Newbold & Bulford Binoculars and Telescopes

N&B Cub 18x

Newbold & Bulford of London, England, were makers of telescopes and binoculars during the late 19^th and early 20^th centuries.

N&B Cub 18x

Most of their telescope models were terrestrial telescopes, sometimes known as spyglasses. These show an erect image, wheras an astronomical telescope usually shows an image inverted either vertically or horizontally (depending on the optical design).

N&B Petrel 30x

They began to use the trade name Enbeeco and, after the second World War, by 1951 or earlier, the name Enbeeco was used extensively on their products.

Enbeeco Merlin 20-40x

In 1960 Newbold & Bulford collaborated with Ross Ltd. to produce the Ross Enbeeco 13x60 binoculars. In 1975 Newbold & Bulford bought the stock and goodwill of the company J.H. Steward.

Enbeeco Merlin 20-40x

In October 1991 the company, then trading in Edenbridge, Kent, became Pyser NB (Trading) Ltd., This became part of Pyser-SGI trading at the same address.

Below is listed the various models of telescope and binocular made and sold by Newbold & Bulford

Telescope Models
Binocular Models

Telescope Models

Comet

The Enbeeco Comet (C & S) is 2 draws, 20x magnification with a 35mm objective. It measures 10” closed and 24” extended. It is of brass construction with a leather cover on the main barrel. It has a sliding sunshade, also covered in leather, and two end-caps with a strap attached to leather tabs on the main barrel.

The Enbeeco Comet No. 2 is 2 draws, 25x magnification with a 30mm objective. It measures 10¼” closed and 24½” extended. It is of blackened metal construction with a leather cover on the main barrel. It has a sliding sunshade, also covered in leather, and two end-caps with a strap attached to leather tabs on the main barrel.

Commadore

The Enbeeco Commadore 18x has a single draw with 18x magnification. It measures 17” closed, and 23½” extended. It is of chromium plated metal construction with leather covering on the main barrel.

The Enbeeco Commadore 20x has a single draw with 20x magnification. It has a 30mm objective, and measures 17” closed, and 23½” extended. It is of chromium plated metal construction with leather covering on the main barrel.

Cub

The Newbold & Bulford Cub is 3 draws, 18x magnification with a 24mm objective. It measures 7” closed and extends to 18¼”. It is made of brass, and has a leather cover on the main barrel. It has a press-fit brass cover on the objective.

Curlew

The Enbeeco Curlew is a 2-draw pancratic telescope with a magnification of 25x-40x. It has a 40mm objective. It is of brass construction with a leather cover on the main barrel. It has a sliding sunshade, also covered in leather, and two end-caps with a strap attached to leather tabs on the main barrel.

Do-it-yourself Kit

The Enbeeco Do-it-yourself Kit was sold as a boxed set of parts for the construction of a small astronomical refractor.

Falcon

The Falcon telescope was sold branded both as Newbold & Bulford and Enbeeco. It has 3 draws, and 22x magnification, with a 30mm objective. It measures 6¾” closed, and 17¾” extended. It is made of brass, with a faux-shagreen cover on the main barrel. It has a press-fit brass cover for the objective.

Heron

The Enbeeco Heron is a 2-draw pancratic telescope with a magnification of 12-20x. It measures 5½” closed, and 14” extended. It is of brass construction with a painted main barrel. It was supplied in a canvas pouch.

Hillary-Everest

The Newbold & Bulford Hilary-Everest is a 2-draw pancratic telescope with magnification 25x-40x. It has a 40mm objective, and measures 10¼” closed and 28½” extended. It is made of brass, with a leather cover on the main barrel. It has an extendable sun-shade which is also leather covered. It was produced to commemorate Edmund Hillary’s expedition to Everest in 1953 during which, accompanied by Tenzing Norgay, he was the first person to reach the summit of Everest.

Kestrel

The Enbeeco Kestrel is 3 draws, magnification 25x. It has a 35mm objective, and measures 8” closed, and 20¾” extended. It is of blackened metal construction with faux-shagreen cover on the main barrel.

Lookout

The Newbold & Bulford Lookout was a 3” brass refractor on a wooden tripod.

