Binoculars "Monopoly" from Optik A. Nechaev in Tomsk.

A rare pair of binoculars in satisfactory condition. Produced by the famous German optical company Emil Busch by special order (or for subsequent retail sale) of the Optik A. Nechaev trading house in Tomsk.In pre-revolutionary Russia, it was a widespread practice for large regional stores to order first-class optics from Europe (most often in Germany or France) and apply their own Russian engraving to bridges or eyepiece rings. The weight is 200 grams. The unfolded length is 75 mm. The optical scheme is Galilean (a simple and reliable system of two lenses: a collecting lens in the lens and a scattering lens in the eyepiece). It gives a straight (not inverted) image, has a high luminous intensity, but a small field of view, which is ideal for indoor theater halls. The body is a classic cone-shaped, made of brass (often gilded or nickel-plated). One of the pipes has retained its original leather covering. The focus (sharpness adjustment) is performed using a central interpupillary wheel. The name of the German manufacturer "Emil Busch A. G. Rathenow" is engraved on one of the rings. On the opposite side is the stamp of the Siberian customer-seller: "A. Nechaev Tomsk". Guarantee of authenticity.

Emil Busch AG is one of the oldest and most reputable companies in the history of the global optical industry.  The company's history began in 1801 in the town of Ratenow (west of Berlin), when pastor Johann Heinrich August Dunker founded a small optical production. Thanks to this enterprise, Ratenov was later called the "cradle of German industrial optics." In 1845, Dunker's nephew, Emil Busch, took over the management of the company. Under his leadership, the factory introduced steam engines, automated lens grinding, and reached the international level. The company produced magnificent theatrical and field binocular devices, photographic lenses (the famous Busch Rapid Aplanat), microscopes and glasses. In 1872, the company became a joint stock company (Emil Busch AG). In 1927, Carl Zeiss acquired a controlling stake. The company suffered greatly during World War II and was nationalized by the GDR authorities after 1946.