[bamboowest]

Hi all,

I have a pair of vintage Nippon Tokyo 10x30 binoculars, serial number 265. Are these binoculars made by Nikon and are they rare? Any help would be appreciated!

Jerry

[ostling41]

Originally Posted by bamboowest

Hi all,

I have a pair of vintage Nippon Tokyo 10x30 binoculars, serial number 265. Are these binoculars made by Nikon and are they rare? Any help would be appreciated!

Jerry

It doesn't seem likely. Can you supply some photos, at least one of which shows the logo?

[John S.]

Originally Posted by bamboowest

Hi all,

I have a pair of vintage Nippon Tokyo 10x30 binoculars, serial number 265. Are these binoculars made by Nikon and are they rare? Any help would be appreciated!

Jerry

The name Nippon Tokyo makes me think it is a knockoff of Nippon Kogaku Kogyo which is the old name before they became Nikon. Check the spelling carefully - is it really Nippon Tokyo?

I looked through an index of Japanese binoculars and a couple of manufacturers listings on Peter Abrahams site but could not find that particular size or that brand.

Japanese binoculars were sold under many brand names in the 1950's and 1960's and it was not uncommon for names to disappear after a couple of years. Consequently if the spelling is correct then it would not be surprising there is no record of them now.

10x30 would be an unusual size in part because it would be of interest to relatively few binocular users. Zeiss and a few other companies have made glasses in that size and Canon makes an IS model. I think I may have seen a Nikon in that size, but I'm far from certain. You binoculars may be rare in the sense that there are few examples left, but there may be limited collector interest which establishes value.

[bamboowest]

Thanks Allan! I'll post some pictures when I get back from overseas in about 10 days or so.

jerry

[bamboowest]

Thanks John! Your input is very helpful. I will post some pictures of the binoculars when I return from overseas in about 10 days or so. Hopefully it'll shed more light on this. Thanks again!

Jerry