Merlin

The Enbeeco Merlin is a 2-draw pancratic telescope with a magnification of 20x-40x. It has a 30mm objective, and extends to 22”. It is made of aluminium, with a leather cover on the main barrel, and was sold in a canvas pouch.

Officer of the Watch

The Enbeeco Officer of the Watch x18 is a marine telescope. It has an objective of 30mm and measures 18” closed and 25½” extended. It is of chromium-plated metal construction with leather covering on the main barrel. It has a chromium-plated sliding sun-shade, and an attached leather end-cap.

The Enbeeco Officer of the Watch Mk5 is a single-draw pancratic marine telescope with magnification 18x-30x. It has an objective of 40mm and measures 18” closed and 30” extended. It is of chromium-plated metal construction with leather covering on the main barrel. It has a chromium-plated sliding sun-shade.

Orbit

The Enbeeco Orbit is a spotting scope with 20x magnification and a 30mm objective. It has a tripod mount threaded screw-hole.

Petrel

The Newbold & Bulford Petrel has 2 draws, 30x magnification, with a 35mm objective. It measures 11½” closed, and 25¾” extended. It is made of black painted aluminium, with a faux shagreen cover on the main barrel.

Ranger

The Enbeeco Ranger 30x has 2 draws, 30x magnification, with a 40mm objective. It measures 10¼” closed, and 24” extended. It is made of brass, and has a leather cover on the main barrel.

The Enbeeco Ranger Major is a 2-draw pancratic telescope with magnification 30x-55x. It is of chromium-plated metal construction with a leather cover on the main barrel, and leather end-caps attached to a strap.

The Enbeeco Ranger Pan 25-40x is a 3-draw pancratic telescope with magnification 25x-40x. It has a 40mm objective, and measures 10¾” closed, and 27¼” extended. It is made of brass, with a leather cover on the main barrel.

The Enbeeco Ranger 55 is a 2-draw pancratic telescope with magnification 30X-50x. It has a 40mm objective, and measures 10½” closed, and 27¼” extended. It is made of brass, with a leather cover on the main barrel, and was sold in a canvas pouch.

Vixen

The Enbeeco Vixen is as 3-draw telescope with 30x magnification.

30x30

The Enbeeco 30x30 has 2 draws, 30x magnification, with a 30mm objective. It measures 6¾” closed and 15” extended. It is of chromium plated metal construction with a black-painted main barrel. It was supplied in a leather carrying case.

12-40x40

The Enbeeco 12-40x40 is a pancratic spotting scope with magnification 12x-40x. It has a 40mm objective, and a tripod mount threaded screw-hole.

Binocular Models

 Newbold & Bulford

Viking Minor 8x25; Viking Major 8x30; Imperia 10x35; Britannia 8x43; Britannia 10x50

Enbeeco 

7x50; Night Hawk Minor (Galilean, fixed IPD); Ornithologist 8x30; Navigon 8x50; 10x35; Concord 8x40

Ross Enbeeco 

13x60

If you have information about Newbold & Bulford binocular or telescope models not shown here, please let me know, and I will add them to this post.
 

For more information about Newbold & Bulford, Ross Ltd., telescopes, and binoculars, and other related topics, refer to Brass and Glass: Optical Instruments and Their Makers by Tony Benson

All photos and text © Tony Benson 2025

Aitchison's Patent Pocket Binocular Field Glasses

Aitchison's Patent Pocket Binocular Field Glasses, much sought after by collectors, are of a novel folding design, with each tube consisting of an aluminium spiral which folds concertina-style. As the frame folds closed, the barrels close into a puck-shape within the frame. (Note: Please click on the images to enlarge them).

Aitchison & Co. was founded by James Aitchison (1860-1911), who served an apprenticeship with a firm of opticians in High Holborn, London, England.

He established his business at 47 Fleet Street, London, as a practicing optician in 1889. He began to work in partnership with Alexander Thomas Clarkson, trading as Aitchison & Co., but the partnership was terminated in 1891, following which James Aitchison continued the business under the same name.

London addresses that appear on Aitchison's advertisements are: 47 Fleet Street (from 1889); 42 Bishopsgate Street (from 1889); 6 Poultry, Cheapside (from 1893); 428 Strand (from 1895); 167 & 168 Fleet Street; 281 Oxford Street; 12 Cheapside. 

