyepieces that upped the performance to 22 and 28 maginfication. High-performance with or without a stand, for landscape views or stargazing, they were the type of “field glasses” used during World War I. The central large ring is for adjusting overall focus, while the eye pieces can be adjusted individually.
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