Hi,
Welcome aboard.
This 801 is a large body Type 3 produced by Hiyoshi Kogaku, Japan, and imported by Swift-Pyser, UK. Bill might know if it was marketed in the US, but all my records show European distribution. Since it's labled Mk II, the
chances are that it uses BaK-4 prisms and has a 5-element eyepiece. The large body Type 2, 7x35 Holiday—Wide Angle, Mark II, of the same vintage, however, did not use high quality prisms, contrary to the conclusion one would draw from the catalogs of the day. So it would be appreciated if you could comment about the exit pupil of your 801. Is it round with no square frame visible within it, as would be the case with high quality glass?
The Saratoga was promoted for use at horse races and sporting events. The Type 2, 7x50 Commodore—Wide Angle was a sibling, as Bill indicated, and promoted for boating applications. But there was also a standard-field 7x50 Commodore that probably didn't use an Erfle eyepiece. I don't know if either Commodore appeared as Type 3 models in Europe, or had 7x50 counterparts given other names.
I'd also like to hear your assessment of the view using the Saratoga. It may be comparable to the somewhat larger 8.5x44 Audubon, Type 3, its big brother. Incidentally, variants the Saratoga had blue or gold ribbons on the left cover plate, as is typically seen on Type 3 Audubons.
Regards,
Ed
PS. See this thread for related historical info.
http://www.birdforum.net/showthread.php?t=42944