In 1908 they merged with Wray Optical Works Ltd., and in 1927 they acquired Dollond & Co., and began to trade under the name Dollond & Aitchison. They continued in business until 2009 when they merged with the high-street chain Boots, and the name Dollond & Aitchison ceased to be used.

On January 20^th 1891, the same year the partnership with Alexander Clarkson was terminated, James Aitchison was awarded UK patent no. 1016 for the folding Field glasses shown here, and on July 4^th 1893 he was awarded US patent 500,835, jointly with Thomas Bradley.

The binoculars were made from aluminium, and came in two different specifications:  

• No. 1. Achromatic Lenses (a first class Race Glass), with 4x magnification, which sold for £3 3s (about £325 in today's money), and 
• No. 2. Achromatic, 12 Lenses (Superior Quality, Higher Power), with 6x magnification, which sold for £5 5s (about £540 in today's money). 

 

The Patent Pocket Binocular Field Glasses were supplied with a soft leather purse-case or, for 5s extra, a hard leather sling-case, as shown in the headline photo.

These binoculars were issued to British officers during the second Boer War (1899-1902). They were also exported to, among other countries, the USA. 

Captain Craig of the War Depatment in Washington, USA, wrote (according to an Aitchison advertisement): I am directed by Chief Signal Officer of U.S. Army that Aitchison's Patent Pocket Binoculars are found to be extremely convenient and portable, and of good service.

The binoculars pictured in this article are of type No. 2. with 6x magnification. In use, because of the shape of the eyepiece lens-plate, the eyepieces are not particularly convenient to bring close to the eye (although that may simply be because I have a big nose). Also, due to the nature of the construction, the binoculars are prone to collimation errors, giving rise to double image.

They are marked on the inside of the eyepiece lens-plate with serial number 6223, and on both lens end-plates they are marked 5/8.

These Patent Pocket Binoculars were widely advertised. Some scans of original advertisements follow:

Advertisement in The Graphic, September 1^st 1894.

Advertisement in The Graphic, November 17^th 1894.

Advertisement in The Graphic, December 1^st 1894.

For more information about Aitchison & Co., Alexander Thomas Clarkson, Wray Optical Works Ltd., Dollond & Co., Dollond & Aitchison, binoculars, and many more topics, refer to Brass & Glass: Optial Instruments and Their Makers by Tony Benson.

All images © Copyright Tony Benson 2024

Second Edition - Brass and Glass: Optical Instruments and Their Makers

The second edition of Brass and Glass: Optical Instruments and Their Makers is now available. It is an encyclopaedia of optical instruments, and the individuals and companies, from the earliest to the end of the 20th century, who have made them. Considerably updated, corrected, and expanded on the first edition, it contains over 3000 alphabetical entries, including:

Optical instrument makers and brands Telescopes Binoculars Microscopes Cameras Navigation instruments

Scientific instruments Surveying instruments Military optical ordnance Laboratory & educational instruments Medical instruments Optical terminology

There are appendices containing information on selected related subjects such as optical glass and eyepiece designs.

The inspiration for the book came from my interests in stargazing, photography, microscopy and bird-watching. I began to take an interest in classic and vintage telescopes, microscopes, binoculars and cameras, as well as other optical instruments. I found the lack of reference material frustrating - I would see an interesting looking vintage telescope at auction, but to find out more about the maker I would have to buy extraordinarily expensive reference books, many of which are out of print. Further, the information I sought was frequently scattered around multiple sources, and time-consuming to collate. I wanted an affordable, simple, encyclopaedic reference in which I could find the name of the maker or optical instrument and a concise, but informative article about them. This book is my attempt to remedy that gap in the literature.

Since the invention of the telescope and the microscope in the early seventeenth cetury there have been countless makers of optical instruments. It would be impossible to include an entry for every one of them. However, it is intended that makers of note should be included, as well as most of the makers the reader might encounter when perusing an auction or boot fair.

A table of contents for the first edition may be found here.

The History of Scientific Instruments: Book Recommendations on the Theme

If you're interested in old scientific instruments, you can visit museums, you can buy interesting instruments at auction, or you can browse antique shops and fairs. But if you want to know about the history or their development, and the people who made them, you can do no better than reading a good book on the subject.

There are plenty of books to choose from, so which are the best? I've picked five books that I consider to be some of the best on the subject, and I'm pleased to be featured again on the excellent book discovery website, Shepherd.com, where you can find my recommendations, and my reasons for recommending the books, here. You can also browse books by topic or author, and you can explore themed booksheves, where you can find author recommendations on a theme such as science or physics.

If you have a particular interest in optical instruments and the people who made them, take a look at Brass and Glass: Optical Instruments and Their Makers.

This is an encyclopaedia of optical instruments, and the individuals and companies who have made them, from the earliest to the end of the 20^th century. It contains over 2000 alphabetical entries, including:

Optical instrument makers and brands; Telescopes; Binoculars; Microscopes; Cameras; Navigation instruments; Surveying instruments; Military optical ordnance; Laboratory & educational instruments; Scientific Instruments; Optical terminology.

There are appendices containing information on selected related subjects such as optical glass and eyepiece designs.

Whether your interest is as a collector, curator, or historian, or simple curiosity, this book is a valuable resource.

The Dangers of Discovering New Worlds: Science Fiction Book Recommendations on the Theme

 

I'm thrilled to be featured again on the excellent book discovery website Shepherd.com - this time I'm sharing my recommendations for science fiction on the theme of the dangers of discovering new worlds.

You'll also find that Shepherd.com has plenty of bookshelves for you to browse and, in each one, multiple authors share their themed recommendations on topics such as The best dystopia books, The best books on extraterrestrial life, and many more.

While we're on this theme, in Galactic Alliance: Betrayal, Daniel discovers that the Galactic Alliance is plotting to take over Earth and subject humanity to brutal, dehumanising slavery. He becomes separated from Ruth by astropirates, and is torn between saving her and warning the sceptical Earth governments of the impending danger. Their adventure leads them both to worlds they never knew existed, and into grave danger, plunging them into the heart of the biggest conflict in Earth's history.

Societal control of the human body: Science fiction book recommendations on the theme

 

If you’re looking for reading recommendations, the book discovery site Shepherd.com is a great place to find them. Shepherd is a rich platform offering book suggestions around a topic, theme or mood, as recommended by numerous authors.

I’m pleased to have been featured on their site with my recommendations for science fiction books on the theme of societal control of the human body.

My book on this theme, An Accident of Birth is a dystopian novel that explores how society might respond if human fertility were to decline to the point where only few people are born fertile. I discussed my inspiration for writing this book in a previous post When Evolution Fails Us - A Tale of Declining Fertility.

If you wish to find more dystopian fiction, why not try the Shepherd.com bookshelf The best dystopia books, where you will find enough recommendations to keep you going for a very long time. 

 

When Evolution Fails Us - A Tale of Declining Fertility

What if, in a future generation, human fertility has dwindled to the point that fertility is a rare gift – so unusual that it is considered to be a lucky accident of birth?

Every species has a natural drive to survive and reproduce. It is one of our most basic instincts and, let's face it, without that instinct, humankind wouldn't exist today. We fight for survival, and we love to reproduce.

Indeed, in many sectors of human society, couples who choose to remain childless are thought to be failing in their responsibility. This attitude, however dubious, is driven by primal instinct, not reason.

In recent years, studies have revealed some sobering facts. It seems that every generation of men is, on average, less fertile than its predecessor. We may be growing taller and bigger, but we're not as good at making babies.

The news reports which highlight this issue focus on the generation to generation decline in fertility, but do little to speculate on where it will lead. The reports generally measure fertility in terms of how many children are produced per couple. If the average is less than two then the population is declining. This is frequently couched in terms of how many children are produced per woman, which is a curiously flawed way to view it.

We have to look a little harder to find reports which talk about the biological ability of a couple to reproduce, rather than the choices they make. Many articles about female fertility focus on how many children a woman has, rather than her biological ability to bear children. On the subject of men, however, the literature is more forthcoming.

It seems that every generation of men is less biologically capable of reproduction than the last. According to a 1992 study¹, “... data on semen quality collected systematically from reports published world-wide indicate clearly that sperm density has declined appreciably during 1938-90, although we cannot conclude whether or not this decline is continuing.”

That uncertainty was put to rest by a research paper in 2017², which concluded that “… sperm counts whether measured by SC or TSC declined significantly among men from North America, Europe and Australia during 1973–2011, with a 50–60% decline among men unselected by fertility, with no evidence of a ‘leveling off’ in recent years.” (SC is sperm concentration, and TSC is total sperm count).

That's pretty scary. If we were to take this to its logical conclusion, the end result could be catastrophic for humanity.

So, why is this happening? According to the Infertility Centre of St Louis³, “The human male is known to have the worst sperm count of any mammalian species, with the exception of the gorilla, possibly because the fragile location of these sperm production genes lies on the Y chromosome. The process of recombination "repairs" chromosomes. Since genes on the Y do not recombine, the chromosome degenerates. Thus, the Y chromosome — which makes the male a male — deteriorates with each succeeding generation. It is not a very safe place for sperm production genes.”

There's plenty of evidence, also, that lifestyle choices of parents, such as obesity and smoking, can have a serious adverse effect the offspring's fertility.

If men’s biological fertility is declining, what about women? Information on this is hard to find. There is evidence that the number of children born through IVF is increasing significantly. This, however, could represent trends in lifestyle choices, or other factors. Whether it has anything to do with trends in the biological fertility of women is unclear.

In today's society, the majority of people are fertile, and the infertile are usually thought of as the unlucky ones, but will that change? Fifty generations from now, will we be frantically trying to find ways to secure the future of the human race?

What will society look like if fertility becomes a rarity? Will fertile people still be considered lucky when the rest of society depends on them to propagate the species? In such a scenario, would a fertile person be allowed to choose not to have children? How would genetic diversity be maintained to avoid the birth defects which result from inbreeding? How would the population be maintained?

In today's society most of us think we’re free, but are we really? We are subject to a profusion of laws, most of which we don't know about and wouldn't understand if we did. Further, we are subject to social pressures and taboos which greatly influence every aspect of our lives. Still, most of us are born “free”, and spend most of our lives believing ourselves to be so.

But what if some of us were born with a biological attribute that made us a rarity? Something with a special value to society that would result in people treating as a resource; a commodity. Something to trade in. If fertility were rare, would those lucky few be the victims or the benefactors of this accident of birth?

Would they be treated as childbearing royalty or breeding slaves? Would they be able to choose a partner because they loved them, or would they be forced into breeding with carefully selected, genetically compatible partners? Would their lives be dominated by social pressures or statutory rules? Would surrogacy be a choice, a lucrative contract between fertile people and their clients, or would it be state controlled?

Would there be a black market; a criminal underworld, trading in the fertility of the few? Would supporting industries spring up? How about services for fertile people who wish to escape the bonds of their condition?

These questions are not easy to answer. At present, how society might respond to such changes is no more than speculation. Nonetheless, if and when it comes, we will have to respond, one way or another.

However we set about tackling the problems posed by increasing infertility, conflict is bound to arise. People with differing beliefs and value systems will also have differing ideas on how to deal with the problem. Whatever solution is chosen, there will inevitably be those who don't accept it.

Would that lead to social unrest? Quite possibly. Large scale differences of public opinion on emotive subjects often do. Will it change the face of politics? The world of politics is there to serve the greater social interest (or so it should be), and what greater interest than the survival of the species?

We don't really know how long it will take for dwindling fertility to become a threat to the future of humankind, or indeed, whether it ever will, but one thing is clear. The trend towards diminished fertility raises some difficult social questions.

For now, we have to rely on works of speculative fiction, such as An Accident of Birth, for answers to these questions.

~

NOTE: This is an update to an article first published on this blog in 2012.

References

[1] Carlsen E, Giwercman A, Keiding N, Skakkebaek NE. Evidence for decreasing quality of semen during past 50 years. BMJ. 1992 Sep 12;305(6854):609-13. doi: 10.1136/bmj.305.6854.609. PMID: 1393072; PMCID: PMC1883354.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1883354/

[2] Levine H, Jørgensen N, Martino-Andrade A, Mendiola J, Weksler-Derri D, Mindlis I, Pinotti R, Swan SH. Temporal trends in sperm count: a systematic review and meta-regression analysis. Hum Reprod Update. 2017 Nov 1;23(6):646-659. doi: 10.1093/humupd/dmx022. PMID: 28981654; PMCID: PMC6455044.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6455044/

[3] http://www.infertile.com/infertility-treatments/millennium.htm